Norris McDonald's Auto Racing Blog

Racing Update: Carpenter at Indy, Fitzpatrick at Mosport

So you leave Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, and you go out for dinner and then you stop off with the Designated Driver and have a little party with friends and you arrive home to find out that there is a surprise driver on pole at Indianapolis and half of the race fans in Toronto are browned off at Sportsnet.

Let's begin with Indy qualifying.

Ed Carpenter, stepson of Indy Racing League founder Tony George and a racer who came up the old-fashioned way through midgets, sprint cars and the Silver Crown dirt champ cars, won the pole Saturday for next weekend's 97th Indianapolis 500.

Will Power and Ryan Hunter-Reay, who had pretty much set the pace leading up to today's Fast Nine final qualifying sprint, wound up sixth and seventh, respectively.

Canadians James Hinchcliffe of Oakville and Alex Tagliani of Montreal qualified ninth and 11th.

Rookie Carlos Munoz, an Indy Lights racer who brought the money for a crack at Indianapolis, will start second while his teammate, Marco Andretti will go off third. E.J. Viso is fourth (Munoz, Andretti, Viso, Hunter-Reay and Hinchcliffe all race for Andretti Motorsport, meaning all of the team's cars made it into final qualifying) and A.J. Allmendinger was fifth and fastest of the Team Penske cars.

Twenty-four cars qualified. Ten drivers will try Sunday for the remaining nine places.

By the way, the first 10 cars were powered by Chevrolet. Tagliani was the fastest Honda car in 11th.

As mentioned, Sportsnet - apparently - dropped the ball big-time. It took over televising the IZOD IndyCar Series this season from TSN. Although I missed the frustration, I heard from a bunch of my readers who were not happy that there was no coverage of the run for the pole late in the day.

Wrote one:  "I have no idea if the final shootout for pole was even televised. And if so, why Sportsnet failed to show it, as promised. I channel surfed all the Rogers channels between 6 and 7 p.m.  In fact they didn’t say anything at all, and not a peep on any of their ‘tickers.’ Not that it was further postponed due to rain, or who actually won. Nothing."

Wrote another: "Early coverage was on The Score. But nothing in the late afternoon or early evening. NBC also broke away for Preakness coverage and only showed final few of top 9. IndyCar switched to live streaming on top 9 but couldn't get their act together to in time to show Hinch. There is no excuse for no Canadian coverage. Twitter is lit up with angry viewers on both sides of the border about what happened today."

I, personally, have never been in favour of protectionism of any kind. Keeping ESPN and the NBC Sports Network and other U.S. all-sports channels out of Canada in order to protect TSN and Sportsnet results in nonsense like this.

I've said it time and again, they wouldn't dare do this to baseball fans, or hockey fans, or any kind of fans other than race fans.

Race fans battled back, of course, in the good old days of grey market satellite television where a post office box address in Niagara Falls, N.Y., got you direct access to complete coverage of things like Indy 500 time trials on American stations.

I'm afraid as long as racing sells itself to TV networks, we'll just have to continue putting up with the insults. But if they live-stream all of Indy - practice and qualifying from the first moment each day to the last, even for a fee - I, for one, would say sayonara to television.

EARLIER

J.R. Fitzpatrick today stormed to pole position for Sunday's NASCAR Canadian Tire Series' Pinty's presents the Vortex Brake Pads 200, the opening race of the 2013 season and the feature event of the annual Victoria Day Weekend Speedfest.

And with a time of one minute, 23.286 seconds, the Cambridge speedster set a new track record for stock cars at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, formerly Mosport, north of Bowmanville.

Louis-Phillippe Dumoulin of Trois-Rivieres, Que., will start second on Sunday and Scott Steckly of Milverton, a former series champion, will start third.

Nearly 30 cars from across the country will take the green flag in the race scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Sunday. The race will be telecast by CTV.

In other racing, Guy Leclerc won the opening race of the Supercar season, Scott Nicol was first in the opening race of the Canadian Touring Car Series season and Spencer Pigot won the first race of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada series.

In SCCA Pro Racing Trans-Am, Simon Gregg won the pole and set a new track record with a time of 1:15.614.  Defending Series champion Tony Ave was second.

EARLIER

Pole day qualifying is now under way at Indianapolis with Will Power of Team Penske in first place at the moment. His lap of 228.844 miles an hour just nipped defending series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay's 228.282 mph.

Others quick out of the box today - qualifying was held up by rain - were Indy Lights driver Carlos Munoz (third) and oval specialist Ed Carpenter (fifth). Canadians James Hinchcliffe of Oakville and Alex Tagliani of Montreal were both in the top ten.

Once upon a time, the fastest driver on the first day of time trials won the pole with the field filled up and bumping taking place on other qualifying days. Nowadays, there are eliminations and fasts nines and fast sixes and it's all very confusing. Sometime around 7 o'clock tonight, the pole winner will be decided and the world will know - unless the world will have moved on, it being 7 o'clock on Saturday night and all.

Two observations. The Indy 500 might continue to be the Greatest Spectacle in Racing but no longer can they say the 33 best racing drivers in the world are in the race. Why?

The fact that Munoz is third fastest means that just about anybody can drive these cars. Maybe not race them, but certainly drive them. That he is doing this as a rookie, in his first IZOD IndyCar Series race that also happens to be the Indy 500, the world's most famous race, is close to being ridiculous. Mario Andretti, or A.J. Foyt, or Ayrton Senna, this kid is not.

And Katherine Legge has now purchased herself a seat in another one of the cars entered by Sam Schmidt (those cars all go to the highest bidder).  I have said all I will ever say about Katherine Legge, so let's leave it at this: I'm less than impressed.

EARLIER

Pole day qualifying at Indianapolis is on hold as there is rain in the area.

And the track at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is quiet because everybody is eating lunch.

Except some of us.

When something happens somewhere, you'll read about it here.

Meantime, Donnie Schatz passed Greg Hodnett on the last lap at Pennsylvania's Williams Grove Speedway Friday night to win the World of Outlaws sprint car feature. The Outlaws, of course, will make a Canadian swing in July and race at Ohsweken Speedway near Brantford and Cornwall Speedway as well as at tracks in Quebec and Alberta. . . .Dale Darland won the USAC Sprint Car Series' Larry Rice Classic at Bloomington Speedway Friday night. Many of the USAC stars will be in action at O'Reilly Raceway Park outside Indianapolis tonight (Saturday) for a Champ Car Silver Crown event, weather permitting. It's also USAC Hall of Fame weekend and a bunch of oldies but goodies guys like Bobby Unser and Jack Hewitt will be enshrined. For those who's forgotten, or are too young to remember, the U.S. Auto Club used to be the big dog of sanctioning bodies and ran racing, including the Indy 500, with an iron fist. . . . At Brands Hatch in England, where the German Touring Car Series (DTM) is running this weekend, Robert Wickens of Guelph and Toronto qualified 14th for Sunday's feature event. Defending champion Bruno Spengler of Quebec will go off fifth. . . . At Old Mosport, the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series cars are on track. Lunch is over. Time to go.

EARLIER

It’s Pole Day at Indianapolis, and the Victoria Day Weekend Speedfest is in full swing at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (hey – 28 entries in the Trans-Am! Big Iron is back!).

So let’s get caught up before all hell breaks loose on Saturday.

– Talking about hell breaking loose, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series owner/driver Jennifer Joe Cobb (pictured) has accused her former Nationwide Series team manager Mike Harmon of stealing her nearly $300,000 transporter. Cobb is also involved in litigation with her former business partner, David Novak, over who really owns most of the equipment Cobb uses to race.

It is a tangled web.

– Meantime, Kyle Busch started the NASCAR All-Star Weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway off with a bang Friday night by winning the Camping World Truck Series’ North Carolina Education Lottery 200 (talk about a mouthful!).

Brendan Gaughan finished second and Max Gresham was third.

Three of the Camping World series regulars who visited CTMP recently for a one-truck test conducted by driver Nelson Piquet Jr. were in that race Friday night. Defending champion James Beushcher was sixth, Miguel Paludo – who led for a good stretch – finished seventh and Jeb Burton was 13th.

Burton, incidentally, is the son of retired NASCAR Cup star, and Daytona 500 winner, Ward Burton. Jeb started from pole Friday night – his third in five starts this season – but didn’t have the horses to stay there.

The Camping Wordl Truck series will be featured at Old Mosport on Labour Day weekend, with the Chevrolet Silverado 250 scheduled for Sun., Sept. 1.

– Carl Edwards won the pole at Charlotte for Saturday night’s All-Star Race. NASCAR relaxed all the rules for this session and qualifying consisted of three flying laps and a no-speed-limit-on-pit-lane stop for four tires. Total times for the laps and pit stop were added up to set the field.

