An overnight low-pressure weather system brought an estimated two inches ofsnow to the Lehigh Valley, causing the first postponement of a FedExChampionship Series event since the 1998 race at Nazareth was postponed dueto rain.

The race has been rescheduled for Saturday, May 27, and will be a one-dayaffair. Television coverage plans will be announced at a later date.

The starting grid was set Saturday, with defending FedEx Championship Seriesand race champion Juan Montoya (Target Toyota Lola) earning the poleposition at an average speed of 176.868 mph (19.255 seconds).

"There are two reasons we've done this," said CART President and CEO AndrewCraig. "Firstly, for the fans, and secondly, because there are severalsafety issues involved. From the fans' perspective, if we wanted, we couldsit here all day. Maybe the weather gets better, maybe it doesn't, and we'dleave an awful lot of good people wondering what we were doing. We justdon't think that's the right thing to do. We could come back tomorrow, butthere's no guarantee that we'd be able to race then, either. We think thatunder the circumstances, this course of action is the best for everyoneconcerned."

Said J. Kirk Russell, CART's first-year Chief Steward, "As Wally [formerCART Chief Steward Wally Dallenbach] said to me, 'This is your baptism byice.' The forecast yesterday said that the front would move throughovernight and clear out in the morning. Obviously, that wasn't the case.Along with the moisture, cold temperatures are a problem for the tires, andby the time we'll have a clear window, temperatures won't be warm enough, sowe're coming back at a later date."

With the rescheduled date, the Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix becomes Round 5of the FedEx Championship Series, following Round 4, the Firestone Firehawk500, Saturday, May 13 at Twin Ring Motegi, Japan.

Tickets for the rescheduled race are still available. All tickets purchased in advance for today's event will be honored on May 27. All tickets purchased in advance are on a "final sale" basis, and thus, as stated on the back of the ticket, the no-refund policy will apply. For ticket information contact the Nazareth Speedway ticket office at 888-629-RACE.