Cairo, NY -- May is over and the one-trick pony has been led back to the barn.  Thus far in the short life of the "unified" Indy series the talk has been about the splitter un-splitting the split, the anomaly of a couple of dubious winners and, of course, the vaunted marquee event.

But that's about to change as the novelty of mergification and the annual month-long propaganda-fest quickly wear off. 

Fans and critics alike will be questioning f-inheritor's ability to keep American open-wheel racing alive, let alone prosperous -- especially since the highlight of the marquee event, according to both fans and the shill literati, was the on-camera hissy fit thrown by the series' best-known driver.

As is the case with every sport, people will always be eager to jump on a winner's bandwagon  This usually translates into increased attendance revenue and greatly enhanced marketing potential. 

However, when the best that the home office sloganeers can muster is "Wait until next year" or in this case, "Stick around while we tweak things for 2011" how can the fan base be expected to grow?

The f-inheritor brain trust [sorry for the oxymoron] inviting engine manufacturers to attend a round table -- even though everyone knows Honda will have the inside line on any changes in the series for the next five years -- is like the Yankees inviting sandlot all-stars to the Stadium to try out for an opening on the roster in 2011.

From this AutoWeek report ...

"Now is the time to re-energize our sport and look to the future," Speedway boss Tony George said. "We are committed to creating strong partnership value and opportunities for our teams by looking at relevant technology that will entice manufacturers to participate within a cost-conscious formula."

The IRL has retained RWB of Torrance, California, to work in concert with the series to develop the round table. RWB's Neil Ressler will facilitate the round table discussions. Ressler spent 34 years with the Ford Motor Company, most recently as vice president and chief technical officer, Research and Vehicle Technology, before retiring in 2001.

The IRL's objectives for its round table include:

 -  Make the technical aspects of the IndyCar series more relevant to the challenges facing the automobile industry now and in the future.

 - Review and define the technical specifications and align them with the R&D efforts already underway by the automobile industry.

"Our approach to this round table is fresh, and we are targeting senior level automotive executives to come to Indianapolis and collectively determine the options and vision for the IndyCar Series' next generation racing platform," said Brian Barnhart, IRL president of competition and racing operations. "Our goal is to create a relevant engine platform that is strategically aligned with major automotive manufacturers' existing and future programs and initiatives."

Phony hype like this may create publicity but discerning fans will ultimately realize just how desperate this series is to be more competitive and more widely accepted. 

With a plethora of viable series currently available to them, why would any manufacturer be serious about a discussion so far in advance of the would-be 2011 spec changeover?  Furthermore, because of the ongoing oil crisis, the auto industry is in such a precarious position today that it is difficult to formulate a marketing plan for the coming year, let alone for five years in the future.

It's all for one all right. One splitter, one unifier, one event, one engine, one temperamental star, one long wait until 2011...