Reasons to be Cheerful:

As a longtime auto racing aficionado, it has been especially painful in recent years to see various genres torn apart by rival factions, rampant egos and petty politics.

There are, however, several beacons of hope that have been flickering of late: the long-awaited unification of North American open-wheel racing and the rejuvenation of sports car racing around the world. There remain two series promoters in North America - the American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am - which is far from ideal since both, by and large, are vying for the same fans and manufacturer dollars. Despite that, the ALMS, in particular, has displayed encouraging signs of growth that just might recreate what many insiders regard as the halcyon days of IMSA in the 1980s and early '90s when a wide variety of technologically advanced cars and high-quality drivers ensured some spectacular competition.

In an era which has witnessed an increasing proliferation of "one-make" series, the ALMS - inspired by decision-makers at the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, guardians of the world renowned 24 Hours of Le Mans - is enjoying a broadening variety of competitors and technology. It has wholeheartedly embraced a long-overdue emphasis on emerging "green" initiatives and seems to be flourishing as a result.

Sports car devotees are more than familiar with the Audi brand. Its sensational R8 design was a dominant force in the early part of the 21st century, and the trend has been continued with the ground-breaking V-12 turbo-diesel R10 TDI.

Audi's success has proved to be a double-edged sword. On the one hand it has frightened away many smaller, privateer teams. Contrarily it has prompted the emergence of a worthy challenger in the form of Peugeot. Last year the French auto giant debuted its own turbo-diesel design - a stunning coupe, in stark contrast to Audi's open-cockpit R10 - and immediately displayed prodigious speed by capturing the pole at Le Mans. That pace couldn't be replicated in the race, where Audi again swept the board, but Peugeot took the bold step of contesting the European-based Le Mans Series as a means of increasing the pace of its development.

In late January, a handful of American race fans enjoyed their first glimpse of the gorgeous 908 HDi when it appeared at the ALMS' regular preseason "Winter Test." Once again it was impressive, posting marginally quicker lap times than the previously all-conquering Audi. After some deliberation (primarily because Peugeot does not market its cars in the U.S.), the 908 HDi was entered at the season-opening Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in mid-March as a warmup for Le Mans. It performed extremely well, too, albeit without ultimately bearing fruit due to an hydraulic leak.

After the Audis also struck difficulty, victory in the classic Floridian long-distance event was taken by one of the "baby prototype" LMP2 cars. They might have been left a little breathless on the fast, wide-open expanses of the Sebring airport course but weren't far off the front-running LMP1 pace, and were there to pick up the laurels after the whispering-giant turbo-diesels hit trouble in one form or another.

Not surprisingly, it was one of Roger Penske's pair of factory-backed Porsche RS Spyders which picked up the slack as European duo Romain Dumas and Timo Bernhard continued a win streak that began at Mid-Ohio in 2007. The good news for American race fans was that Penske had finally found a gifted home-grown driver to join his powerhouse team - in the form of Patrick Long, who, two races later at Long Beach, displayed his worth by leading convincingly in the early stages after a sensational maneuver at the first corner.

Dyson Racing's similar Porsche RS Spyders completed the podium at Sebring, while a trio of factory-backed Acuras from Andretti-Green Racing, Lowe's Fernandez Racing and Patron Highcroft Racing also proved extremely competitive. Indeed, the battle between the Audis and the LMP2 cars will ensure an intriguing season, especially with the addition of a fourth Acura for former Indianapolis 500 winner Gil de Ferran, who produced a stunning debut this past weekend at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah, beating all bar the Penske Porsches.

There are plenty of other reasons to visit some ALMS races this season. The perennially crowd-pleasing pair of factory-blessed Chevrolet Corvette C6.Rs are sure-fire favorites in the GT1 class, for production-based cars, and feature cellulosic E85 ethanol - a high-octane, "renewable" alternative fuel - for the first time. At last they can expect some opposition in the form of a gorgeous Aston Martin DBR9 run by the experienced Bell Motorsports squad.

GT2, meanwhile, features another no-holds-barred battle for supremacy between Ferrari and Porsche, both of which have added more strings to their respective bows for 2008. The battle also has been heightened by the addition of fresh opposition from a Chevrolet Corvette, a Ford GT, and a bio-ethanol fueled Aston Martin V8 Vantage driven by one Lord Drayson, a former minister in the British Parliament, no less!

Other upbeat stories within the sports car realm include the unveiling of a stunning new Aston-Martin-powered Lola coupe which has added more luster to the European LMP field; and the eagerly anticipated ALMS return of BMW and its dazzling new-generation M3 coupe later this year, in concert with Rahal-Letterman Racing, in GT2.

In short, there has been a plethora of good news. And with the future of open-wheel racing also looking significantly brighter following the long-awaited get-together between Champ Car and the Indy Racing League, there are many reasons to be cheerful in "my" world of auto racing.