Not wanting to appear terribly negative about this (ED NOTE: Ho, ho ho), the reason there is a speed limit in pit lanes in every major form of motorsport in the world is because drivers can sometimes lose control of race cars at speed and unprotected people – i.e. pit crew members changing tires on cars – can be hit and be hurt, as a result.

So although some marketing genius thought it would be a scream to put away the radar guns and let the boys "have at it" along pit road at 155 mph, it is just as easy to have a bad accident at an exhbition race like the All-Star as it is at a "regular" race and it is sincerely hoped that they don’t do anything stupid like this again because Edwards called his run "petrifying."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was second-fastest but the tire stop was botched and he was penalized five seconds, dropping him to 15^th. Kurt Busch, who qualified third, will go off second, as a result.

– Mensa membership candidate Kimi Raikkonen says the key to winning the Grand Prix of Monaco is to qualify well.

– Scott Dixon is scheduled to be the first driver to take time when qualifying for the 97^th Indianapolis 500 gets under way on Saturday.

Actually, car No. 40 is supposed to go out first, but since no driver is currently in the car it’s expected that Dixon will be the first to take a crack at the pole.

Like many things in 2013, qualifying at Indianapolis is terribly complicated and gimmicky and I’m not going to waste my time trying to explain it. I much preferred the old way of doing it, which was the driver with the fastest time on the first day of qualifying won the pole. Straight up, simple and to the point and I’m like that about everything in life.

James Hinchcliffe of Oakville is scheduled to go off 14^th Saturday and Alex Tagliani of Montreal, the other Canadian who’s a previous pole winner at Indy, is down in 37^th position.

Hinchcliffe was fastest of 32 drivers who went out to practice on Tuesday and his teammates, E.J. Viso and Marco Andretti, were first and second fastest on what’s commonly called "Fast Friday."

Said Hinchcliffe: "I think the weird thing about Indy is we have 10 times more practice time than anywhere else, yet you always wish you had a little bit more to make it that little bit better.

"I think it's just a function of a bunch of drivers and a bunch of engineers who are perfectionists and are always striving to make it a little better. But I think we can be pretty pleased with how things have gone.

"Obviously, having team cars up there all but one day bodes well. Qualifying is definitely going to be tough. There's a lot of quick cars. Finding that right level of downforce that takes enough drag off but doesn't leave you sliding all over the place and scrubbing speed is going to be key, and it would have been nice to have a run or two more to really nail that down.

"As a team, I think we're confident and it's going be tough because, like I said, there's a lot of fast cars that are going to be going for that Fast Nine. Hopefully we can get there and get the GoDaddy car in a good position for the start of the race."

(About the importance of starting position versus the quality of the race car):

"It's Sunday that everybody cares about. Dario (Franchitti) proved last year that qualifying is not the be-and all-end – he qualified 17^th (and won). He even got hit in pit lane and fell right to the back, but he had a good race car and got his way back up to the front. So it's definitely important to focus on the race car.

"What's so tricky about (IMS) is it's so sensitive to different weather conditions. So if you're working on your race car throughout the entire week and you actually see a variety of different conditions, that's good. Whatever comes around on Race Day, you'll at least have a little bit of an understanding of what the car and track might do."

– At Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, practice and qualifying will take place Saturday for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, the Trans Am, Formula 1600, the Porsche GT3 Challenge Cup Canada and the Canadian Touring Car Championship, as well as the Supercars.

There will be a few races but the headline events are scheduled for Sunday.

If you haven’t been out to the new and improved Old Mosport in awhile, why not drop by? You won’t believe the improvements that have been made.

1961 it ain't.

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On CTV, NASCAR Canada and Dick Trickle

Everybody knows it’s better to see anything live and in colour, as it happens.

You can sit in a movie theatre in Toronto and watch the Met’s production of Aida in New York, but you miss out on the fun and excitement of getting to the legendary Opera House at Lincoln Square on the Upper West Side.

It’s all very well to sit through a travelogue on Ireland in the great room of a central Toronto country club but you’re not feeling the heat of the summer or breathing in the smell of the Irish air. And, yes, it was fun being outside the Air Canada Centre when the Leafs were playing Boston but wouldn’t it have been better on the inside?

Having said all that, you sometimes just can’t get somewhere, and that’s when TV steps in.

In a blockbuster announcement this week, CTV and NASCAR said two of this season’s major stock car races from Canadian Tire Motorsport Park will be televised live across Canada.

Coverage this coming Sunday of the first race of the 12-race 2013 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season will begin at 1 p.m. EDT on CTV.

And on Sunday, Sept. 1, TSN plans to televise the Canadian Tire Series race that will be part of the NASCAR Camping World Series truck race weekend. That program is scheduled to start at 11 a.m.

Barrie Speedway announcer Dave Bradley will handle the play-by-play duties while Billy Rowse Jr. and Adam Ross will provide the colour. They will be joined by pit reporters Todd Lewis and Spencer Lewis.

Long-time TSN auto racing host Vic Rauter will join the team for the live telecasts.

The live broadcasts will highlight the 2013 television schedule. The 10 remaining Canadian Tire Series events will be tape-delayed and shown on TSN as one-hour specials, with the exception of the final race Sept. 21 at Kawartha Speedway, which will be turned into a 90-minute special.

Additionally, TSN — which has been the television home for the series since NASCAR took over from CASCAR in 2007 — will air a season-in-review show on Nov. 30.

Great stuff.

Now, as the opening examples illustrate, it’s always better to be somewhere — whether it’s for a hockey game, or a Broadway show, or a Rolling Stones concert (I hear that tour’s being sponsored by Depends).

But if you can’t make it out to Old Mosport (north of Bowmanville, by the way) for the annual Victoria Day Weekend Speedfest, then be sure to tune in to CTV at 1 o’clock Sunday afternoon and enjoy the headline event of the weekend.

Now, Canadian Tire Series races at the Honda Indy Toronto and Montreal's Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve have been covered live previously by TSN.

And other races - American Le Mans Series sports car races, for instance - have been televised live from Old Mosport by NBC and the SPEED Channel.

But this will be a first time the first race of the NASCAR Canada season will be a live, coast-to-coast, event.

The rest of the lineup:

 

2013 NASCAR CANADIAN TIRE SERIES BROADCAST SCHEDULE ON TSN

Race Date	Venue	TSN/TSN2 Premiere
May 19	Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (road course)	Sun., May 19, 1 p.m. *
June 15	Delaware Speedway	Sun., June 23, 1 p.m.
June 22	Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (speedway)	Sun., June 30, 1 p.m.
July 7	Circuit ICAR	Sun., July 14, 11 a.m.
July 13	Motoplex Speedway	Sun., July 21, 1:30 p.m.
July 17	Auto Clearing Motor Speedway	Sun., July 28, 11 a.m.
July 27	Autodrome St. Eustache	Sun., Aug. 4, 11 a.m.
Aug. 11	Circuit de Trois-Rivieres	Sun.., Aug. 18, 11 a.m.
Aug. 17	Riverside International Speedway	Sun., Aug. 25, 1 p.m.
Sept. 1	Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (road course)	Sun., Sept. 1, 11 a.m. ‡
Sept. 7	Barrie Speedway	Sat., Sept. 14, 2 p.m.
Sept. 21	Kawartha Speedway	Sun., Oct. 6, 5:30 p.m. ^
	2013 Year In Review	Sat., Nov. 30, 1 p.m.

 All races subject  to change. Check local listings for updated broadcast times. All times ET.

* Scheduled live telecast on CTV

‡ Scheduled live telecast on TSN

^ Telecast on TSN2

.

SAD NEWS: Late Thursday afternoon, the news arrived that Dick Trickle, a midwest stock car driver who won the NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year award when he was 48 years old, had taken his own life at the age of 71.

Here's a link to the tribute (click here) but I can tell you that my favourite Dick Trickle line was at that year's NASCAR banquet in New York. As he accepted the award, he thanked Winston cigarettes for sponsoring the series so "young guys like me can make a name for themselves."

There's a video clip on the Internet that was sent to me today by my friend John Bassett that shows Trickle lighting up a cigarette at Talladega during a caution period. All those old-time racers smoked during races.

I can remember the glory days of the NASCAR modified series, the days when Richie Evans, George Kent, Jerry Cook, Reggie Rugierro, Maynard Troyer and all those guys would race and the moment - the moment - there was a red flag, the flashes from the cigarette lighters in the cockpits as the boys would light up could be seen from all around the speedway.

Here's that link.

R.I.P., Dick.

