With Walker absent chasing funds, Gerry Forsythe having pulled the plug on his team and Paul Stoddart deciding not to pursue the Minardi Team USA programme, the final full-season entry comes from the Australian's former partner, Keith Wiggins, who had resurrected the HVM name to run rookie Ernesto Viso. Like NHLR, the team missed the Sebring test while it finished prepping its car, but Viso got valuable oval experience at Homestead earlier in the week.
"It was something completely different to what I have been used to in my career so far - I almost had to begin again from zero," the GP2 graduate comments, "But we continued to adjust the car and improved with every lap."
While insiders have admitted that the road and street courses may provide the newcomers with their best chance of success, there are three events in which they may have a better chance to shine, with Long Beach almost certain to provide a victory. That anomaly, however, will come against a regular CCWS field as the Californian city plays host to the final Champ Car event
ever after attempts to solve a date clash with Motegi resulted in both events being left to run as planned - with full IRL points on hand in each.
Edmonton and Surfers Paradise are the other two events to have survived the calendar cut and, while the Australian event could be either a non-points exhibition or early start to the 2009 campaign, both provide the Champ Car teams with the advantage of prior track knowledge.
The IRL regulars will start with the unfamiliar addition of a paddle-shift gearchange on the Dallaras - something that the Champ Car teams had on the Panoz DP01 last season - while the League has implemented a new weight policy for 2008, which includes car and driver in an effort to equalise the field and prevent lighter drivers - such as Danica patrick - gaining an advantage.
![Dan Wheldon - Target Chip Ganassi Racing and Marco Andretti - Andretti Green Racing, Homestead Open Testing [Pic credit: IndyCar Media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/410802.jpg)
