FONTANA, Calif. (AP) – The final race of the CART season was canceled because of the wildfires in and around San Bernardino County.

The race was scheduled for Sunday at California Speedway, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles. Track officials said Tuesday night the King Taco 500 had been postponed, but CART released a statement Wednesday saying the race would not be run.

The only other cancellation in CART’s history was on April 29, 2001, at Texas Motor Speedway when drivers complained of dizziness after practicing on the high speed oval.

Saturday’s scheduled NASCAR Winston West race, which would have decided the championship between points leader Scott Lynch and No. 2 Mike Duncan, was postponed to an undetermined date.

The San Bernardino range east of Los Angeles and the mountains of eastern San Diego County are the focal points in the long arc of wildfires that officials said Wednesday had roared across more than 608,000 acres – about 950 square miles, nearly the area of Rhode Island.

At least 16 people have died since Oct. 21, and more than 1,600 homes have been destroyed.

At one point, fires were within five miles of the racetrack, although that threat subsided as the blaze moved away. But track president Bill Miller said public officials had encouraged the track to postpone the race.

“As the fires have continued to spread, several issues were considered for us to arrive at this decision, including the proximity of the fire, the air quality, transportation issues and staffing requirements from a fire safety, medical, security and volunteer standpoint needed to stage an event,” Miller said.

Wildfires previously forced postponement of a NASCAR Winston Cup race scheduled for July 4, 1998, at Daytona Beach, Fla. That race was run three months later.

CART ran what turned out to the last race of its 2003 season last Sunday in Surfers Paradise, Australia. Rookie Ryan Hunter-Reay won the race and Paul Tracy wrapped up his first CART championship in his 13-year career.

AP-ES-10-29-03 1845EST