NASCAR Canada Set to Roll for 2011

Photo Credit: Matthew Murnaghan/NASCAR

Entry List for Dickies 200 at Mosport Speedway (19 Cars)

02 Kerry Micks Dickie's/Beyond Digital Imaging
07 Isabelle Tremblay Group Beton Brunet/ADF Diesel
3 Jason Hathaway Snap On Tools/Vortex Brake Pads
5 Pete Vanderwyst EMCO/White Mudd Mechanical
7 Peter Shepherd National Exhaust/Hy-Tech
8 Don Thomson, Jr. Farmers Feed Families
9 Mark Dilley Rheem/PartSource
15 Steven Mathews Mathews Motorsports
17 D.J. Kennington Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors
19 Brad Graham Holmar Plumbing
21 Jason White A & W
22 Scott Steckly Canadian Tire
23 Jeff Lapcevich Tim Hortons
55 Dexter Stacey Bully's Truck Stop
60 Ron Beauchamp, Jr. Mopar / Mobil 1
82 Dave Connelly Schneider's/Metro Hot Rod
84 J.R. Fitzpatrick Equipment Express
97 Hugo Vannini Vannini Motorsports
99 Derek White OCR Gaz Bar



2011 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Tour

Saturday, May 28
Dickies 200
Mosport Speedway (Bowmanville, Ont.)
Race Time: 7:00 pm Eastern time

Track Type: Oval
Track Distance: 0.50 mile
Race Distance: 200 laps (100 miles)
2010 Race Winner: Don Thomson Jr
Track Website: http://www.mosport.com/


Sunday, June 5
Grand Prix iCAR Presented by Continental Tire
Circuit ICAR (Montreal, Que.)
Race Time: TBA

Track Type: Permanent Road Course
Track Distance: 3 km (1.86 mile)
Race Distance: 35 laps (65.1 miles)
2010 Race Winner: New track to series
Track Website: http://www.circuiticar.com/home.html


Saturday, June 11
Keystone Light 200
Delaware Speedway (London, Ont.)
Race Time: 8:00 pm Eastern time

Track Type: Oval
Track Distance: 0.50 mile
Race Distance: 200 Laps (100 Mile)
2010 Race Winner: DJ Kennington
Track Website: http://www.delawarespeedway.com/


Sunday, June 26
Vortex Brake Pads 200
Mosport Int'l Raceway (Bowmanville, Ont.)
Race Time: TBA

Track Type: Permanent Road Course
Track Distance: 3.96 km (2.46 mile)
Race Distance: 51 Laps (125.41 miles)
2010 Race Winner: JR Fitzpatrick
Track Website: http://www.mosport.com/




Saturday, July 9
TBA
Toronto Exhibition Place (Toronto, Ont.)
Race Time: TBA

Track Type: Street Course
Track Distance: 2.84 km (1.76 mile)
Race Distance: 35 laps (61.43 miles)
2010 Race Winner: Andrew Ranger
Track Website: http://hondaindytoronto.com/




Saturday, July 23
A&W Cruisin' The Dub 300
Motoplex Speedway (Vernon, B.C.)
Race Time: 8 pm Pacific time (5 pm Eastern time)

Track Type: Oval
Track Distance: 0.50 mile
Race Distance: 300 laps (150 miles)
2010 Race Winner: Scott Steckly
Track Website: http://www.motoplexspeedway.com/




Wednesday, July 27
Velocity Prairie Thunder 250
Auto Clearing Motor Speedway (Saskatoon, Sask.)
Race Time: 7:00 pm Central time (5:00 pm Eastern time)

Track Type: Oval
Track Distance: 0.375 mile
Race Distance: 250 Laps (93.75 mile)
2010 Race Winner: DJ Kennington
Track Website: http://www.autoclearingmotorspeedway.ca/




Sunday, Aug. 7
Grand Prix Trois Rivieres
Circuit de Trois-Rivieres (Trois-Rivieres, Que.)
Race Time: TBA

Track Type: Street Course
Track Distance: 2.57 km (1.6 mile)
Race Distance: 42 Laps (67.2 mile)
2010 Race Winner: Andrew Ranger
Track Website: http://www.gp3r.com/en.html




