In a nearly unanimous decision, CART's 22-member board of directors approved a shift from its current turbo-charged engine to a 3.5-liter, normally aspirated one.

"CART's leadership position in open-wheel racing dictated for us to make an aggressive step toward the future in the best interest of our sport," CART chairman and CEO Joe Heitzler said. "We will have a normally aspirated formula similar to all major racing series in the world, including Formula One, but will continue to have our own distinctive engine formula for the most competitive and challenging series in the world."

The move follows last week's announcement by Toyota that the only engine it will supply will be the one that meets IRL specifications. At the time, the Japanese automaker expressed impatience with CART's failure to announce its engine plans.

"Our timetable for business planning reached a critical point and we simply couldn't wait any longer -- Toyota has made its decision," senior vice president J. Davis Illingworth Jr. said at the time. "From a financial perspective, it is not prudent for Toyota to supply two different engine specs for U.S.-based, open-wheel racing while also in the early stages of a Formula One program internationally."

Speaking at last week's Formula One United States Grand Prix, another Toyota executive said, "The ball is in CART's court and it appears that they have fumbled it away. Even if CART decides to accept this rules package, it may be too late for us to compete in CART in 2003."

At the time of Toyota's announcement, IRL founder and president Tony George -- who also owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and was behind the split of the open-wheel circuits six years ago -- would not comment directly on CART's decision-making process.

"They have to do what is in their best interest as far as an organization and a series based on the racing they do," he said. "I wouldn't necessarily say it's in their interests to adopt our engine specifications. That's for them to decide.

"I'm confident they will remain true to the IRL philosophy. They have put a lot of effort into the discussions. Over a year was put forth in the process and how they were received. The result is they are very interested in joining us in 2003. The stakes will be higher, but we are looking forward to making an impact in helping grow our series."

IRL spokesman Fred Nation said there have been no talks with the CART "in recent months," but added, "If they are going to adopt the IRL rules, they have to make it available to everybody that wants one at our controlled price, and more importantly, under our developmental controls."

CART outlined listed several benefits to the switch, including reduced costs and lower, safer speeds on oval tracks. It also means CART teams that compete at the IRL-sanctioned Indianapolis 500 will not have to purchase separate engine packages.

"Some of the CART teams have talked about using our basic engine and allowing their engine builders to develop more horsepower. That becomes a very different engine, both on a cost standpoint and a competitor's standpoint," Nation said. "It's not just becoming an IRL engine by building a 3.5-liter engine.

"If that's what they are doing, great, but if it's not subject to cost controls and development controls, then it's not as significant a development from our standpoint because those engines could not be used in both series."