 

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Why I like NASCAR best (and other mid-week observations)

I was caught up short when I bumped into a media colleague earlier this week and he said to me: “What have you got against NASCAR?”

This was in regards to a column I wrote in which I suggested that NASCAR, in suspending owner Joe Gibbs for six races for a relatively minor transgression (among other penalties levied against other competitors), was acting irrationally.

So when he said what he said, I said something flippant in reply but afterwards I thought, “Uh-oh.”

I like and admire the journalist in question, so if he’s wondering about my motives, perhaps others are too and that’s why I’ve called you all together today to say this:

I think NASCAR is the best organized and best managed racing business in the world.

In the world.

Formula One has been held together by one man, Bernie Ecclestone, and I guarantee you that when he either retires, is fired, or forced out, or dies, F1 will be a mess of public bickering and backstabbing. And the Indy car series, regardless of who’s been in charge, has been in chaos much of the time ever since the original split that saw CART break away from the USAC in 1979.

Yes, NASCAR has been, essentially, a France family business and it’s been their way or the highway. But I don’t think they’ve abused that trust and they've reached out to the grassroots by sanctioning and administering local racing just about everywhere in the United States and, on occasion, in Canada. Their regional racing series – eight, including the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series – has given (and is giving) scores of ambitious and talented racing drivers a professional environment in which to grow and demonstrate their talents. Their diversification program has demonstrated a commitment to helping minorities, be they non-Americans, drivers of colour, or women, advance in the motor sport. In short, no other sanctioning body has even attempted what NASCAR has already achieved.

So I’m a big fan of NASCAR.

That doesn’t mean I like everything – I think they need more road course races, with at least one during the Chase – but in a clutch I would take Mike Helton, Robin Pemberton, Brian France and the rest of the executive group over anybody that the other big leagues have to offer.

Which makes it even more puzzling for me, after reading what I’ve just written, to understand that penalty against Gibbs. And a $25,000 fine charged to Denny Hamlin when all he did was say he didn’t like the new car.

What?

When something goes wrong in a business, or a marriage, or whatever, things that don’t normally happen start happening.

They are usually signals, or symptoms, of something else going on – sometimes beneath the surface and away from public view.

So I wonder what’s happening inside NASCAR?

Because a $200,000 fine for next-to-nothing ain't normal.

I posted a report on Monday afternoon about the visit to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park of executives from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and a truck from the Turner Scott Motorsport stable.

Led by series director (and former Sprint Cup competitor) Chad Little, the contingent gave Old Mosport the once-over in advance of the truck race there on Labour Day weekend - called the Chevrolet Silverado 250, by the way - and driver Nelson Piquet Jr. shook down the TSM entry in order to record data that will be shared with other teams in the series who won’t even see the facility until they arrive for the Sept. 1 race.

Although Piquet was the only one to get any track time, three other drivers came up for a look-see including defending truck series champion James Buescher, 20-year-old hot-shoe Jeb Burton (son of Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton and nephew of Jeff Burton) and Miguel Paludo, a Brazilian Porsche GT3 Cup driver now trying his hand at NASCAR.

But in posting my report, I didn’t have time to include photos so I’ve posted a bunch with this post over at wheels.ca that were taken by me (uncredited) or by Gary Grant, who writes Auto News for Toronto Star Wheels and the Insider Report for wheels.ca

(That's his photo here, by the way, with Paludo (left), Burton, Piquet, CTMP co-owner Ron Fellows and Buescher.)

Also, if you want to take a video tour of Mosport with Piquet, courtesy of Joel Robinson, click here 

Road racing in Ontario will officially get under way at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park this coming weekend, May 4 and 5.

The 63rd annual (wow!) British Empire Motor Club Spring Trophy Races will involve eight classes, including the BF Goodrich GT Challenge, GT Sprints presented by CSC Racing, Toyo Tires F1600 Championship, Formula 1200, Formula Libre, Formula Four, Vintage/Historic and G70+.

Action gets under way with a driver’s meeting in front of the infield restaurant at 7:45 a.m. Saturday morning. For more information, the weekend schedule and FREE TICKETS, go to the CASC-Ontario website (click here).

Speaking of NASCAR, and penalties (see lead item), the two Richard Childress Racing crew members arrested and charged with assault after approaching driver Piquet and another man outside the speedway in Richmond, Va., last Friday night following an altercation in the pits earlier have each been fined $15,000, suspended for the next four Nationwide Series races and placed on probation till the end of the year.

Piquet and another driver, David Scott, who got into a shoving match in the pits, have been put on probation till June 26th.

Oh, and late-breaking news has the penalties against Team Penske, for trying to sneak unapproved parts past NASCAR inspection, upheld by an appeals panel. Just about everybody has been suspended for six races (not the drivers) and the crew chiefs for Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski have been fined $100,000 apiece.

About as appalling as the refereeing in the NHL, if you ask me.

Denny Hamlin says he will start the Talladega 500 on Sunday and then give way to relief driver Brian Vickers. That’s what he tweeted Tuesday.

"They (his doctors) all came to the conclusion they were happy with me starting Talladega and getting out when it's a safe time to get out,'' Hamlin said.

He told ESPN.com that he would drop to the back of the pack and then pit at the first caution, confident that he and Vickers can switch and not lose a lap under yellow.

Okay, I want to say right here and now that if  he’s out there, and he’s racing, and he’s feeling good, that Denny Hamlin will not get out and let Brian Vickers in. He just won’t.

He’s a tough mother when it comes to pain. He’s done it in the past and he’ll do it again.

Mark my words: Once in the car, he won’t leave it.

It’s official. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, known officially this season as Panther DRR with driver Oriol Servia up, will drop out of this season’s IZOD IndyCar Series following the Indianapolis 500.

Co-owned by Indy new-car dealer Dennis Reinbold and former driver Robbie Buhl, the team has run full-time in the series for the past 13 seasons.

Even if you’re low buck, car racing is a financial drain and these guys, racers to the core, can’t afford to keep doing it.

Sorry to see them go. They gave it their all.

Here’s what’s on tap at Toronto Motorsports Park. Starting today on the road course, motorcycle lapping is scheduled till 5 p.m. Registration is at the track and it’s $115 plus HST. Open car lapping is scheduled for Friday from noon till dusk for $130 plus HST. If you can’t make it till 5 p.m., the price drops to $90 plus HST.

Finally, on the dragway, the first Friday night test and tune will cost $20, $10 for spectators. ONDR Nostalgia Drag Racers plus test and tune on Saturday is $30 for competitors and $15 for spectators. Test and tune on Sunday, the 5th, is $30 for participants and $10 for spectators.

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NELSON PIQUET JR. SOUNDS OFF ABOUT RACING IN NASCAR AND THE EXCITEMENT IT GENERATES

There were several reasons why Toronto-area motorsport writers and broadcasters were summoned to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Monday.

First, the snazzy new Corporate Event Centre on a hill overlooking the circuit's Turn 10 was shown off for the first time. Since what was originally named Mosport Park was opened in 1961, corporate events have been held in tents. A race control tower and media centre was opened in 1962 and until last October track management, event organizers and reporters/photographers and TV camera operators were all crammed into the aging structure that also included a medical trauma room.

That cramped old tower now gone - bulldozed into the ground last fall - the new Event Centre is big enough to hold wedding receptions, if a happy young couple should want to rent the place for such a special occasion. Bottom line: it is large enough for race sponsors to entertain hundreds of  their guests and corporate clients and there is plenty of room on another floor for writers and broadcasters to do their work without sticking their elbows into the faces of the people sitting next to them.

In short, Old Mosport has been brought into the 21st Century and combined with improvements made to spectator and camping areas as well as to the circuit itself (several runoff areas have been paved, for example), the time has come to start showin' off.

The second reason was to announce that the much-anticipated NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Labour Day Weekend will be sponsored by General Motors of Canada and titled the Chevrolet Silverado 250.

"GM Canada is really proud to be a part of this," said GM spokesman George Saratlic, in making the announcement. "Really, it was a no-brainer for us, it being in our own backyard (CTMP is a short distance from GM's Canadian headquarters in Oshawa).  What better place to showcase our product."

Said circuit co-owner Ron Fellows: "This is great for the facility and I couldn't be more proud to have Chevy and GM Canada involved in our first-ever NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. Thanks to NASCAR for its assistance, which is ongoing, and to Chevy, which is the winningest brand in the . . . series."

As was the case with his own entry, Fellows had no official announcement to make about Canadian driving content in the Labour Day classic.

