Wednesday, February 13, 2008

The Best News You Don't Care About

PS (Pre-Script): I will insert a religious thought at the end of this post--lest you think I would dare forget to view EVERYTHING in my life through the lens of a minister.The almost two decades of a split in the world of open wheel racing is coming to a close. The story is long and complicated, but it amounts to the owner of the Indianapolis 500 (and the IndyCar Series--and a member of Traders Point Christian Church in Indianapolis ... er ... Zionsville) getting to declare victory. The Champ Car Series is running on fumes--and somebody left the gas cap off.

If rumors are true, Champ Car will declare bankruptcy soon and the teams that have the financial backing necessary will switch to the IndyCar Series. I'm thrilled. I'm thrilled because the split has been horrible for open wheel racing. I'm thrilled because I prefer this kind of racing to NASCAR. I'm thrilled because I grew up near the Indy 500 and have a soft spot for it.

Now for the religious thought: The unification of the two series and the ending of the rift have nothing to do with one side giving, being humble, or doing what's best for the sport. The unification is going to happen because there just isn't enough money to support two series.

Have you ever wondered what it will take for churches to unite? My former boss, Wiley "Pete" Harris used to tell me that churches will merge only when they have to, because finances are running too short. He told me this when were serving a church that had talked about merging with a local UCC church and a Presbyterian church. Why? These churches were built during the NASA boom that hit Florida's Space Coast--then, all at once, they all felt the financial crisis.

Once the area recovered, unification became a non-issue.

There you go ... I "shoe-horned" a religious thought into my happiness at the prospect of a unified open wheel circuit.

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