Full Throttle

Presented without comment except. Gimme another Moosehead… eh!

CHARLOTTE N.C.

Robbie Weiss, the West Coast [avatar:http://cranialcavity.net/files/cup.jpg]NASCAR[/avatar] promotions man in charge of helping formulate stock-car racing’s international plans, is currently wrestling with enough ventures to keep his tiny four-man staff running in overdrive.

Plans for NASCAR’s 2006 return to Mexico City have become a major focal point, but NASCAR’s proposed venture to Montreal or Toronto is up-and-down - depending on the week, it’s a go for 2006, or not a go until 2007.

Weiss is leaving most of the Canadian project up to George Pyne, NASCAR’s operations manager for Brian France’s big ideas. But there has been considerable speculation about NASCAR’s Canadian plans.

Montreal, which has a world-class Formula One facility in the heart of town, has been the hottest prospect. But the promoter there insists that there is a deal with the city for only two races each season, and he’s the man with the contract. Weiss, however, says that that’s not necessarily the case, and he raises the possibility of a major twist in the seemingly stalled Montreal strategy.

“I know they’ve said they can only do two events a year in Montreal, but I’ve also heard that it’s ‘only’ two events because that’s what they have today,” Weiss said. “I think we can work through all that, or we’d be hearing more in the Canadian press that ‘You can’t do it.’ And no one’s said that.

“In fact, everyone just seems to be waiting for ‘the announcement.’”

A strong business case can be made that a NASCAR race pumps tens of millions of dollars into a community. According to one estimate, a NASCAR race could be worth as much as $300 million to a city, if promoted properly.

And two weeks ago Toronto officials jumped into the mix with a proposal that Mosport, a venerable road course an hour east of the city of some five million, be the site for a NASCAR race. In fact, one of Toronto’s largest newspapers insists that “it’s a given,” that NASCAR will, indeed, run a race in Canada in 2006. Given the Canadian weather, speculation has been that June or August are the two best months, with August given the better shot.

NASCAR officials are heading to Canada this month to check things out at various ventures with various businessmen. One corporate hangup is that Molson, the Canadian brewer, has long been dominant in every major form of Canadian racing, but NASCAR would like to bill its first Canadian venture under its [avatar:http://cranialcavity.net/files/bgn.gif]Busch[/avatar] logo. It is unclear how Molson’s merger with Coors, a longtime NASCAR sponsor, might affect any NASCAR options there¹.

1. Testing newly installed footnote function. [back]