While CART races to the end of its season, the beleaguered sanctioning body continues to absorb heavy body blows to its future. Sports Business Journal reported in this week's edition that its five-year association with FedEx might have reached a termination point.

The Journal cited industry sources saying the delivery system's estimated $5 million annual sponsorship and marketing agreement will cease at season's end despite three years left on the contract, which was renewed just last year. According to the published report, FedEx has an escape clause and intends to exercise it.

CART officials and officials at Velocity Sports & Entertainment, which handles the FedEx CART program, deny that any final decision has been made.

"A number of sources across the industry, however, indicated the decision was a fait accompli," reports the Sports Business Journal.

The loss of FedEx -- if it does happen -- will further cripple CART's attempts at reinventing itself and surviving. Top teams have already bolted for the Indy Racing League as have major marketing partners Honda and Toyota. Brown and Williamson Tobacco and its KOOL brand, disappointed in their investment, will leave the sport entirely at season's end.

Momentum has shifted away from CART and it has affected its stock price, too. Once a double-digit value on the NYSE, CART shares continue to hover more than 70 percent below their all-time high.

While this financial siege continues, what does CART do? It trots out two of its former champions -- Jacques Villeneuve and Juan Pablo Montoya -- to fire some verbal shots at the IRL.

"The IRL hurt CART a lot by doing a cheap series that there was no reason for its existence," Villeneuve said recently. "What the IRL has created is entertainment. It's not racing."

Montoya took his turn as well.

"IRL racing is quite disappointing," Montoya said. "I raced those cars and I've got to say the opportunity I had was good because I won the Indy 500, but those cars don't compare with Champ cars."

Still, It is the IRL that shows growth.

Upticks in attendance and TV ratings marked the end of the IRL's 2002 season. Increased fields and a more competitive product sit on the horizon. That is not to say the IRL is in the clear. Team costs have increased and some of its original teams face a financial crossroads that threatens their continuation.

Sam Schmidt Motorsports, Treadway Racing and Billy Boat might not return next year unless increased sponsorship monies come their way. Schmidt has already shifted focus to the IRL's Infiniti Pro Series.

Villeneuve's observation that the IRL is entertainment is what CART refuses to deal with. NASCAR is entertainment and it is America's industry leader. Successful enterprises always produce an entertainment factor. Just ask other professional sports.

FedEx doesn't care about CART or its battles. It does care about successfully marketing its service, increasing its stock price and improving its market share. Evidently, CART no longer delivered.