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Is Montreal Deserving Of A Sprint Cup Race?

An Opinion



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August 26, 2010

By Doug Demmons


Doug Demmons
Should the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series add Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal to the schedule?

It’s an academic question, to be sure.

The schedule is already maxed out at 36 races, so a 37th race isn’t likely. Adding Montreal to the schedule would mean taking a race away from another track -- and that gets into all manner of political and economic considerations.

If only it were a matter of where the best race would be held, where the most fan support would be found. But it’s never that simple.

But let’s suppose for a moment that it is.

By both standards -- quality of racing and fan support -- adding Montreal is a no-brainer.

A lot of fans will dispute that because a lot of fans still hate road courses. But that’s been slowly changing.

Road course races used to have just a handful of drivers who were capable of winning -- which is why a lot of teams brought in the so-called road-course ringers.

The ringers are still there, but the competition is much stiffer than it used to be. Drivers figured out that they couldn’t afford to blow off the two road-course races on the schedule and still make the Chase, so there has been a lot of testing and learning going on.

Suddenly, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart aren’t the only regular Cup drivers who can win on a road course. Suddenly, there are road-course experts throughout the garage.

Like Carl Edwards.

You wouldn’t think a dirt-track racer from Missouri would be giving Marcos Ambrose a run for his money. But Edwards won the Nationwide Series race at Montreal last year with a last-lap move that left the affable Ambrose so upset he had to compose himself before giving a post-race interview.

Naturally, Edwards wouldn’t mind seeing a Cup race in Montreal.

“The question whether a race track deserves a Sprint Cup race, I always say yes,” Edwards said Tuesday. “The fan presence is there. The race track and the city are just -- I mean, they are just fun to go to. I mean, it's a fun place to stay. It's a fun track to race on. The problem is the politics and the money and contracts and all those things.

“But to me, the Canadian fans, it's like going to Kentucky or going to Iowa,” he said. “These places, they love the stock car racing and they want to see these races and it's a change of pace for them. They are just amped up. There's just so much energy there.”

Indeed. There haven’t been that many Nationwide races in Montreal -- three to be exact -- but each was well worth the ticket price.

The inaugural race in 2007 is the one with two winners. there was Kevin Harvick, the official winner, and there was Robby Gordon, who was upset because he was penalized and did a victory burnout in defiance of NASCAR’s ruling.

The 2008 race saw plenty of rain and a decision by NASCAR to break out the rain tires they had been dragging from race to race for so long. That was certainly an adventure as drivers struggled with windshield wipers and hydroplaning.

And it gave us the extraordinary sight of Edwards reaching outside the car to try to wipe off his windshield.

But the most amazing thing about the 2008 race is that the fans stayed put.

Fans willing to get soaked are fans worth keeping. Fans like that are the heart and soul of racing.

Fans like that deserve Cup racing much more than the fair-weather fans who won’t show up if it’s hot or cold or cloudy or the hot dogs cost too much.

But the way things are today, that’s not the primary concern.

Fan loyalty and quality racing take a back seat to TV market size and whether a new casino is being built next to the track.




Doug Demmons is a writer and editor for the Birmingham News ~ he writes daily and weekly auto racing columns ranging from NASCAR to open wheel to Formula One, local tracks and more... you can read Doug's columns online at Blog of Tommorow

Follow Doug on Twitter: @dougdemmons


You can contact Doug Demmons at .... Birmingham News

You Can Read Other Articles By Doug Demmons


The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.

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