Champ Car in the rocks?

I have been tentatively following this wherever I can over the last while and by the sounds of it Champ Car is really on the rocks. They've only got about five drivers signed up to drive this year, a poor home-grown driver presence and the need for drivers to pay to drive - there seems to be more mounting talk about the Indy Racing League and Champ Cars (finally) rejoining to form one series.

For those of you not familiar with the split, the old Indycar series was split in two. Champ Car, then known as CART, had all the big name drivers and teams while the IRL got the Indy 500. How things have gone pear shaped over the past few years. Champ Car's fall seem to begin when their teams began to make once-off appearances for the show-piece event.

This was followed up by the big name teams like Andretti Green, Chip Ganassi, Rahall et al switching codes. Now Champ Car runs majority with non-American drivers who couldn't make the step up to Formula One on this side of the Atlantic. While Bourdais has walked away with multiple titles, one must consider the lack of top class competition for the Frenchman during his time. Would he have been as successful back in the days of Andretti, Montoya, de Ferran and Castroneves graced the field?

Now all that is left is the carcass of a once great series. It appears to be a matter of 'when' and not 'if' it will either close it's doors or goes into talks with IRL. Champ car stalwarts Newman Hass Lanigan Racing, one of the last of the big name teams left in the league has sent the clearest message, claiming that they will leave for the IRL unless a merger between the two series is found.

A merger would allow single seater racing to once more flourish state-side. Since the split, both series have failed to dominate the motorsport market. In fact it seems that NASCAR has driven down the middle and sits atop of American motorsport. A united series that took advantage of the circuits and drivers under each organisation could once more return respect and television coverage for the single seater division.

Of course that all depends on people looking past their ego's for the betterment of the sport.