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Champ Car owner makes plans for series to shut down

Champ Car team owner Derrick Walker said on Tuesday that he believes the racing series will fold, and is focusing his attention on running in the rival Indy Racing League this year.

"It has all the makings of the end of Champ Car," he said in a telephone interview. "How it's going to be done, I don't know. But I think Champ Car is going to shut down."

Champ Car officials say they will race this season.

Walker was so concerned about the series' future that he instructed the team to return to Indianapolis without ever testing his car in Sebring, Florida, earlier this month.

The comments come amid rampant speculation about what the future may hold for Champ Car.

Over the past week, there has been talk of the rival series nearing agreement on unification. IRL founder Tony George, who started his series in 1996, returned on Tuesday from a trip to Japan that many believe is a precursor to any possible merger.

"Discussions are ongoing, but the reality is that it's not helped by all these leaks and all these stories," said Kevin Kalkhoven, co-owner of the Champ Car series.

George has offered to make free Dallara chassis and Honda engines, along with the US$1.2 million in incentives it is paying each of its own teams to race in the IndyCar Series this year, available to Champ Car teams that join his league.

"Our executive team got back from Japan earlier today and we continue to work and see what we can accomplish here in the immediate future," IRL spokesman John Griffin said on Tuesday.
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