Homestead and St. Louis dropped for 2001

"With the continued growth and interest in our racing series, both domestically and overseas, we are faced with several difficult scheduling decisions," explained Rahal.

"Requests for Fedex Championship Series events are at an all-time high and we must make the most prudent choices for CART, its fans, sponsors, race teams and shareholders.

"It is CART's belief that it is in the best interest of our race series that we move in a different direction as we prepare for next year."

A new race at Monterrey in Mexico has already been confirmed for 2001, and it now seems increasingly likely that both Rockingham in England and Germany's Lausitzring will also be part of the calendar next season.

Both Homestead and St. Louis were comparatively recent additions to the calendar, their inaugural CART events taking place in 1996 and 1997 respectively. Neither ever attracted the size of crowd desired and there was general criticism of Homestead's suitability as a venue for the pre-season media events and the season opener.

This weekend could also see the last visit of the series to Detroit's Belle Isle Park circuit. The organisers have already been told that their contract will not be renewed after it expires in 2001 and there have been suggestions that CART will attempt to buy-out the last year of the contract and move the race elsewhere for next season.