Polestar plan Champ Car move

Polestar, who currently run young American Alan Sciuto and IndyCar refugee Alex Barron in Atlantic, hope to take advantage of Champ Car's switch to the new Panoz DP01 chassis next season to make the step up.

"The amount of opportunities that are available and the timing is the best it's ever been," Polestar co-owner Jim Griffith told Cleveland newspaper The Plain Dealer.

"We are in deeper negotiations with the [Champ Car] series and our sponsors, and the series wants to know where you're going.

"One interesting thing is they're coming out with a new Champ car in 2007. In some ways, the table has been cleared, and it wouldn't be a bad year to come in. You'd have to have the right people and personnel to do it, and it would be a bit of a more even playing field."

The newspaper reports that a final decision will be made later in the summer.

Polestar's plans have been welcomed by Champ Car co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven, who placed his protege Katherine Legge with the team for her Atlantic season in 2005.

"I would love to see Polestar come up," Kalkhoven told the newspaper. "I saw how Jim Griffith coached and mentored Katherine Legge last year."