If nothing else, the open-wheel unification has lessened the anxieties of Indy Racing League officials that some of their marquee drivers will pursue more appealing and lucrative deals elsewhere.

The IndyCar Series is not without superstars -- two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves and 2005 IRL champion Dan Wheldon. It, too, has one of auto racing's most popular and well-known figures in Danica Patrick.

Yet, IRL officials concede it was a jolt when three-time IRL champion Sam Hornish Jr. and 2007 Indianapolis 500 winner and series champion Dario Franchitti bolted for NASCAR.

Until the Champ Car Series essentially dissolved into the IRL creating a unified IndyCar Series, media attention focused mostly on how Hornish and Franchitti might fare during their first full Sprint Cup seasons.

While the unification didn't necessarily shift neither focus nor discussion, it provided the IRL with some needed exposure. So far, the IndyCar Series, which plans to expand its schedule over the next few seasons, has fared relatively well with television ratings.

Those television ratings are expected to get a boost during tonight's SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond International Raceway. The 300-lap race is scheduled for an 8 p.m. start on ESPN.

IRL officials are hoping to enhance the series' popularity, and it's no secret Franchitti and Hornish returning to open-wheel racing would provide a huge boost.

"I sure like to think it's possible those drivers could return to the IndyCar Series," said Terry Angstadt, president of IRL's commercial division. "The drivers who have left, we wish them the best. We absolutely have no hard feelings.

"I don't know how particularly happy they are now. But that's their issue. Are they welcomed back here? From the league perspective, absolutely."

Angstadt, too, would welcome back other former open-wheel drivers like 2000 Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya and former Champ Car star A.J. Allmendinger. However, both recently suggested they are determined to succeed at NASCAR.

"I think we are going to have plenty of success," said Montoya, who drives for Chip Ganassi Racing, which also employs IndyCar Series points leader Dixon and third-place Wheldon. "I can't say I have thought about going back."

Angstadt acknowledges that money is likely to drive the decision of those potentially coming and going.

"For the most part, it's the economic advantage they get in going [to NASCAR]," Angstadt said. "There's no harm in making more money.

"Now, if we do our job in the IndyCar Series, then we will lose fewer of those [top] drivers. You have those who will say I've won the Indianapolis 500 and the championships and would like a new driving challenge -- that was probably the case with Dario and Sam.

"We realize that if we raise the economic value of our sport, we probably won't lose any more drivers," Angstadt added. "Certainly, we think unification is going to make our sport even more appealing to our top drivers."

The Times-Dispatch reported earlier this week that Wheldon is expecting to remain with Chip Ganassi Racing instead of exploring possible options with NASCAR. That, of course, was good news to IRL officials.

"We want to keep our drivers," Angstadt said. "It's a business challenge.

"I think we'll always be concerned that we'll lose other drivers. I think being realistic that if we do our job that will happen far and few between."

Right now, Angstadt and other IRL officials are focusing on introducing their rookies and former Champ Car Series drivers to fans.

"We're doing what we can as quickly as possible to make sure that people know a Will Power and Justin Wilson and a Graham Rahal," Angstadt said. "When we get people to know them, they are going to like them."