Team owner Chip Ganassi invited about two dozen media members to breakfast with him and driver Juan Pablo Montoya on Saturday and morning, and as you would expect, one of the first questions that came up was about the latest round of reunifcation/merger/takeover talks taking place between the Indy Racing Legaue and Champ Car.

Ganassi wouldn’t too much - he explained that he didn’t want to take attention away from the Daytona 500 - but he made it clear he’s hopeful a deal will finally get done.

“I don’t think there are five people on the planet that don’t want it to happen, so let’s hope it happens,” Ganassi said.

Ganassi, though one of the most prominent team owners in the IRL, said he has not been consulted to any great degree on what steps the IRL might take to create one story. It has been reported that if a deal is struck, IRL Tony George would see to it that every team from Champ Car wanting to race in the IRL would receive $1.2 million, one car and one engine for the 2008 season.

“The only consultation was I had a phone call one day, and they said if we get this thing back together, we might need a car,” Ganassi said, offering no other details. “I said no problem.”

Asked how long he thinks it would take for a single, stronger open-wheel series to start gaining some momentum, Ganassi wouldn’t speculate.

“Well certainly, if we were to get back together, that’s’ only when the work would begin,” he said. “It’s probably like the ‘94 baseball strike: The work really beganonce you get the problems behind you. It would be nice to get all the issues in one place and all the rulesmakers in one place and the promoters in one place and get everybody at one table instead of two. It would certainly end a lot of confusion in the marketplace.”

Ganassi has three cars in Sunday’s Daytona 500 - the No. 40 of Dario Franchitti, the 41 of Reed Sorenson and the No. 42 of Montoya. Sorenson’s car has been one of the strongest Dodges this week.

In April, Ganassi’s two IRL drivers - Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon - will compete in the Honda Grand Prix of St. Pete.