I have been a lurker here at these forums for a very long time. Like many of you here, I have been a fan of open wheel racing since I was a kid and find the events of this season challenging to my faith and devotion.

The truth is now out there for the few left who care to see it that this "breakout ChampCar season" is anything but. It now seems obvious that the promises made by the Amigos were a brazen ill-advised and ego-driven bluff. I have been in the racing business my entire professional life and I have never seen anything as sad and ugly as this has now become. I don't like being lied to or being played for a fool and it is clear many of you don't either.

Now many of you here are frustrated and are eating each other alive while looking for someone to blame for the pending and inevitible failure of ChampCar. Self esteem is falling faster the the CART stock price in 2003 and fanatical FTG blind enthusiasm is being replaced by a dread of what happens next.

So, what does happen next?

Another five year plan? Sorry. I won't even buy a five month plan from this bunch. The past 15 years have seen too many people on both sides of The Split trying to sell eternal hope against a backdrop harsh market reality.

How about a new owner for ChampCar?

I suspect that many of you hope that Gerry Forsythe does the deal and the other 2.5 Amigos simply become car owners. The assumption probably is that GF will hire the right people and spend money marketing the series properly and disaster will again be averted. Then all will be well in the collective minds (and egos) of those who believe that ChampCar has still got winning hand somehow burried in all this mess.

Reality check: Look at GF's team -- Is it well run and is it sponsored?

Regardless, I imagine Gerry has had his fill of losing his ass.

Don't hold your breath for anyone else to step in unless it is the man everyone loves to hate from the other side of Indianapolis.

The truth is that this nightmare should not go on another second.

Openwheel racing must begin healing itself and that start with the fans dropping their mouse pad and keyboard weapons.

Divided we have fallen. United we will stand agian.

The time is upon all of us to end this tragic Civil War by looking at the facts and finding a common, realistic way forward.

The market has spoken. ChampCar isn't a brand. It has no economy behind it. It is simply unsustainable without the ego-driven investment of a bunch of very rich guys who have proven themselves to be just another bunch of hobby racers.

Indy Car, despite the lies that justified its creation, is more viable than ChampCar becuase it has the power of perceived inevitabilty and a brand that is defined by the Indianapolis 500. It is also a series that looks more like a CART wannabe with each passing year rather than the open wheeled NASCAR clone it was originally envisioned to be. Some here also forget that CART's greatest successes came when it was called the PPG IndyCar World Series not CART or ChampCar.

You have all debated endlessly about who has more fans and who has better attendance on these forums. The facts are out there if anyone bothers to look at them objectively. For several years, TV ratings have proven that Champ Car does not work on American TV. That isn't going to change...ever.

On the other hand, Indy Car Series ratings are showing relative stability above the basement floor where ChampCar now lies.

Attendance is wildly overstated by promoters on both sides. I know because I count seats and grandstands at events. I have been doing it since the 1980s and I can tell you without hesitation that the numbers we hear for the "Three Day Festivals of Speed" are utter fantasy -- including Long Beach, which sadly now has under 30,000 grandstand seats.

The hard truth is that there simply needs to be one series if the sport is ever to grow and thrive again. This needs to happen sooner rather than later even if it means that Champ Car goes to the great race track in the sky along with Can-Am, Trans-Am, F-5000, IMSA Camel GT and CART.

I we all don't like the fact that the (son of CART) Champ Car series won't win we need to find some perspective or do something else with our time.

The fact is that so much of what was once ours is now in the Indy Car Series and not in Champ Car: Indy, Milwaukee, Motegi, Mid-Ohio, Detroit, Penske, Ganassi, (Andretti)Green, Rahal, Honda, Target, 7-11, Motorola, Franchitti, Kanan, Dixon... the list goes on. More importantly however is the fact that all of the races have sanction fee paying promoters and all but one is in the US. Oh, they are also still payed to be on network TV.

So what exacly is it everyone fighting for in ChampCar? The right to race in Europe and Asia with drivers few Americans have heard of and near zero mainstream media coverage in the USA and time buy races on ESPN Classic? I don't remember getting the memo with market data about about there being a strong demand for a GP2 style series based in North America.

What is it that actually remains from CART in ChampCar? Newman/Hass, Coyne, Walker.... Paul Tracy, Tags, Long Beach, Toronto, Mexico City, Surfers, Road America, Portland, Cosworth, Bridgestone and Formula Atlantic. That is not enough to win given the shaky state of things.

Perhaps all that really drives the hard core fans who are left now is hatred for Tony George and the blind egos of a few rich guys who want to get their way. Hmm... flip that and you will see an irony.

Think about who has more to bring to the equation commercially if the series were combined. I personally doubt this favors ChampCar and Kevin's bluster about "50/50 or nothing" has proven to be just that. Bluster.

Back to my original question: What happens next?

Will the Vegas GP die too? IMHO, this is highly likely give the losses.

Will there be a Champ Car race in China in 2008 or ever, for that matter?
Highly unlikely given recent history.

Will Portland be gone? Looks like yes unless Champ Car underwrites it which, seems unlikely.

Will CDW bail? Why would they stay? Who is there to do B2B business with in a ChampCar paddock? Aussie Vinyards? Sonny's BBQ? Lexington? Motorock?

Will any new teams or major sponsors with activation budgets really come into ChampCar given the putrid climate created by overpromising and underdelivering, managment confusion, in season event cancellations and the skanky scent of AVN Racing and Hustler Clubs wafting in the air? Without major sponsors how will the significant losses by almost every ChampCar promoter be stopped?

Will there really be a new series sponsor annouced? That is the longest of long shots and everyone here knows this. NASCAR's former Busch Series, the Indy Car Series or the American Le Mans Series have a far better chances given their relative stability and the fact they are brand driven properties that are at least attempting to market themselves and create value. I know that deeply offends some Champ Car diehards here but basing a business on an audience that hates Tony George (or the Frances or Bernie) is not a business proposition. There aren't enough of you.

So, what will ChampCar's schedule really be in 2008?

Forget Mark C's fanatical daydream schedule... Think about it realistically.

Maybe 11 real races?

In the USA: FOUR Races - Long Beach, Houston, Cleveland, Road America

In Canada: THREE Races - St. Jovite, Toronto, Edmonton

The rest: Zolder, Assen, Mexico City, Surfers

Will the other Euro races happen? This is probably more likely than Orlando ever coming to life...

Imagine the schedule gaps...

It will be pathetic if a 2008 ChampCar season like this comes to pass. Forgive me but I don't think this is a viable proposition to sponsors and is nothing more than more time and money swirling down a rat hole.

I still love this sport but I now want to see it whole again... with one culture and one fan base.

As someone wiser than me once said:

"You got to get busy livin' or get busy dyin".

So, what happens next... now that blind faith or hatred won't work any more?