Indy Racing League expects smaller fields in 2009

Indy Racing League president of competition Brian Barnhart has admitted that next year's IndyCar Series is likely to see smaller grids - and said he was frustrated that the US open wheel reunification had coincided with an economic downturn. The merged IndyCar championship featured 26-car fields for most of 2008, but many teams are finding it difficult to raise sponsorship for next season. KV Racing's future is in doubt as the loss of the Surfers Paradise race is set to lead to main sponsor Craig Gore's departure, Rahal Letterman Racing's main backer Ethanol is reportedly unlikely to return, and Newman/Haas/Lanigan have informed Justin Wilson that they might have to scale back to a single-car team. Barnhart said that IndyCar racing deserved to be in buoyant shape given reunification and breakthrough events such as Danica Patrick and Graham Rahal's maiden victories, and that the global economic problems had come at a very bad time for the series. ... notes from The EDJE