Racers want one series

IRL president Tony George is bidding on portions of the assets of rival sanctioning body CART, which ran the Champ Car World Series. Judge Frank Otte will determine whether George or three CART team owners that form OWRS - Gerald Forsythe, Paul Gentilozzi and Kevin Kalkhoven - will be allowed to buy the assets. As the IRL's principles prepared for battle in Indianapolis, its participants prepared to test at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

"It's been going on for years," said IRL IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon, who, like many top IRL drivers, left CART in recent years. "They should just put it to bed, I think."

OWRS originally bid $1.6million for CART's assets, but George announced a bid of $3.3million last week. Both sides have said they anticipate the hearing will become a bidding war, with Gentilozzi saying the war won't get serious until it reaches $14million. For the IRL drivers eager to strap in and fire up, the view of the future is apparent: Be it unification or destruction, just end the war.

"If they do become one or if one side wins, it will only help single-seater racing in America," said Dixon. "That's definitely what needs to happen. Ever since the start of the split, NASCAR has only gotten stronger. From what you see now, the IRL is definitely a lot stronger than CART. They have more guys here, they have more cars, and they have more sponsors. CART looks pretty much dead. I would like to see it become one."

Whether it's this year or next year, the IRL eventually is going to lose its all-oval intention.

"That's a big deal to a lot of us," Dixon said. "At the time we moved, you could see CART going on the down. We all want to be employed, but most of us came from a road-racing background. If we could get to road courses, it would be extremely good for all of us."

Of course, they'd love to test their mettle against CART's best drivers. Of the 18 who signed in for the IRL Homestead test, 11 have roots in CART or CART feeder series.

"There's no animosity among the drivers," said Bryan Herta, about to start his second season in the IRL after eight in CART. "There's no reason for there to be any. I've driven on both sides, and it's true among CART drivers and IRL drivers. As a driver, you go where there's an opportunity. Sometimes it goes one way, sometimes it goes the other way."