When asked, he was coy about whether he will race in the event himself - he likely will, but the official announcement will come at a later date - and said he'd talked with Canadian  legend Paul Tracy about entering the race, but not Jacques Villeneuve. "I wouldn't be surprised if a couple of drivers from the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series entered the truck race," he added.

The third reason was that Camping World Series entrant Turner-Scott Motorsports hauled north with one of their trucks and brought driver Nelson  Piquet Jr. along to conduct a test. The reconnaisance information recorded by TSM and Piquet will be shared with other participants in the truck series, an arrangement agreed between the teams and NASCAR whenever the series goes to a new track.

Piquet, of course, is very much in the news these days because of an altercation he had last Friday night with fellow Nationwide Series driver Brian Scott at the conclusion of the race at Richmond, Va. Following a scuffle between the drivers and some crew members in the pits, Piquet and other man were accosted outside the race track and two members of Scott's team, who are employees of Richard Childress Racing, were each charged with one count of assault.

Piquet was most agreeable to talk about the test, the Canadian Tire circuit and the post-raced squabble he lived through at Richmond.

He said the Canadian Tire circuit is challenging to drive, and that "if you make a mistake, you will pay for it.  There is no forgiveness, there is no margin for error here. I'm sure the drivers are going to be very careful and only take risks toward the end of the race."

He said many of the truck drivers, who race mainly on oval tracks, will be at a disadvantage. "What they lack is (the ability to handle) the slow, stop-and-go corners. There are a lot of long, sweeping corners here and they should be able to handle them better."

He said the way race drivers feel about tracks, whether they like them or not, can often depend on how well they do in competition there.

"When you race well, you always love the track. Road America, for example, was a track I didn't think much about. We had a good race, a great weekend over there, so I like the track now. (CTMP) is difficult to judge. It's a tricky track with a lot of high-speed corners so you need to have a lot of courage over here."

Piquet said it's possible he could compete in the Labour Day race but it would depend primarily on sponsorship. "I would love to come here and compete," he said. "We might take the risk and do it. Obviously, we would have to come here straight for the race (after running in the Nationwide race at Atlanta on the Saturday), no qualifying, no practice, no anything."

He said although he misses some things about European racing, he feels quite at home racing in North America.

"The racing over here is much more exciting, much more fun," he said.  "And there's more racing; you can race much more. I'm the kind of guy who likes to race all the time, as often as I can, which pisses my father off, but I just love to be driving. I'm going to be racing every weekend this year, although I won't do the dirt-track race at Eldora Speedway. Every weekend I have off from NASCAR, I'm  going to do the X-Games."

He said he hopes what happened the other night in Richmond - the confrontation with Scott - is over.

"What happened is unfortunate. Obviously, we don't want to be getting into fights, but I've learned one thing and that's that you have to stand up for yourself. He ran into me after the race was finished; he'd done the same thing to me last year. I won't accept it any more.

"Both of the instances we had, the race last year and this one, wasn't bad. Last year, I was racing hard to win the race in Martinsville and I didn't hit anybody from behind but when you go into the corner you bang doors and it doesn't matter. And the incident the other night, I was passing him, we were both fighting, we had old tires and it was the end of the race, we were all struggling and I barely touched him and we both went sideways and there was no reason for him to get upset.

"If he wants to get upset, so come and talk to me, not come and hit my car, destroy my car, after the race when everything is done. You shouldn't do things like that.

"If I had done something wrong, if I had been too hard in the race, okay. But that was not the case. And then I had 20 guys running at me and I kicked them back. Unfortunately it was in the wrong place (Scott's groin area) but it certainly was not the plan. I just came out of the car, you see him  coming with a bunch of guys, what are you going to do? Just stand there and put your face out there and be hit?

"I  was just trying to get everybody away from me. I was defending myself, yes, but I just wanted to get everybody away."

Piquet said hard racing, NASCAR style, is what race fans like and want.

"You saw what happened with Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer last year," he said. "You don't want people getting hurt, but it's part of racing. Racing in America, people get angry and they'll show their feelings and sometimes they get a bit out of control."

He said the racing in Europe, primarily open wheel, doesn't allow for tradin' paint.

"You don't go banging wheels (in Europe), he said. "If they had closed fenders and were racing hard, I'm sure it would happen (emotions boiling over). It's not because they're more educated, or sophisticated; with the kind of cars they have, it doesn't allow them to."

Piquet said emphatically he has no plans to try Indy car racing.

"When I saw the possibility of doing NASCAR, what intrigued me in the beginning was the challenge," he said. "It is so different, it is so tough. That is what drove me to come over here. That was even before falling in love with the sport. After I got addicted, I just love it."

He says he has a lot to learn about stock car racing and NASCAR before leaving Nationwide and trucks to try the Sprint Cup circuit. And he would like to take the step with the right team.

"I do not want to go up to Cup until I have the right team to do it," he said. "If it's going to be two, three, four years - I don't know. I want to learn as much as I can to be prepared. Then if the right opportunity comes along, I'll do it."

- NORRIS McDONALD

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Bob Armstrong, 65: Racer, contributor to motorsport growth in Canada

Bob Armstrong of Ottawa, a competitor and major contributor to motor racing in Canada, died Friday of cancer. He was 65.

As well as race-driving himself – as recently as last fall, in fact, during the Celebration of Motorsport weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park – he was an organizer, supporter, contributor (chief steward of  several racing series and director of track safety at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal, for example) and an administrator and executive (the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame) of motor sport in Canada.

Dr. Hugh Scully, Chairman of the Motorsport Hall, announced Saturday that to honour Bob for his many contributions, he will be made an Honourable Member at an induction ceremony later this year.

Said Scully: "On behalf of the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame, and personally, I want to express sadness and heartfelt condolences to his family and a real sense of loss at the passing of Bob after a courageous battle against cancer.

"He was an accomplished racing driver, a highly respected teacher and mentor to young drivers and a leader in motorsport safety at all levels,including Formula 1, IndyCar and NASCAR.

"Bob's dedication to the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame was exemplary. As a member of the Board, his thoughtful,well-considered input to our discussions always resonated well. His leadership, honesty and fairness as Chair of the Inductee Nomination and Selection Committee were always very helpful.

"Indeed, it was with great pleasure that I talked with Bob recently to inform him that he had been unanimously elected to Honourable Membership in the Hall this year. He was very pleased, proud and appreciative."

Paul Cooke, vice-president of ASN FIA Canada, the regulatory body that governs motorsport in Canada, issued this statement Saturday:

"If there is a Canadian `Royal Family' of racing,  it is certainly the Armstrongs. On any given weekend it was not unusual to find Bob the father, Cindy the mother and Jennifer the daughter at a race event in any number of roles from track preparation, race driving, officiating, training or whatever was needed to be done.

"Bob was someone that I personally worked with on many projects for more than three decades. We worked together for a week or 10 days every year at Canada’s most prestigious motor sport event – the Grand Prix of Canada. In addition to safety responsibilities for the Indy Racing League in Canada, Bob was also a key player in NASCAR Canada’s safety program.

"To know Bob was to respect his wealth of experience, knowledge and his willingness and ability to share with others. More importantly, to know him was to like him.

"Motor sport in Canada is better because Bob was here," Cooke concluded.

I watched Bob race for years (the photo of us together at Mosport - above - was taken in the fall of 2011), but got to know him when we were both involved with the Motorsport Hall. When French-Canadians were inducted, I would read the English dedication while Bob — who was fluently bilingual — would read the French.

A contributor in many ways over the years, he served most recently as chairman of the Hall’s selection committee.

Throughout his on-track career, Bob raced Formula Fords and Formula Atlantic single-seat cars as well as IMSA GTO, Firestone Firehawk, Michelin Enduro and Sprint GT cars. No homebody, he raced at circuits throughout North America.

He was runner-up twice in the North American Pro-Ford Series and won three Canadian Formula Ford championships in the 1970s. He was 1994 Canadian Endurance Champion, 2003 Canadian Touring GT Champion and 2005 over-all Division winner of the Sprint GT Championship.

In the mid-1980s, while still competing, Bob became ASN Canada FIA’s Chief Steward for the National Formula 2000 and Rothmans Porsche Series and oversaw competition that featured drivers like Ron Fellows, Paul Tracy, Jimmy Vasser, Alex Tagliani, Patrick Carpentier and Scott Goodyear, among others.

In 1990, he also became Director, Track Safety at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve and since then worked with the FIA Formula One World Championship (Canadian Grand Prix), the World Sports Car Series, the CART Indy car series and the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

Bob was also the Chief Race Instructor for the CASC and provided advanced driving training to the staffs of automobile manufacturers operating in Canada. Another contribution he made to the industry was by helping out each fall at the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada’s annual TestFest.

