IndyCar's long term survival isn't threatened by a talentless hack like Danica Patrick leaving for NASCAR (where she's equally mediocre), it's the general lack of interesting courses that Indy races.
Anyhow...Bump for winter testing and the approaching 2012 season!
Looks like the Austin, TX, GP is still a go. In huge news, Kimi Raikonnen is back, and with Lotus-Renault; here's hoping they're more competitive this year than last year. A former world champion driving alongside the nephew of a 3-time world champion (and possibly the greatest legend in the sport) could be a formula for a great team, since Bruno Senna is showing a lot of promise. Cars are to debut soon, so I'm stoked.
All in all, I'm super excited, though there's no doubt this might be a less amazing year than 2011's historic season. My money is still on Sebastian Vettel to dominate though. That said, I hope some of the midfield teams step it up, like Williams (what's happened over there? Seriously! Twenty years ago they were THE team to beat, in the advanced era of active suspension, traction control, and turbochargers), Renault, and Sauber.