Since the Indy Racing League began in 1996, there has been criticism regarding the resulting division of the Indy Car discipline. What if the IRL was never founded? What would the sport look like today?

Buddy Lazier, Greg Ray, Sam Hornish Jr. and Scott Sharp likely would not have won the CART FedEx Championship the way they did the IRL title. It's also a safe bet that none would have ever made it to the top rung of open wheel racing.

Lazier toiled at the back of CART's pack. Despite promising potential, the second-generation driver was unsuccessful at landing a steady ride in CART and settled for marginal operations that did little to further his career. When the IRL took hold, veteran Indianapolis 500 owner Ron Hemelgarn picked up Lazier. Together, the two captured the Indy 500 in 1996 and then completed the slam with an IRL crown in 2000.

Ray dreamed about racing at Indy. He would get up in the middle of the night to watch ESPN's "Legends of the Brickyard." He announced to his fellow students at a driving school that he intended to parlay his attendance into an Indy 500 ride. Several years passed between that announcement and his first start at the 500. In between, Ray won a SCCA Formula Atlantic title and drove Toyota Atlantics and Indy Lights with few offers to move up to CART. Because of the IRL and the decision by John Menard to support his friend Tony George, Ray went on to win races and a title in 1999.

Hornish was only 15 when CART and the IRL divided the Indy community. After a WKA karting career, it was Hornish's dad that paid the freight for him to pursue a professional career. Hornish didn't have a corporate or private benefactor to wrap his resume in. Instead, he hoped his lightening quick reflexes and laid-back manner would earn him a spot in the Indy Car fraternity. After driving for PDM racing, Hornish got noticed by a team that would not exist were it not for the IRL -- Pennzoil Panther. Now Hornish is an IRL champion and sought after by more than a few IRL operations.

What about Sharp? After qualifying for the 500 in 1994, he was offered a contract with PacWest Racing. He signed it while television cameras rolled only to lose his ride at the end of the season. PacWest has since closed its doors and Sharp drives for one of the IRL's top operations. After his PacWest disaster, Sharp fought injuries and the Brazilian invasion into CART. When A.J. Foyt sided with George, Sharp followed and captured a piece of the first IRL title. But the learning curve was still working overtime. It took a couple of seasons for the Norwalk, Conn., native to get a firm grip on the nuances of Indy Cars and now is an outstanding open wheel driver.

Would any of these four be in Indy Car racing if the IRL was not around? I think not.

The landscape at NASCAR would be different, too. Tony Stewart toiled on the Midwest's short tracks with little fanfare. Despite winning all three of USAC's top divisions (Silver Crown, Midget and Sprint) in the same season, the Indiana native was on the outside looking in until Larry Curry convinced Menard to take a chance on him. After winning the IRL title, NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs snatched up Stewart and begain grooming him for a career in stock cars. Were it not for the IRL, we might be seeing Stewart driving in the World of Outlaws instead of owning Danny Lasoski's WOO operation.

What about the Indy Car itself? CART's preoccupation with cutting-edge technology -- with little regard for cost containment -- has finally caught up with them. Their 2003 programs include freezing development and using a spec, series-provided powerplant. Without the IRL, might they have gotten to this point sooner? Maybe. If these moves were made back in the early '90's, would there have been a need for the IRL? Maybe not.

So much has been speculated about the IRL's original mission. Was it supposed to open the doors to aspiring Americans ands blunt the South American and European invasion? Should it be a low-cost alternative to CART's escalating operational costs? Was it just George's toy? It seems so long ago, it is hard to separate fact from fiction.

I am certain if George had seen moves that opened up opportunities in Indy Car racing for all drivers, that there would have been no need for the IRL. He witnessed first-hand the frustrating "closed circle" that existed inside Indy Car racing's ownership. When Al Unser Sr. was denied a ride at Indy because Chevrolet would not provide additional engines to a particular owner so that the four-time champ could compete, George frowned.

When Roger Penske used his resources to build a Mercedes "stock block" for Indy only, George cringed. The playing field was slanting in the wrong direction. Today these two previous adversaries are part of the IRL camp. George does not hold grudges. Instead he keeps the ultimate goal in focus.

The increasing number of road racing events played into the hands of non-American drivers who cut their teeth turning right and left. Road racing outside the United States is like soccer. It is accepted as the ultimate motorsports venue. Inside the United States, however, short track ovals and American football rule. Road courses have little connection to George's Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ovals do.

What if the IRL wasn't around? Texas fans would never be treated to the heart-stopping displays of guile and speed that have characterized IRL races at Texas Motor Speedway. Nazareth Speedway would be a research and testing facility. NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series would be the only alternative for new circle tracks that have been built. There would be more Indy Car street races and fewer Chicagoland and Kansas sold-out Indy Car events.

Indy Cars would be the stepping-stone to Formula One. There would be no Rick Mears "rags-to-riches" stories for the 21st century. Instead it would be about young drivers from across the globe honing their skills in the U.S. before tackling Michael Schumacher and David Coulthards.

The Indy 500 would still be the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing," NASCAR would still be America's racing leader and the U.S. Grand Prix would likely have a CART race as part of the F1 weekend.

If the IRL did not exist, the landscape for Indy Car racing would be different. I'm just not sure it would be better.