Two of AJAC’s executive members, Richard Russell of Halifax and Clare Dear of London, Ont., were saddened by the news.

“Bob was an immense asset,” said Russell. “Working with him was a pleasure. He controlled the track component in his usual capable manner with humour and understanding, giving encouragement when deserved and discouragement when necessary.

“Bob was an asset to Canadian motorsport from his days as a competitor to those as a wise guide.”

Added Dear: “Bob’s skill and experience as a racer and track safety expert ensured all involved with our TestFest track activities were in the surest hands. The fact we’ve never had a crash or injury is a testament to his abilities to keep the journalist testers’ adrenalin and testosterone in check.

“He was quick to offer encouragement and advice to the newbies, yet he could tone down even the biggest egos in such a subtle manner, when necessary. And there was always that trademark smile.

“Bob has always been a huge supporter of Canadian motorsport, so it’s not surprising he was so actively involved in the Motorsport Hall of Fame. His contributions to the sport, and more important to the people who are involved in it at all levels, are immense, but equally important is the fact Bob was such a genuinely wonderful person.”

Thom Dickinson, vice-president of the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame, spoke about Bob's commitment to the sport.

"Bob was one of the most passionate and dedicated people I have ever known," Dickinson said.

"As a Member of the Board of the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame, and later as its Vice President, Bob would leave no stone unturned in his quest for the best for the organization. It would start with a four-to-five-hour drive each way from Ottawa to Toronto for our meetings. His attention to detail was impeccable, and his care and concern for the people we inducted was unmatched.

"I considered him a friend as well as a colleague, and will truly miss him, as will Canadian Motorsport."

Ralph Luciw, former Honda-Michelin Challenge Series director, and a friend, had this to say:

"Bob was very much a no-nonsense kind of guy, but only for the best of reasons. He wanted things done right, the first time.

"He worked tirelessly on the CMHF Honourable Members Inductee program and did a masterful job of chairing that process for the Hall of Fame. His contributions to the safe running of events, whether it was a club race or an International event or the AJAC Car of the Year competition, were too many to list and contributed to the success of all of these programs.

"He could be tough but he always had time to help people out and after he "straightened you out," he'd leave you with a big smile and a pat on the back."

Robert Allen Armstrong was born in Ottawa on April 5, 1948, and died in Ottawa on April 19, 2013. He leaves his wife Cindy, sons Scott and Trevor and daughter Jennifer, five grandchildren and 22 nieces and nephews.

A private family service will be held, with a Celebration of Life planned for the near future.

The family says it welcomes donations in Bob's memory to Pancreatic Cancer Canada or the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame.

- NORRIS McDONALD

Harvick wins Sprint Unlimited, Patrick fastest in NASCAR practice

Kevin Harvick won the Sprint Unlimited pole-winners-only exhibition race at Daytona Speedway Saturday night, with Greg Biffle second and Joey Logano third.

Brad Keselowski, the Sprint Cup champion in 2012 who wasn't in this race (and how dumb is that?), did a fine job commenting on this and that as a guest announcer and even had the obligatory hand motions down pat.

He has a future in the booth if he should ever stop racing.

The new "gen 6" cars looked pretty good out there, although they appear to be a handful as compared to the previous gen cars. They were all fish-tailing around at one time or another and there was even a mini Big One caused when Tony Stewart's mount got away on him.

Mark Martin, Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin were among the seven cars eliminated in the Lap 15 dustup.

The fun and games are now over, however, as Daytona 500 qualifying goes Sunday at 1 p.m. Danica Patrick turned the fastest lap of the 44 cars that took time Saturday and has to be a favourite for the pole. Her boss Stewart was plenty quick, too.

Earlier:

NASCAR fans who tune into the Sprint Unlimited race (nee the Budweiser Shootout, nee the Busch Clash) Saturday night might be surprised to find that the two top stock car drivers in the world won’t be racing in it.

Yes, the Clash (it will always be that to me) is an exhibition race reserved for pole winners from the previous season as well as for drivers who’ve won previous shootouts.

By that score, Brad Keselowski and Clint Bowyer, who finished one-two in the Sprint Cup championship in 2012, are ineligible. Although both had dazzling seasons last year, neither of them won a pole. So they can't race Saturday night.

Keselowski will be part of the broadcast team for the race. Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds will anchor the show, which will be seen on CTV2 (in the Toronto area, that’s the old CKVR-Barrie station) at 8 p.m.

Now, even though Keselowski and Bowyer won’t be out there (NASCAR has been known to manipulate things on occasion in the past; you’d think there’d be some way to get those guys into that thing, wouldn’t you?), most of the rest of everybody’s Sprint Cup favourites will be racing, including Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Jimmy Johnson, Kyle Busch and the rest – except, of course, the champion and first runner-up.

Nuts.

The reason the race is on CTV2 is because although TSN holds the rights to NASCAR in Canada, there's no room to get the race on the air. Women’s curling is on the main network Saturday night and the NBA All-Star game is on the secondary channel.

TSN plans to telecast the entire Sprint Cup schedule in 2013 as well as all the Nationwide Series races, on either TSN, TSN2 or CTV2.

After the Saturday night Clash, all of the drivers in that race, plus Keselowski, Bowyer and the rest, will run time trials Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. as qualifying begins for next weekend’s Daytona 500.

(See George's TV Listings for Race Fans for the channel that time trials will be on, plus times and channels for all the other pre-Daytona 500 NASCAR programming, including the two qualifying races next Thursday afternoon.)

A total of 45 drivers are entered in what broadcaster Ken Squier has dubbed the "Great American Race" and 43 will start the classic, meaning only two drivers will miss the show.

One of the 45 is Brad Keselowski’s brother Brian, who will be driving a start-and-park entry for Hamilton Means Racing, which usually campaigns a car in the Nationwide series.

Speaking of the Nationwide series, Nelson Piquet Jr. will fun full-time in it this season, after apprenticing in trucks last year.

And speaking of trucks, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park co-owner – and racing champion in his own right – Ron Fellows said at the Canadian International AutoShow on Thursday that he thinks chances are very good that he will have a ride for the Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen in August and "be in a good car."

Fellows has won in every classification of racing he’s entered, with the exception of the Sprint Cup, and considers that to be "unfinished business."

And why did I start this item with the words, "speaking of trucks?" Because Canadian Tire Motorport Park will be the scene on Labour Day weekend of a NASCAR Camping World Series Truck Race.

Okay, so it doesn’t work. I’m moving on anyway.

Social note: Jacques Villeneuve is a new father – again. His wife has given birth to their latest child - a third son - and mother, father and baby are doing fine at the family home in Switzerland.

James Hylton, who's 78 and been driving in NASCAR'S top division since 1964 and made more than 600 starts, winning two races, has announced the 2013 season will be his last as a driver. I love guys with energy and endurance and Hylton tops the list.

And Kyle Marcelli of Barrie, who's considerably younger than Mr. Hylton, has signed to drive this season for BAR1 Motorsports in the LMPC class in the American Le Mans Series. The ALMS will be at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in July.

And finally, Katherine Legge and Sebastien Saavedra are both pay drivers. It says something about the IZOD IndyCar Series that they are apparently more important to a car owner than Indy 500 pole winner Ryan Briscoe, who has more talent than both of them combined and yet because he expects to be paid, he can’t get hired.

- Norris McDonald

Big F1 deal for BlackBerry; Villeneuve, Tracy at Mosport?

Iconic Canadian company BlackBerry, nee RIM, announced a big deal Monday with the Mercedes Formula One team that will see the BlackBerry name plastered prominently on the Silver Arrow race cars and on the uniforms of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg (pictured).

Details to follow. But first . . .

When Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, nee Mosport, announced last fall that it had landed a race in the NASCAR Camping World Series for this year’s Labour Day Weekend, I wrote that although I was pleased as punch that the event would happen, I was suspicious of the level of talent the circuit would be able to attract and promote.

Would Kyle Busch be there come September, I wondered? Joe Nemechek? Todd Bodine? James Buescher, who won the truck series championship in 2012?

Today, I still have no idea who’s coming to race and who’s not coming. But I do have a couple of names to drop.

A little bird told me yesterday that two of Canada’s biggest racing names are looking for sponsorship that could – repeat, could – see them in trucks at Mosport next Sept. 1, the Sunday of Labour Day weekend.

Name them, I said. And – as Popeye used to say – you could blow me down.

How about Jacques Villeneuve and Paul Tracy?

The little bird said, in addition to Villeneuve and Tracy, that Old Mosport co-owner Ron Fellows is hoping to be in a truck, as are two of the young chargers currently racing in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series for stock cars, J.R. Fitzpatrick and Andrew Ranger, both of whom have had success in the Camping World Series, particularly Fitzpatrick.

