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The bumpy ride for the Atlantic Championship may get a bit rougher as series co-owner Jerry Forsythe is expected to announce today that he's setting up shop in the arch-rival Indy Lights Series.
While positioned by the team as a way to bolster its stable of race programs in the open-wheel ladder system, Forsythe's move to Indy Lights only increases speculation that Atlantic co-owners Kevin Kalkhoven and Forsythe want to sell the series by the end of the 2008 season.
But Neil Micklewright, Forsythe vice-president of operations, said the team is not abandoning Atlantic and will run cars in both series.
"This is an extremely exciting time for Forsythe Racing as we're once again in the thick of a title battle in the Atlantic Championship, while we're also looking to further bolster our race programs, starting with our Indy Lights announcement," he said.
"We believe the Firestone Indy Lights Series offers Forsythe Racing an additional platform to showcase our commitment to on-track excellence and our desire to win."
It is thought that series director Vicki O'Connor is trying to find an investor to guarantee the future of the 35-year-old Atlantic series.
Indy Lights is the primary feeder series for the Indy Racing League (IRL) and Forsythe's move has many thinking that it's a precursor to the team's entry into that series in 2009.
Until this year, the Atlantic Series was the final development stage for drivers heading to the defunct Champ Car World Series. But when Champ Car — also co-owned by Kalkhoven and Forsythe — folded in February, Atlantic became a ladder without a top rung.
The demise of Champ Car also left former Forsythe driver Paul Tracy of Toronto without a car for 2008. But he may make the move to the IRL a bit earlier than his old team as the 39-year-old is expected to announce his IRL debut in a press conference in Indianapolis today.
He will drive for Walker Racing in the Rexall Edmonton Indy on July 26. The deal brokered by IRL boss Tony George may also include this weekend's race at the mid-Ohio Sports Car circuit.
Tracy last raced for the Forsythe in Long Beach, Calif., in that series' final event. Tracy has 31 wins in his career and also took home the 2003 Champ Car title for Forsythe.
But the relationship deteriorated soon after and Forsythe and Tracy split after the Long Breach event.
While Kalkhoven's Champ Car team switched to the IRL along with a few other former Champ car outfits, Forsythe decided to suspend his top-tier racing program for 2008 and only race in the Atlantic.
Its No. 1 Atlantic driver, Toronto's James Hinchcliffe, is second in the championship standings with one win in three races.
Forsythe has a long history in Indy Lights, winning back-to-back championships beginning with the 1995 title claimed by Greg Moore of Maple Ridge, B.C., and another by David Empringham of Toronto in the following season.
No drivers for Forsythe's Indy Lights program have been named.
Special to The Globe and Mail
