PacWest grounded at Mid Ohio.

PacWest Racing's participation in Sunday's Miller Lite 200 is now in doubt following an apparent dispute with engine suppliers Toyota, which resulted in neither Mauricio Gugelmin nor Scott Dixon turning a single lap in either of Friday's two practice sessions.

Although nobody was saying anything in the PacWest camp as their two Reynard-Toyota's sat silently in the Mid Ohio Sports Car course pitlane it appears as though a disagreement between PacWest team-boss Bruce McCaw and Toyota is going to prevent both Mauricio Gugelmin and Scott Dixon from participating in Sunday's Miller Lite 200.

Of the five Toyota powered teams currently on the CART FedEx grid, only PacWest pay for their engines although it is not known whether that was a contributing factor. PacWest are one of only two Toyota powered teams to have won a race in this year's CART FedEx Series thanks to Scott Dixon's Nazareth success and the current Jim Trueman Rookie of the Year points leader is the highest placed Toyota powered driver in the current points standings in sixth place overall.

An official statement regarding the participation of Dixon and Gugelmin in this Sunday's race is expected at some point on Friday although everyone in the team was decidedly tight lipped as practice continued at the 2.258-mile permanent road course.

If PacWest's short (the team used Mercedes engines until the end of 2000) tenure with Toyota power is over the team may struggle to find an alternative power source this as both Honda and Ford were very reluctant to supply more than their current quota of teams over the winter resulting in the departure of John Della Penna and PPI Motorsports at the end of last season.