Portland to lose race if merger happens

Maybe Mark Wigginton, the manager of Portland International Raceway, has the right idea: Don't worry about doomsday until it arrives. The news that Champ Car and the Indy Racing League are close to a merger — again — has caused barely a ripple in Portland. The city's 25th Champ Car race is scheduled for July 27 at PIR. But if Champ Car and the IRL merge before the start of the 2008 season, there most likely will be no Portland race.

Reportedly, only three Champ Car races would be absorbed in the merger — Long Beach, Edmonton and Surfer's Paradise in Australia (we hear Mexico City too). That would leave 11 scheduled Champ Car races out in the cold, including Portland, Houston, Laguna Seca, Cleveland, Toronto, Road America and maybe Mexico City. Oregonian