Aug 7, 2007

NASCAR looking to expand in Canada; move to pony cars in Busch Series

Pit Crew diagnose problems on Joey McColm's car following the race. Click image to enlarge

Article and photos by Grant Yoxon

Photo Galleries: NASCAR in Montreal

Montreal - NASCAR roared into Montreal's Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve on the weekend with an entertaining race schedule for nearly 70,000 Canadian race fans and many more who viewed the race on TV.

Home town motorsports hero, Pat Carpentier, took the pole position in the NAPA Auto Parts 200 - Presented by Dodge driving the Fitz Motorsports Dodge Charger. He was the clear fan favourite, but was held to second place by Kevin Harvick in a wild ending that saw race leader Marcos Ambrose bumped out by Robbie Gordon. Gordon was black flagged while Andy Pilgrim, who was running second in the official timing, ran out of fuel, leaving Carpentier and Harvick racing for the finish.

The grand stand on pit row was full. Click image to enlarge

NASCAR officials were pleased with the crowd that showed up for the race, the first of three races that will take place here. The NASCAR race weekend will repeat in 2008 and 2009.

The 2007 race was considered a pilot project to explore the possibility of further expansion in Canada.

While NASCAR has a reputation for being cautious to ensure success, Martin Spalding, General Manager of Stock-Car Montreal, says expansion into at least two other Canadian cities is a possibility in the future. Certainly the Toronto area would be high on NASCAR's list. "But if I was NASCAR I'd be looking at a pick-up (NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series) race during the Calgary Stampede."

Don't be optimistic about a Nextel Cup Series race, NASCAR's premiere series, in the near future. There aren't any spots on the calendar and plenty of competition should a weekend come available.

Joe Balash, NASCAR race director talks to journalists. Click image to enlarge

Joe Balash, NASCAR's race director, also cautioned fans not to get their hopes up about Nextel Cup. He says that the best opportunity for NASCAR is the expansion of the Busch Series.

Long viewed as a "developmental" series in which drivers hone their skills before moving up to Nextel, NASCAR would like to move Busch, the second-most popular racing series in North America, to a higher level.

NASCAR is trying to "differentiate" the Busch Series from Nextel Cup, to place it on a more equal footing with Nextel in the mind of racing fans. Moving to race cars based on pony cars (Ford Mustang and the soon to arrive Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger) is a good possibility.

"We've talked about that," says Balash and "talked to the manufacturers."

"Dodge went to them (NASCAR) first," says Michael Accavitti, Director of Dodge Brand and SRT Marketing Communications. With Dodge soon to launch the Challenger, a top-level series based on pony cars would be perfect to "build brand equity."

"We'd like to get back to the old NASCAR where people could buy a car that looked like the car that raced."

2007 Dodge Caliber SRT-4. Click image to enlarge

Mr. Accavitti says there are two reasons that Dodge supports NASCAR: "to build brand equity and to drive people into our showrooms." Racing fans are key influencers among their friends and colleagues and their support for a brand or model, says Accavitti "can drive 20 per cent of sales."

As well, naming the race car after a model sold in showrooms is "worth $20 million in advertising," he says.

It's no wonder that auto manufacturer's place a high value on NASCAR. Accavitti says, "family-oriented people are more likely to be NASCAR fans which aligns with the Dodge Brand very well."

And judging by the crowds looking over the vehicles on display at the Dodge exhibit at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal this past weekend, "race on Sunday, sell on Monday" may be a cliche with an element of truth to it.

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