Paul Newman, Oscar-winning actor and co-owner of Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, plans to be on hand for the May 25 Indianapolis 500, the first time he has attended the big race since the rivalry between CART and the Indy Racing League began in 1996.

Newman, whose team was in CART, which later became the Champ Car World Series, refused to attend Indy, the IRL's showcase, during that period. Now that the two American open-wheel series have unified under the IRL IndyCar Series umbrella, the 83-year-old Newman is back, and happy about it.

"It (unification) was absolutely necessary for both groups," Newman said while at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last weekend for the opening of qualifications. "It's tragic that it didn't happen sooner, but it's good that it at least happened when it did.

"It's good to be back at Indianapolis," he added. "It brings back a lot of fond memories. We've won eight (CART/Champ Car) championships and come in second twice at Indianapolis, but never won The 500. It's wonderful to be running against Roger (Penske) and (Bobby) Rahal, and Michael (Andretti) and all those guys. It's comfortable."

Newman said he is hoping that, now that everyone is on the same page, that open-wheel racing can begin making a strong comeback.

"My favorite tradition (at Indy) was that it took a whole month," Newman said. "Indy started at the first of May and you had your reservation at the (speedway) motel. If you wanted (the room) for two days, you took it for the whole month or you wouldn't get it. We're going to work hard to get it back to that."