Believe it of not, there was a time not long ago when CART was the most popular racing series in America.

NASCAR was just something those good-old boys did at mostly rural areas in the South. The IRL didn’t exist. It was CART that had the glitz, the glamour and the celebrity names like Foyt, Unser, Mears, Rutherford and Andretti.

It’s a glorious past for a series that may not have a future. After 25 years as an open-wheel sanctioning body, CART is teetering on extinction.

No one knows if CART will continue as a series in 2004. At the moment, the money isn’t there to operate a full schedule next year.

That could change if CART has a buyout from investors who would take the company private and be willing to absorb a loss for at least two years while the sanctioning body rebuilds.

It won’t be easy. The only way CART was able to keep going this season was digging into the $100 million cash reserves to help fund the racing teams involved in the series.

Most of that money is gone. CART stock has plummeted from a high of $38 a share in 1999 to less than $2 today.

If CART folds, it could mean the end of some of the best racing venues in North America. CART has its problems, but it still has many outstanding events.

The Grand Prix of Long Beach is the most successful street race in the country. All three Canadian events — Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal — draw big crowds and pump millions of dollars into the local economy.

The event on the airport runways in downtown Cleveland is one of the most unusual and competitive road races in motor sports.

The two road races in Mexico have huge crowds, along with major sponsorship from Mexican companies. The Road America course in Wisconsin and the Laguna Seca event in Monterey, Calif., are two of the most picturesque settings in racing.

A few races would become part of the IRL, which plans to add road courses to its schedule in 2005. IRL officials never had expressed an interest in street races.

And what happens to the drivers if CART dies? Realistically, only a few have a chance of ending up in NASCAR or the IRL.

Paul Tracy, the biggest name remaining in the series, has talked to Winston Cup teams. Jimmy Vasser has raced in several Busch Series events and probably would find a full-time ride in NASCAR.

If CART continues, it probably will have a reduced schedule and fewer cars than the 19 it has now. CART could become a series of individual events at places where it has been successful.

The list of potential buyers is small. F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has talked with CART president Chris Pook and key team owners about purchasing the series.

Recent reports indicate Ecclestone has lost interest, which leaves one viable option. A group of major CART stockholders, led by team owner Gerald Forsythe, could buy controlling interest and take the series private again.

If a buyout is going to happen, it needs to happen quickly. Current sponsors are getting antsy about committing to 2004. Many teams are looking for new sponsors, but how to you convince a company to sign on if you don’t know if you’re racing next year?

The key question is whether CART is worth saving. The answer depends on whom you ask.