Before its demise in the mid 90's the American open wheeled championship was providing a serious rival to Formula 1 in terms of TV viewing figures and corporate sales. When the CART series split in 1996 Bernie Ecclestone and senior FIA members must have felt an overwhelming feeling of alleviation, for years the American market appeared impenetrable, now Formula 1 had a chance of coming to prominence in the richest world market.

Prior to its split the CART championship was not only hugely popular in the U.S, it was also of particular interest to the Japanese market and was growing in popularity within Europe. It was genuinely viewed as a satisfactory alternative to Formula 1, providing a serious thorn in Bernie Ecclestone's foot. Since the American series split into two however the popularity of open wheeled racing in the U.S has shrunk greatly. Fans did not have the patience to follow two American based series leading to a rift between the Indycar Series and Champ Car World Series. The result being open wheeled motorsport in the U.S became of little interest in to the public. While this removed a serious competitor from the global market it did not however pave the way to new horizons for Formula 1.

Formula 1 has never really been a hit to the American market; they have numerous American based franchises in their own country, what would attract them to following a global series? Furthermore since the times of Mario Andretti in the 70's there has been no great American driver in Formula 1. Had there been a leading American driver in Formula 1 things today may have been different and the sport may have the open wheeled racing monopoly in America. This however did not turn out to be the case.

At the beginning of 2008 the Indycar and Champ Car franchises chose to re- unite in a bid to attract larger TV audiences, not just in the U.S but also on a global scale. The sports management hopes to one day rival Formula 1 once again, six months on however and progress seems to be slow, this prompts the question, will a newly revamped Indy Racing League ever challenge Formula 1?

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