For the past 30 years open-wheeled motor racing in America - commonly known as IndyCar racing - has been dogged by enough in-fighting, rows, splits and enmity to fill an entire season of Dallas or Dynasty. As a result it has struggled to maintain a foothold in a nation still dominated by four major sports: baseball, American football, ice hockey and basketball. IndyCar must also compete for precious viewing figures with the more popular Nascar, America’s cartoonishly colourful stock-car series, and formula one, a sport with far more appeal to a global audience. IndyCar frequently produces races that are more exciting than anything you might see in Nascar or F1 - the problem is, no one has been watching them.

IndyCar’s troubles date back to 1979, when a group of disgruntled team owners split from the United States Automobile Club (IndyCar’s governing body), to form the Cart (Championship Auto Racing Teams) series. Cart was successful for many years and even attracted F1 drivers - Nigel Mansell won the title in 1993 - to its oval tracks. However, the Indianapolis 500, America’s most famous open-wheeled race, continued to be run by the USAC. The strained alliance between Cart and the USAC continued until 1994, when Tony George, the owner of the Indy Motor Speedway, created his own breakaway series, the Indy Racing League. George demanded that the majority of entrants in the Indy 500 be IRL drivers, a move that prompted Cart to boycott the race for several seasons. In 2003 Cart went bankrupt, only to be revived as the Champ Car series one year later. Continued

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