No replacement for dropped China race, confirm IndyCar officials

Race chiefs decide against adding another fixture to season after dropping plans for August event in China.

Scott Dixon in action at Iowa Speedway

IndyCar bosses will not add a replacement fixture for a cancelled race planned for China.

The sport's officials had explored replacement talks with several tracks after announcing that it would not stage a planned race in China this August.

However, the season will be kept at 15 races after it decided against the move.

"We want to make sure that when we add events to our roster they have long-term potential and are given every opportunity to be successfully promoted," IndyCar chief executive Randy Bernard said.

"The more we explored, the more we felt like we were rushing what could be good, long-lasting opportunities for the sport."

The season will end as planned with an oval race on September 15 at Fontana, California, that will be expanded to 500 miles.

"We think it's something our fans will enjoy and adds another element to what is already shaping up to be an exciting championship battle," Bernard said.

After nine races, three-time winner Australian Will Power leads the championship race with 286 points with American Ryan Hunter-Reay, who won the past two events, only three points behind.

New Zealand's Scott Dixon is third on 271 with Brazil's Helio Castroneves only another 10 points adrift.

The next race is July 8 at Toronto.