Kevin Kalkhoven has admitted that the next couple of seasons could be tough for teams converting from the former Champ Car World Series to the newly-unified Indycar Series, but remained optimistic that the future was bright for open-wheel racing in the United States.
Asked whether he knew how many teams were thinking of switching sides despite the short notice of a unified series, the PKV Racing owner admitted that he was unable to commit a definite figure. Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing and Forsythe/Pettit Racing have been tipped to join PKV in fielding two cars in 2008, while Conquest Racing yesterday committed to a similar entry. Pacific Coast Motorsports has also said that it was looking at a two-car entry, despite having originally been tipped to return to the ALMS.
While less is known about the intentions of Dale Coyne Racing, Minardi Team USA and Paul Gentilozzi's Rocketsports, Walker Racing has expressed an interest in fielding a single car in 2008, most likely for Will Power under the Team Australia banner, although team boss Derrick Walker continues to wait on the go-ahead from business partner Craig Gore.
I really don't know," Kalkhoven admitted to SPEED TV's
Wind Tunnel show, "This is all still fairly new to all of them. I know of a few teams who have committed to doing it, [and] I know some others who are seriously considering it. They have some issues with the drivers that they've contracted [to] run road courses [in Champ Car], so there are still some things to go through but, overall, I'd say the mood is positive and I believe there is goodwill to try to get this done."
Kalkhoven paid tribute to both sides in managing to get the deal done after many false starts over the years, but insisted that he and his fellow Champ Car owners hoped to have a say in how the series - and particularly its calendar - shapes up in coming years.
