PWR pulls the plug on Servia

The 27-year-old, who finished sixth at Motegi last month, has been dropped because of a lack of finance.

A team statement said: "The decision was based upon difficult economic conditions that have contributed to a shortfall in funding to the team."

PWR, formerly known as PacWest will continue for the rest of the season running a Lola-Toyota for New Zealander Scott Dixon.

In recent years, PacWest lost sponsorship from Motorola and Hollywood cigarettes to other teams. Without a title sponsor, PacWest changed its name to PWR last winter but Servia and Dixon have struggled to produce results.

The news is another blow for CART. The field has now dropped to just 19 cars.

Servia was into his third season in Champ Cars having driven for PPI Motorsports and Sigma Autosport. He joined PWR this year as a replacement for Brazilian veteran Mauricio Gugelmin, who decided to retire from racing.

This month, he is concentrating on the Indianapolis 500 with Walker Racing. Servia is rated by Toyota and has been linked to a second seat with Walker's Champ Car team alongside Tora Takagi.