My Spidey Sense tells me Max Papis might also be hovering around in the background.

I’m not as suspicious about that entry list any longer. If JV, PT and RF are in trucks with their pedals to the metal, we won’t need those other guys.

How would you like to be Lewis Hamilton?

You cut the McLaren apron strings and embark on a marvelous new adventure with Mercedes F1 and all you hear from just about everybody is that this was the stupidest thing imaginable and what was he thinking and he’s traded class for cash and, etc. etc.

The latest salvo was fired at the weekend by British sports car champion Allan McNish.

Writing for the British Internet site Express.co.uk, journalist Nick Stamford quoted the 43-year-old McNish as saying this:

"I don’t see Lewis winning races in 2013 – and there has to be doubts that the car will be good enough in 2014. And it is easy for a lean couple of years to develop into something longer. Just look what happened to Jacques Villeneuve after he joined BAR, having won the title in 1997. He never won another race. Lewis has got a tough task ahead of him at Mercedes. It is a gamble."

For his part, Hamilton prattled on and on at Monday’s 2013 Mercedes launch about how happy he is and I swear his words reminded me of Ebenezer Scrooge’s on Christmas morning:

"I'm happier. Just happier, I can't really explain it. Happier that I've got a new challenge, happy that I've got a new start, happy that I've got a fresh chapter in my life, happy that I've got this massive challenge, happy that I've got this excitement because I don't know if the car will be good or bad. I'm excited because I know that I can contribute and with a lot of hard work and perseverance I think we can get there."

I’d say Lewis is happy and excited, wouldn’t you?

And then there was that news involving Mercedes and BlackBerry. In a release Monday, Mercedes said:

"As the new Silver Arrow, the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 W04, completes its first laps this morning at the Jerez circuit in Spain, the team is delighted to announce a significant new partnership agreement with BlackBerry (NASDAQ: RIMM, TSX: RIM).

"As the official mobile computing partner for the Mercedes Formula One Team, BlackBerry will collaborate with the team on technical and marketing opportunities.

"The new BlackBerry 10 platform will deliver tools and services for Mercedes,  and fan engagement will be improved through the joint development of apps. BlackBerry 10 smartphones will also be used by the team . . . throughout the Formula One season.

"The new partnership sees the iconic BlackBerry branding featured prominently on the chassis and headrest of the F1 W04 Silver Arrow, the race suits of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, and on the team's racewear kit."

In the same release, Blackberry’s marketing chief Frank Boulben said:

"Formula One is all about precision engineering, design and innovation – three values that mirror the approach that's gone into creating BlackBerry 10. It is a natural fit."

Good luck to Blackberry and good luck to Mercedes in this new partnership.

And, lastly, Bob Pockrass, writing in The Sporting News, reports that car owner Tony Stewart not only has faith and trust in Danica Patrick, who will drive with him in his Sprint Cup team this year that also includes Ryan Newman, but says people who criticize her really don’t know what they’re talking about.

Said Stewart, who knows how hard it is to go from IndyCar racing to NASCAR, having done it himself:

"Most of the people that do the picking and analyzing aren't people that actually understand how to analyze a whole race from start to finish and aren't qualified to make that judgment.

"But from our side as a team owner and teammate, I've seen great strides. She's made huge gains in a short amount of time and that shows talent."

There are seasoned observers out there who are suggesting that it is not beyond the realm of possibility that Patrick could win a race, or races, this season.

Top Ten motorsports stories of 2012

There were many more than 10 "Top Ten" motorsports stories in 2012 but somebody had to bite the bullet and make the calls, so I nominated myself.

I’ll tell you about four right off the top that didn’t make it – but boy, were they close.

1: Dodge winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup and then withdrawing from the series. You guys never heard of "Win on Sunday, sell on Monday?"

2: Juan Pablo Montoya escaping death in the Daytona 500 when his car hit a jet dryer that exploded (left). It was the second time in three Daytona 500s that the race was delayed because of something that had little to do with racing. In 2010, there were two long delays because of potholes.

3: Brad Keselowski attracting hundreds of thousands more fans to his Twitter account by tweeting during the lengthy red flag that followed Montoya’s accident – and NASCAR then forbidding him from doing it later in the season. Earth to NASCAR: Sprint sponsors the Sprint Cup and WANTS people to tweet.

4: Sebastien Loeb winning his ninth straight World Rally Championship title. I mean, what more is there to say?

So here are the Top Ten.

No. 1

Car owner Roger Penske and driver Brad Keselowski winning their first NASCAR Sprint Cup championships.

Penske, who’s dominated North American Indy car and sports car racing for decades, finally made it to the top step of the NASCAR podium after years of trying.

Keselowski comes from a racing family and won his first title on the basis of talent, moxy, drive and determination. Like champions in other leagues before him, he influenced Penske to build a team around him (he brought in his own crew chief, for starters). This title will likely be the first of many.

No. 2

Sebastian Vettel winning his third consecutive Formula One world championship, with Red Bull Racing (Christian Hornder, team principal; Adrien Newey, chief designer) scoring its third straight constructors championship.

After a slow start (he didn’t win his first race of 2012 until the fourth of the season, in Bahrain, and then he didn’t win again until the 14^th of the year, in Singapore), Vettel finally got the bit between his teeth late in the season and ran off a string of victories that put him in front to stay.

Fernando Alonso had a brilliant season for Ferrari (Joann Villeneuve, widow of Gilles, told me that Alonso made a slow car fast this year) and finished second, only three points behind the champion. If Alonso doesn’t get taken out of two races, in which he scored zero points, he might be champion today.

And Kimi Raikkonen finished an astonishing third in points after being out of F1 for the previous two seasons, preferring to drive WRC cars and NASCAR trucks. He was consistent all year and won a race, at Abu Dhabi, near the end of the season. The Iceman is back and will be one to watch in 2013.

No. 3

Canada losing two major international races was a real kick in the teeth for motorsport in this country.

Gone from the IZOD IndyCar Series calendar in 2013 will be the Edmonton Grand Prix and the NASCAR Nationwide Series will not return to Montreal for the annual NAPA Auto Parts 200 either.

Both were crowd-pleasers and both were broadcast live over international television.

Both were promoted by Octane Management, Inc., owned by Francois Dumontier of Montreal, whose other company, Octane Racing Group, promotes the F1 Grand Prix du Canada. Dumontier said he was losing millions on both races and unable to continue. Critics suggested there were other reasons.

The Grand Prix is not affected.

As well as taking two important races off the national calendar, Dumontier’s decisions put the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series in a bind. The stock cars were on the undercard in both Edmonton and Montreal and, when combined with losing a contract to race as part of the Honda Indy Toronto following the 2011 event, it meant the country’s only national racing series lost three major dates in 14 months.

No. 4

The branding of Mosport as Canadian Tire Motorsport Park knocked long-time Canadian racing fans for a loop.

Although selling the "naming rights" to North American sports arenas is a well-established practice (two exceptions, both in New York: Madison Square Garden and Yankee Stadium – some things are not for sale), the commercial branding of road racing circuits has never been popular. It has happened, though.

But Mazda incorporated the historic name of the circuit when it took over Laguna Seca race track in California and renamed it Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Infineon Raceway, named arfter the technologies group, was previously Sears Point but Sears Point started life many years ago as Golden Gate Raceway so name-changes at the San Francisco-area circuit are not uncommon.

But Watkins Glen, Road America, Road Atlanta, Daytona, Indianapolis, Mid-Ohio, Le Circuit-Mont Tremblant and on and on are storied names that live on.

Now, with the branding of Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, the internationally known, loved and respected "Mosport" is no more.

Would they change the name of Silverstone? Brands Hatch? Monza?

Would it have been hard to incorporate "Mosport’ into the new name?

Of course not, which is a shame and shortsighted because, as will inevitably happen, at some point somebody in control of Canadian Tire is going to decide not to continue the arrangement, and what then?

On the bright side, the announcement of a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race there on Labour Day weekend in 2013 is a wonderful, positive step as new owners Carlo Fidani and Ron Fellows strive to update the aging facility to 2013 standards.

No. 5

D.J. Kennington’s winning of the 2012 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series championship was one of the most dominant displays of race-driving ever seen in all of Canadian motorsport.

En route to winning his second national title in three years, Kennington won seven of the 12 races , a series record; five in a row for another record; and six of the seven oval-track races, also a record. He also scored the most top five finishes in a single season.

His performance during the last race of year, at Kawartha Speeedway near Peterborough, was inspiring. Having to finish 21^st or better to clinch the title, he left no doubt about his intentions: he flat went out and won it.

