In the Daytona 500 thread I mentioned that Nascar is seriously considering a road course race in Montreal. The info I got was from sources at Walkins Glen and a friend that I have that drives a car in the Busch Series North Series. Here is a article from yesterday's Globe and Mail that seems to back up my information.
Stock-car series looking north
NASCAR interested in coming to Canada, but crowded racing schedule a problem
By BILL BEACON
Saturday, March 5, 2005 - Page S6
A short summer and a schedule already filled with races are the chief hurdles in bringing NASCAR racing to Canada. But the popular stock-car series is interested in expanding north of the border, Robbie Weiss, managing director of NASCAR International, said yesterday.
"It's a matter of time before we work something out," he said in a telephone interview from Mexico City, where the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing's Busch series is holding its first points race outside the United States this weekend. Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver have been cited by NASCAR officials as attractive markets.
Weiss said weather in Canada leaves only June, July and August for racing, a period in which the 37-race schedule is already crowded.
"Another challenge is that you already have a number of events, whether in motor racing or cultural activities, in each of those markets," he said.
"Not only do you not want to cannibalize any of those, but from a commercial standpoint, there's not a lot of openings. You need a bit of breathing room to make sure your event is successful."
Star driver Jeff Gordon is among those who have suggested Canada needs to build a first-rate oval track to attract a race, but Weiss said a road course is a more likely option.
"That's the direction we're going in," he said. "It's not can we build an oval and how can we get a race? It's more of a road course or street circuit concept. Certainly, we believe our product is best showcased in an oval, but we're in Mexico City now and our guys are loving this [road] track. It's wide, so it allows a lot of passing, and it has four long straightaways, where cars can reach top speed."
Normand Legault, the president of the Canadian Grand Prix Formula One race, said recently he has had talks with NASCAR about bringing a race to the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal.
"I would say two, maybe three years, but I think it will happen," Legault said in a recent report that also suggested NASCAR may sell the Watkins Glen road track in New York, which would open a date in the northeast, although there's also talk of putting a race in New York City.
George Pyne, a top NASCAR official, said this week it is unlikely Canada would get a race in the main Nextel Cup series "in the foreseeable future," but it could get a Busch and Truck series event.
Pyne told the Winston-Salem Journal that NASCAR was in talks with major Canadian companies about backing a race. And they have a marketing and licensing arrangement with TSN. It is important to build "grassroots" racing in a new market, have corporate and media support and have a fan base, he said. "We're a little further ahead in Mexico than we are in Canada, but those ingredients are there, and if we can get the right package, then it's something that makes sense."
NASCAR officials visited tracks in Montreal and Toronto last summer.
Ron Fellows of Mississauga, who has driven in Nextel Cup events, is the lone Canadian in the Busch series. Fellows, the favourite to win in Mexico because of his skill on road courses, backs putting a race in Montreal for the international exposure it would give NASCAR.
The top races in Canada are open-wheel events, Formula One and the Molson Indy Champ Car events in Montreal, Toronto and Edmonton. But NASCAR, with its bumps, crashes and wild finishes, has been gaining fans steadily in recent years.
NASCAR's first steps into Canada have included strengthening its ties with CASCAR, Canada's version of NASCAR, and licensing some tracks to run Dodge Weekly series races.
Pyne said NASCAR has made a "strategic alliance" with the Canadian Association for Stock Car Auto Racing and is evaluating whether to buy out its Canadian counterpart.
While NASCAR was once based almost entirely in the U.S. South, it has been expanding in all directions as its audience grows. "If you look what we've done in the United States in the last four years and the results we've had, I'd say that's what you're going to see in Canada," Weiss said.
Stock-car series looking north
NASCAR interested in coming to Canada, but crowded racing schedule a problem
By BILL BEACON
Saturday, March 5, 2005 - Page S6
A short summer and a schedule already filled with races are the chief hurdles in bringing NASCAR racing to Canada. But the popular stock-car series is interested in expanding north of the border, Robbie Weiss, managing director of NASCAR International, said yesterday.
"It's a matter of time before we work something out," he said in a telephone interview from Mexico City, where the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing's Busch series is holding its first points race outside the United States this weekend. Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver have been cited by NASCAR officials as attractive markets.
Weiss said weather in Canada leaves only June, July and August for racing, a period in which the 37-race schedule is already crowded.
"Another challenge is that you already have a number of events, whether in motor racing or cultural activities, in each of those markets," he said.
"Not only do you not want to cannibalize any of those, but from a commercial standpoint, there's not a lot of openings. You need a bit of breathing room to make sure your event is successful."
Star driver Jeff Gordon is among those who have suggested Canada needs to build a first-rate oval track to attract a race, but Weiss said a road course is a more likely option.
"That's the direction we're going in," he said. "It's not can we build an oval and how can we get a race? It's more of a road course or street circuit concept. Certainly, we believe our product is best showcased in an oval, but we're in Mexico City now and our guys are loving this [road] track. It's wide, so it allows a lot of passing, and it has four long straightaways, where cars can reach top speed."
Normand Legault, the president of the Canadian Grand Prix Formula One race, said recently he has had talks with NASCAR about bringing a race to the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal.
"I would say two, maybe three years, but I think it will happen," Legault said in a recent report that also suggested NASCAR may sell the Watkins Glen road track in New York, which would open a date in the northeast, although there's also talk of putting a race in New York City.
George Pyne, a top NASCAR official, said this week it is unlikely Canada would get a race in the main Nextel Cup series "in the foreseeable future," but it could get a Busch and Truck series event.
Pyne told the Winston-Salem Journal that NASCAR was in talks with major Canadian companies about backing a race. And they have a marketing and licensing arrangement with TSN. It is important to build "grassroots" racing in a new market, have corporate and media support and have a fan base, he said. "We're a little further ahead in Mexico than we are in Canada, but those ingredients are there, and if we can get the right package, then it's something that makes sense."
NASCAR officials visited tracks in Montreal and Toronto last summer.
Ron Fellows of Mississauga, who has driven in Nextel Cup events, is the lone Canadian in the Busch series. Fellows, the favourite to win in Mexico because of his skill on road courses, backs putting a race in Montreal for the international exposure it would give NASCAR.
The top races in Canada are open-wheel events, Formula One and the Molson Indy Champ Car events in Montreal, Toronto and Edmonton. But NASCAR, with its bumps, crashes and wild finishes, has been gaining fans steadily in recent years.
NASCAR's first steps into Canada have included strengthening its ties with CASCAR, Canada's version of NASCAR, and licensing some tracks to run Dodge Weekly series races.
Pyne said NASCAR has made a "strategic alliance" with the Canadian Association for Stock Car Auto Racing and is evaluating whether to buy out its Canadian counterpart.
While NASCAR was once based almost entirely in the U.S. South, it has been expanding in all directions as its audience grows. "If you look what we've done in the United States in the last four years and the results we've had, I'd say that's what you're going to see in Canada," Weiss said.
