Penske closer to quitting CART.

Roger Penske looks set to deal the FedEx Championship Series a mighty blow next week, as speculation intensifies that he is to pull out of Champcar racing in favour of the rival Indy Racing League.

Penske notched up his tenth title this year, courtesy of Gil de Ferran's second successive crown, but has been increasingly edging towards the oval only IRL series in which he won this year's Indianapolis 500.

According to ESPN.com, Penske is expected to announce his defection at a special press conference in Indianapolis next week. It is thought that he will be taking both de Ferran and Indy winner Helio Castroneves to the IRL with him, although rumours in the Fontana paddock at the weekend suggested that the younger Brazilian may opt to leave the team to remain in the CART series. Both drivers have one full year to run on their existing contracts, however.

"Roger told me he was out of CART, period," rival team owner Morris Nunn told the US channel.

Although the grapevine in California yesterday continued to insist that Penske would have a presence in both series, ESPN believes that the final say will fall to sponsor Marlboro. Because of the USA's tobacco sponsorship laws, the Phillip Morris brand could not be displayed at Indy, because brands may only appear in one series each season. The parent company is reportedly keen to see its red-and-white colours at the Brickyard in 2002, and may not countenance Penske running unbranded in twenty-plus CART races when there will be only a handful fewer events on the IRL calendar.

A founding member of the CART series, Penske refused to be drawn on his team's future when questioned at the Champcar finale last weekend.

"We're evaluating what our position will be next year," he said, "Our sponsor is concerned about the number of CART races outside the country, because they also sponsor the Ferrari team in Formula One, and we certainly want to go back to Indy. We've still got some pieces we need to put together."