Michigan to be axed after 2001 race.

CART and Michigan International Speedway [MIS] have jointly announced that the Champcar series will not return to race at the two-mile oval after this year's event.

The announcement was made last night by CART chairman/CEO Joseph Heitzler and MIS President Brett Shelton.

"The future holds many exciting opportunities for CART and we look forward to the continued growth of our racing, both domestically and around the world," said Heitzler, "Each race we consider must make business sense for us, our shareholders and investors and our race promoter. In this instance, it was determined that it is in the best interest of our race series to look at other alternatives."

CART also runs its Champcars at California Speedway, which, like MIS, is owned by International Speedway Corporation [ISC].

"ISC is a very important CART partner, and we are committed to extending our relationship to conduct our race events at ISC tracks where we believe we can achieve mutual success," said Heitzler of the motor racing organisation that owns twelve major motorsports facilities throughout the US, "We have a terrific event at California Speedway, which we are committed to through 2004 and look to take our racing to other ISC facilities in the future."

Shelton said the Speedway and ISC have examined the options and believe it is in their best interest to pursue other alternatives.

"The CART races at Michigan International Speedway have provided our fans with some terrific racing over the years," said Shelton, "And, although this is a difficult decision, we believe it is in the best interest of both CART and ISC's long-term growth strategies."

The Michigan 500 Presented by Toyota this coming July 22 marks the 33rd CART event at Michigan International Speedway.