Free Republic

The long, costly war between Champ Car and the Indy Racing League is close to being over and, for the first time since 1995, there could be one open wheel series for 2008. But there’s still one major hurdle to overcome to make this long-awaited union a reality. SPEED has learned that Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe, the co-owners of Champ Car, have reached an agreement with IRL founder Tony George to race together this season. As reported by SPEEDtv.com recently, George offered the Champ Car ownership free Dallara chassis and Honda engines to any CC team that signs up...

Danica Patrick's new car got a grand introduction on Tuesday. She took it on a short ride through the Chicago streets before officially unveiling the No. 7 Motorola she will drive for Andretti Green Racing next season. ``It's black, it's sort of sleek, it looks fast,'' Patrick said. And it resembles a batmobile. She hopes it performs like one, too. Patrick rode to stardom in 2005 when she finished fourth at the Indianapolis 500 and was the IRL rookie of the year. But this year was difficult. Teammate Paul Dana died after crashing during a warm-up for the season-opener at...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A fellow IRL driver says Danica Patrick has what it takes to succeed if she switches to the paint-swapping world of NASCAR and she's plenty aggressive in open-wheel racing when it's ``the right time of the month.'' Ed Carpenter, who trails Patrick by four slots in the IRL IndyCar Series' points race, made the comment when asked how Patrick might handle NASCAR racing during a radio appearance to promote Saturday night's Firestone Indy 200. ``I think Danica's pretty aggressive in our cars,'' Carpenter said Wednesday on WGFX-FM in Nashville. ``I mean, you know especially if you...

Filed at 1:16 p.m. ET INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Al Unser Jr. was arrested Tuesday on charges he hit a woman in the face before leaving her on the side of a highway in the middle of the night. The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner was released from the Marion County jail after posting a $30,000 bond. He avoided reporters when he left. The woman, Jena L. Soto, was found standing next to a guardrail on Interstate 465 at about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday. She told police she was Unser's girlfriend of four years. Soto was driving the car because Unser was drunk,...