In short, it was a banner year.

Which is a good thing, because there are – as they say – signs.

Signs of what, I don’t know. But they are there.

For the first time in his life, D.J. has a job outside of racing. He’s working for the county where he lives, which means (gulp) that he’s making pension contributions.

And he became the father of a son, Chase, just a few weeks ago.

You may now speculate about what all this means.

No. 6

Two women professional drag racers winning championships on the same day served to illustrate how women have shattered motorsport’s glass ceiling.

From Janet Guthrie at Indianapolis to Shirley Muldowney in Top Fuel dragsters to Danica Patrick about to become the first woman to compete full time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup, women racers have come a long way, baby.

On Aug. 5, at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals near Seattle, rookie Funny Car driver Courtney Force (right, in photo)finished first in her class for the first time and Erica Enders (left in photo) won her second Pro Stock championship.

Auto racing is perhaps the only sport in the world where women can compete equally with men and more are not only getting involved but are becoming successful.

As 15-times NHRA Funny Car champion John Force (and father of Courtney) said: "It’s always been a man’s sport – but the rules are changing."

No. 7

CEO Randy Bernard’s firing by the IZOD IndyCar Series, although – according to some – justified, is yet another negative that Indy car racing is going to have to overcome.

Although the racing was great in 2012 and Oakville native James Hinchcliffe succeeding Danica Patrick in the Go Daddy car and Ryan Hunter-Reay’s winning his first championship were good stories, the off-track soap opera continued apace and garnered most of the headlines.

These included stories suggesting that Tony George was trying to buy back the series, Bernard himself tweeting that some of the team owners were plotting to get rid of him, driver Scott Dixon being penalized for something he didn’t do because race officials were watching THE WRONG REPLAY (I’m not making that up; can you see that happening in the NFL? ) and an absurd rule that penalized drivers for teams having to change leased engines before their time, which saw 11 drivers at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach – nearly half the field – assessed 10-grid-position penalties. (A guy who qualified 20^th was made to go back to the last race. Okay, I made that up but it shows how absurd the whole thing was.)

Now there’s a new fellow in charge. His name’s Mark Miles. He kinda sounds a lot like Bernard when he came in – someone who made another sport a raging success, in his case tennis rather than Bernard’s bull-riding, and somebody else thinking he’d be perfect for IndyCar.

And he’s starting out pretty much the same way, too: slowly, learning names, learning who’s who, learning the sport.

How many more times Indy car racing will be able to get away with this is anyone’s guess. But while some people are suggesting there will be about the same number of cars on the grid in 2013 as there were in 2012 – 25 or 26 – I say car count will be a concern as sponsorship (and interest generally) dwindles because of all the nonsense.

No. 8

A.J. Allmendinger’s failed drug test and then his relatively quick return to Sprint Cup competition toward the end of the season.

People shook their heads when Allmendinger, a former Champ Car driver who made the switch to NASCAR and was given the ride of a lifetime by Roger Penske, failed a random drug test early in the summer. Penske fired him, as a result.

Although the story of the circumstances changed several times – his management team would say one thing and the Dinger would say another – Allmendinger eventually ‘fessed up to the fact that a friend had offered him what he thought was an energy pill (it was Adderall, an amphetamine) and he "foolishly" took it (you betcha).

But he proceeded to do something that none of the other NASCAR stars who’d flunked drug tests (Jeremy Mayfield, Aaron Fyke, come on down) had done previously: he immediately entered and completed NASCAR’s drug treatment program (called the Road to Recovery).

And then the stars aligned and he was in the right place at the right time in October (Kurt Busch went to Furniture Row Racing early and Phoenix Racing needed a driver) and he finished the year back in Cup.

Whether his rehabilitation will continue in 2013 is unknown at this point. He’s looking for a ride in any series but hasn’t received a firm offer.

No. 9

The signing of McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton by Mercedes to replace the second-time-retiring Michael Schumacher had (and continues to have) Formula One watchers scratching their heads.

With McLaren, Hamilton – who won one world championship with the marque – could expect continuing to win races. In 2012, McLaren won seven times and Lewis was the driver for four of them. Nico Rosberg won but one race for Mercedes.

There are suggestions that it all has to do with money and the exploitation of Hamilton’s brand. At McLaren, he was contractually hamstrung when it came to personal sponsorship but there apparently are no such restrictions at Mercedes and so long as he fulfills the testing, racing and PR obligations of his contract, he’s pretty much free to do what he wants on his own time.

But I have a friend who sees something more sinister. He suggests Bernie Ecclestone, McLaren and Mercedes cooked this "trade" up for two reasons: that the Mercedes board was lukewarm, at best, about continuing in F1 but now, with the addition of one of the top three stars in F1, they are firmly behind continuing; and/or McLaren wanted to find a way to continue with Mercedes engines in their cars going forward and Lewis’ driving for Mercedes is simply the price they had to pay for doin’ business.

We’ll find out in 2013 how things work out, won’t we?

No. 10

Roger Penske using the end-of-season NASCAR awards banquet to both plug the Indianapolis 500 and to try to get the open-wheel-drivers-to-NASCAR scenario reversed.

Penske, who received the Sprint Cup along with his driver Brad Keselowski, used his acceptance speech to suggest to multi-time NASCAR champion and former IRL star Tony Stewart that if Tony wanted to do "the double" in 2013, Penske would have a car and crew ready for him.

Within a day, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway let it be known it would move back the time of the Indianapolis 500 so that Stewart – and any other NASCAR stars who wanted to take a shot (Danica Patrick, for instance) – would have more time to finish that race and get to Charlotte in time for the start of the same-day Coca-Cola 600.

Several days later, Stewart met with Penske and said he’d like to try but that he wouldn’t do it. He said IndyCar is too competitive for a driver to just "show up" and expect to win and that he was too involved with his NASCAR operation to even begin to think about it.

Now, ever since Jeff Gordon called every team owner in CART in 1990 and asked for a ride, only to be rebuffed again and again, thus sending him south to race in NASCAR, supermodified, midget and sprint car drivers don’t consider for a second a career in Indy cars.

Since Gordon went to stock cars, so have Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne, Stewart, Patrick and any number of others.

If Stewart and Patrick did "the double," you can bet pressure would be on some of the others to give it a shot, too. NASCAR is a Goliath but the Indianapolis 500 is still the biggest and most prestigious race in the world and most racing drivers would like to have it on their CVs.

The feeling is that a good performance in the Indy 500 might whet the appetite of some of the other NASCAR drivers to give the whole circuit a try. After all, Cale Yarborough drove at Indy in the late 1960s and liked it so much that he left stock cars for the Indy-car circuit in 1970 (he wasn't very good in an open-cockpit car, so went back to the taxis where he excelled).

In any event, Roger Penske is always thinking, always plotting, always looking for an angle, an edge. He fights fair but he fights really hard, too.

He knew exactly what he was doing when he stood up at that NASCAR function and started kidding around about Tony Stewart driving for him at Indianapolis.

Exactly what he was doing.

- Norris McDonald

Electric-car racing and the NASCAR Canada schedule is out

My friend, Gary Morton, has another idea – and he might really be on to something this time.

You’ll recall that he was the fellow I quoted a few weeks ago as saying the solution to the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park controversy is to just do what the founders of the place did back in 1961: contract "motor" and "sport" into one word, Mosport, and call the place Canadian Tire Mosport Park and everybody would be happy.

Three things:

– First, and this sort of thing is inevitable, some people wrote and said Gary was way behind because this had been suggested before, which was news to me or I would have put it in the paper sooner.

– Many others wrote to say it was a wonderful idea, because they hadn’t heard anybody suggest anything like it before either.

– Last, it’ll never happen. Canadian Tire Corp. bought the naming rights to the place and that’s what they want to call it. The signage, the letterhead and the souvenirs have all either been changed, or are on order, and there’s no turning back.

In the short term, anyway.

But as I said, he has another idea and it has to do with electric cars and racing – two things that keep turning up in the motorsport news cycle with a degree of regularity these days.

For instance, last week it was announced that Rome would become the first European city where a round of the FIA Formula E Championship would be held, in 2014. The first city to announce a date in what is promised to be a 10-race series was Rio do Janeiro, in August.

Still no word on a North American city but there will be likely be one or two. A full schedule is promised soon.

This is for real, folks. The FIA is behind it and McLaren has announced that it will design and build the powertrain for the first Formula E cars, in partnership with Spark Racing Technology (SRT).

They’re going to build 42 cars to get the championship going with, hopefully, 10 teams and 20 drivers. Formula E, however, is an "open" championship and other car designers and constructors are being encouraged to build a Formula E car.

