Denver's return to the schedule after 10 years should be a definite plus.The fact Dover Downs Entertainment and street course guru Chirs Pook have signed on for the effort are clearly positives.

On a recent edition of RPM2Night, Robin Miller wondered about the supposed length of the Denver contract. If I understood Robin's reasoning, he was not second guessing the move back to Colorado. Instead, he mused about the cost of any buyout should the race fail to draw profitable crowds.

The first time Denver was on the schedule, it was a welcome venue. The crowd response to the cars was positive and there was a carnival atmosphere surrounding the race. The eventual bankruptcy by event promoters took the stop off the calendar, but those who were part of the two-year run remarked about the hospitality and the scene that saw cars screaming past the U.S. mint.

Denver has grown a lot since CART's last visit. It's home to some rabid sports fans. The Pikes Peak track down the Interstate has helped bring mainstream media on board.

If, as suspected, a Labor Day-weekend date comes its way, the Denver race will fit nicely into the Colorado sports landscape. The Broncos will be just starting their season and the Rockies will be winding down theirs. Labor Day puts enough room between the Busch, Trucks and IRL events at Pikes Peak so as not to press the motorsports dollar.

If Pook can work some of his Long Beach magic, Robin won't need to worry about a buyout. The race will prosper.

Toyota tosses a wrench in CART's plans
On the other side of the coin, Toyota's announcement that it will only supply a 3.5-liter, normally aspirated V8 engine for top-tier, open-wheel racing in the United States, leaves CART with a tough decision.

If the circuit decides to stay with a turbocharged formula, its suppliers potentially drop to Honda and Ford. If Bobby Rahal's recent comments regarding Ford's possible departure are correct, that would leave only Honda to carry the CART engine banner.

The issue has divided CART ownership. Several tams have expressed a desire to see a common engine formula between the IRL and CART so as to expedite a return by additional teams to the Indy 500.

At present, CART owners Derrick Walker, Chip Ganassi and Roger Penske have returned to the Brickyard and have swept the top spot two years running. Still, the 3.5-liter formula has only oval time logged on it. CART's diversity of venues -- both road courses and ovals -- surely leaves some unknown factors for the IRL-type engine.

There seems to be little agreement on what direction to take. One idea that has taken root is the adoption of a one-engine plan, retaining the current turbocharged parameters.

There is no question Toyota has tried to force the hand of CART. Its IRL announcement earlier this season intimated this would be the company's tack. But no matter how you cut it, a supplier is trying to directly influence future rules.

But this issue runs deeper than simply an engine formula.

CART's broadcasts and marketing efforts have ridden on the broad financial shoulders of the engine suppliers. Much of the pint and electronic advertising surrounding CART carries the nameplates of Honda, Ford and Toyota. The loss of just one of these corporate partners crimps the financial picture.

Toyota will remain as supplier (and partner) in CART's support series, Toyota Atlantics, so it is possible some sort of arrangement can be hammered out.