It's over

Reaction is coming in from all fronts as the Indy Racing League and Champ Car World Series announced a merger unifying the two open-wheel racing series on Friday.
The Indy Racing League released a statement that said:
"Owners of Champ Car and the Indy Racing League completed an agreement in principle Friday that will unify the sport for 2008.
Gerald Forsythe, co-owner of Champ Car, signed an agreement in principle in Chicago, joining his partner Kevin Kalkhoven and Indy Racing League founder and CEO Tony George who had signed late Thursday in Indianapolis."
The unification ends a split in open-wheel racing that has existed in the United States since 1996 when George started the IRL as a option to the existing CART series. CART eventually went into bankruptcy and became the Champ Car World Series.
John Andretti, a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver who raced in last year's Indianapolis 500, said the merger will make "everything stronger."
"I thought that years ago when CART was being sold off that the judge made the best decision he could, but I think if you take all of the circumstances into account, this could have been resolved then," Andretti said. "Tony could have played hardball in my opinion and he didn't. He's always played fair. This could have happened a long time ago, but it's better to happen now than to keep whittling on."
Eddie Gossage, the president of Texas Motor Speedway, released a statement that described the merger as "spectacular news" but acknowledged that there is a lot of hard work left to be done.
"We all have to be cautious because the act of unifying open-wheel racing in America is not a
cure for all that ails the sport," said Gossage, who runs the tracks that hosts the Bombardier Learjet 550k. "It is a necessary and huge first step, but there is much work to be done.”
Details of the deal were not released or announced.
Michael Andretti, who co-owns the Andretti Green Racing team in the IRL, said this is a huge day for the IndyCar Series.
"Over the years, whether I was in the role of driver, team owner or promoter, I have always wanted a unified sport," Andretti said. "That has been my only goal throughout this entire process and I applaud everyone who played a role in making this happen. So many people have worked tirelessly, both publicly and behind the scenes, to get this done. Everyone can now focus on taking the IndyCar Series to new heights for the good of our sport and everyone involved in it."