My friend "Mort" says he has the answer.

"Take the Delta Wing car and put an all-electric motor in it, preferably one built by Tesla," he writes. "Get the universities involved – Virgina Tech., U of T, Queen’s, Cal Tech., MIT, etc. It’s the perfect way to save open-wheel racing in North America."

He got a big response to his Mosport suggestion. We’ll see how he does on this one.

Other Monday Morning Morning Roundup items:

- The 2013 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 schedule was issued at the weekend and features 12 races at 11 tracks across five provinces. Of those dozen races, three of them will be held at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park north of Bowmanville – two on the road course and one on the oval speedway.

The series will open on the road course at Old Mosport on the traditional Victoria Day weekend in May and race there again in June on the oval. Labour Day weekend will be the biggie, though, when the stock cars share the stage with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

The Canadian series has two other road-course races, both in Quebec - at the Grand Prix of Trois-Rivieres and at Circuit ICAR at Mirabel Airport.

Short track oval speedway races will be held at Autodrome St. Eustache, Riverside Speedway in Nova Scotia, Motoplex Speedway in Vernon, B,.C., Auto Clearing Motor Speedway in Sakatoon, Delaware Speedway outside of London, Ont., and Barrie Speedway.

The season will wrap up, as it traditionally does, on Sept. 21 at Kawartha Speedway near Peterborough.

The schedule was issued at the Night of Champions Touring Awards at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte on Saturday night.

D.J. Kennington of St. Thomas, who won his second NASCAR Canada title in three years this season, was among those honoured at the affair. Martin Roy was named Rookie of the Year in the Canadian series and the Most Popular Driver award went to Ray Courtemanche Jr. (and I have no idea how that happened . . .).

– Lotus has been released from its contract by IndyCar, so the only engine suppliers in 2013 will be Chevrolet and Honda. They shouldn’t have any trouble supplying the field because I suggest car count will become a story again. We won’t cross that bridge till later but it is highly unlikely that 25 or 26 cars will be showing up for every race, as was the case this year.

– 12-year-old Devlin DeFrancesco of Toronto, who won a Canadian karting championship this season, travels to Brazil next weekend for the famous 12-hour Gran ja Viana 500 kart race. His teammates? None other than Tony Kanaan and Rubens Barrichello.

Another Canadian youngster will also be making the trip. Jamie Riberdy will represent the Brian Stewart Racing Karting Championship Series and his trip is being paid for by Luis Ruibal and Wagner Rossi of MG Tires.

Care to keep an eye on these kids? Follow the action at: www.betocarrero.com.br/500milhas

– The World of Outlaws sprint car series issued their 2013 schedule last week and it’s a killer. Get this: they will race more than 90 times from February until November. Their Canadian swing starts on Sat., July 27, at Drummondville, Que., and goes to Cornwall Motor Speedway on the Sunday. Then, it's on to Ohsweken Speedway on the Six Nations Reserve near Brantford two nights later on Tuesday, July 30.

The last two times the Outlaws raced at Ohsweken, NASCAR star Tony Stewart was the winner. Will he make it a hat trick in 2013? You can bet he’ll try.

– Austin is after the FIA to give it another date for its Grand Prix because it was discovered that the 2013 event (Nov. 17) is being held the same weekend as a Texas Longhorns football game.

They just found that out? That football schedule's been out for months! Don’tcha think somebody might have looked and told the FIA to take that into consideration? Just wondering . . .

Roundup: NASCAR stock cars to join trucks at Old Mosport

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park has announced its major event schedule for 2013 and the really good news is that two of Canada’s finest racing series will be on the program next Labour Day weekend with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

The NASCAR Canadian Tire stock cars and the Canadian Touring Car Series sedans will be sharing the legendary road circuit north of Bowmanville, formerly known as Mosport, with the Camping World trucks, which make up one-third of NASCAR’s top travelling series, the Sprint Cup and Nationwide stock cars being the other two.

The NASCAR Canada stock cars will actually be racing at Old Mosport three times next year. The Canadian Tire Series will headline the annual, traditional, Victoria Day SpeedFest on the road course that will also feature the Trans-Am Series, the Canadian Touring Cars and the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada.

And in addition to Victoria Day in May and Labour Day in September, the stock cars will also race at the Old Mosport oval on June 22.

Other big events at Canadian Tire Mosport Park (heh, heh) next summer will be the American le Mans Series on July 18-21, making its last stop before unification with the Grand-American Road Racing Series the following year; the Canadian Historic Grand Prix on June 14-16 and the Canadian Superbike Doubleheader Weekend in August.

More information and tickets can be found at: www.canadiantiremotorsportpark.com.

Meantime, the Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada has announced a special ticket package for next June that will allow a person to purchase a reserved seat in a different grandstand for each day of the three-day event.

Quantities are limited, so if you want in you’d better get cracking. Ticket combinations come in three packages - gold, silver and bronze and are on sale for $485, $449 and $267.50, respectively. More information at 514 350-0000 or 1-855-790-1245. Or go to www.circuitgillesvilleneuve.ca.

And tickets for the 2013 Honda Indy Toronto will go on sale next Monday, Dec. 10. And remember, the event will now feature two official, fully-sanctioned IZOD IndyCar Series races, one with a standing start on Saturday and a second with a rolling start on Sunday. Each event will be full length, with full points and full prize money.

The promoters are making changes to some of the grandstands. They plan to build three new “super-structure” grandstands – one at Turn 10 (consolidating three grandstands), a taller structure at Turn 11, and a Turn 3 Grandstand that will see the addition of 15 rows.

According to a release, the switch to larger grandstands will result in an important additional benefit: greater track-side access for General Admission ticketholders and fans who might wander around looking for multiple viewpoints. Tickets start at $35 for General Admission. For more information, go to www.hondaindy.com.

Here’s a change of pace: The Canadian Motortsport Hall of Fame has launched a new, redesigned, website — www.cmhf.ca

This easy-to-navigate website details the history of motorsport in Canada and features biographies, including photos, of more than 150 inductees.

Said general manager Sid Priddle: “Thanks to the development efforts of highly respected freelance journalist (and Wheels Insider) Gary Grant, CMHF is able to bring you this new look. Gary is also responsible for the creation of our Facebook page.”

As is the case with any new project, the website is a work in progress. However, the hall hopes to keep the site informative and current.

And the CMHF is looking forward to your feedback. Just click on “contact” and submit any comments or questions.

Meantime, Andretti Autosport introduced its drivers lineup for 2013 on Wednesday and it’s the same as 2012 with two minor twists. Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay will carry the No. 1 on his car instead of his familiar 28 (although “28” is included in the livery) and Marco Andretti will drive car No. 25, instead of 26. They have their reasons. James Hinchcliffe of Oakville, meantime, will continue aboard the No. 27 Go Daddy car.

Conor Daly, the son of ex-F1 and Indy car star Derek Daly who cut many of his racing teeth on the Ontario Formula Ford circuit driving for Brian Graham, will test for A.J. Foyt's IndyCar team at Sebring soon. Daly had designs on a career in Formula One but the IndyCar test would indicate he’s going to Plan B. He’s smart. You have to be the absolute best and have all the connections and the money needed to get into F1. That’s a triple whammy and very few young athletes have all three. It’s why I really hoped Guelph’s Robert Wickens would have taken a crack at IndyCar a year ago when his path to F1 was blocked. Believe it or not, it might be too late now.

Here’s not very good news. The Star Mazda Series is for sale and whether a buyer can be found in time for the 2013 season is questionable. In a letter to drivers and sponsors, Star Mazda owner Gary Rodrigues said the series would fold if it can’t be sold.

It seems that it doesn’t only cost a fortune to go racing these days, it costs as much or more to build a platform for racing.

Here are the nominees for the Mario Andretti Trophy as the SPEED performer of the year:

2010 SPEED Performer of the Year Sebastian Vettel (F1), Fernando Alonso (F1), Brad Keselowski (NASCAR), Jorge Lorenzo (MotoGP), Casey Stoner (MotoGP), Ryan Hunter-Reay (IndyCar), Antron Brown (NHRA), Kyle Larson (USAC), Sammy Swindell (WoO), Sebastien Loeb (World Rally), Andre Lotterer (WEC), Max Biaggi (World Superbike), Scott Pruett (Grand-Am), Donny Schatz (WoO), Josh Hayes (AMA Pro Superbike) and Ryan Villopoto (Supercross).

Andretti will present the trophy, a 100-pound sculpture created by bronze artist Elie Hazak, as part of a SPEED Center special on Jan. 27.

Any guesses who'll win?