The merger to save open wheel racing

It could be off at the moment. That's how finicky this thing is.

Yes, I used this picture on purpose. That's Sam Hornish on the high side and Dario Franchitti on the low side. They were two of the IRL's best drivers. They're in the Sprint Cup now.

Champ Car needed this, and IndyCar needed this. The fans needed this, and it looks like we're finally going to see it.

Both series were going to have car counts that were going to be closer to 15 than to 20. Both series still had names (Paul Tracy, Graham Rahal, Will Power in Champ Car; Danica, Helio, Dan Wheldon in IRL) but weren't deep. Once you got past the five most recognizable drivers in the series, there was a serious drop off.

There should be 25 cars in the series every week. There's going to be a more equivalent road/oval split amongst the series' schedule. There's going to be more competition. There's going to be better television ratings. There's going to be a greater field for the Indianapolis 500. What's not to like?

Sure, some races will cease to exist (I hope that they keep the airport race at Cleveland. That has always been one of my favorites. Turn 1 on the first lap was always exciting) and some drivers will not have rides. Only about half of Champ Car's teams are expected to join the new series, and some IRL drivers may be left without rides. But I think the fans are willing to trade A.J. Foyt IV and Buddy Rice for Graham Rahal and Paul Tracy if necessary. (nothing against the former two drivers, and I hope that they are able to keep their rides)

This is a great step in the right direction for open wheel racing. This doesn't even come close to putting it on the same level as Sprint Cup, but they're now closer to the Busch* Series than they were before.