Saturday, Aug. 20
NAPA Auto Parts 100
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (Montreal, Que.)
Race time: TBA

Track Type: Street Course
Track Distance: 4.36 km (2.709 mile)
Race Distance: 23 Laps (100.3 miles)
2010 Race Winner: Andrew Ranger
Track Website: http://www.napa200.ca/montreal-nascar.html




Saturday, Sept. 10
NASCAR WILD WING 300
Barrie Speedway (Barrie, Ont.)
Race Time: 8:00 pm Eastern Time

Track Type: Oval
Track Distance: 0.333 mile
Race Distance: 300 laps (100 miles)
2010 Race Winner: DJ Kennington
Track Website: http://www.barriespeedway.com/




Saturday, Sept. 17
TBA
Riverside Int’l Speedway (Antigonish, N.S.)
Race Time: TBA

Track Type: Oval
Track Distance: 0.333 mile
Race Distance: 300 Laps (100 Mile)
2010 Race Winner: DJ Kennington
Track Website: http://www.riversidespeedway.ca/




Saturday, Sept. 24
TBA
Kawartha Speedway (Peterborough, Ont.)
Race Time: TBA

Track Type: Oval
Track Distance: 0.375 mile
Race Distance: 250 Laps (93.75 miles)
2010 Race Winner: Pete Shepherd
Track Website: http://www.kawarthadowns.com/

Go Canada Racing a Go at NASCAR Nationwide Race in Nashville

Photo Credit: Greig Reekie

At this moment, a Canadian national election is playing out with various parties vying to convince the North American country's people that their beliefs best represent Canada. Attempting to ignite the notions for what Canadian values are most important, candidates challenge the for the heart and soul of Canada for a nationwide vote. Well over 800 kilometers away from the Windsor/Detroit border crossing, an patriotic surge of Canadian spirit will ride around a 1.25 mile oval this weekend as part of the NASCAR Nationwide Series race in Nashville.

Announced this Tuesday, a co-owner of multi-billion dollar financial firm Investment Planning Counsel has pursued a new, personal venture. Entering the very competitive NASCAR stock car racing circuit, Canadian business Steve Meehan unveiled his Go Canada Racing team. Selected to drive Meehan's Canadian stock car racing is stand-out JR Fitzpatrick.

A champion of the 2006 CASCAR Super Series (now reorganized as the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series), the youthful talent of Fitzpatrick has not been a phenomenon limited only to the top side of the 49th parallel. Driving a NASCAR Camping World Series Truck for TRG Motorsports at the Daytona 250-mile race in 2009, JR Fitzpatrick not only survived the high-speed competition but firmly challenged the more veteran stock car drivers. Fitzpatrick finished 4th in that race which kicked off some initial interest later from the Kevin Harvick Incorporated (KHI) race team. Though JR Fitzpatrick and KHI were able to compete several races together in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and two Nationwide Series road races, the pairing never reached full potential. KHI decided late in 2009 to divest themselves from driver development and focused solely on placing established drivers to please sponsors. Returning to the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series full-time in 2010, Fitzpatrick regrouped for a title-contending season with two wins.

Delivering JR Fitzpatrick his dream position for competing in a major United States NASCAR tour, the Go Canada Racing team have matched the 22-year old driver with experienced crew chief Newt Moore. Enthusiastic about the team, Fitzpatrick responds "Steve has put together an outstanding team and given us the tools to succeed in this sport. We have a great crew, a great car, and a great team, and I'm looking forward to competing with some of NASCAR's best, starting this weekend in Nashville."

Debuting at the Nashville Superspeedway's NASCAR Nationwide Series race on April 23rd, Go Canada Racing will wear a white #67 Ford Mustang with bright red details. A highly ambitious operation, Go Canada Racing is not the first Canadian owner/driver combination to run in the NASCAR Nationwide Series tour. Oshawa, Ontario's car owner and past driver Randy MacDonald has employed fellow countryman on two occasion. Reigning 2010 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series champion DJ Kennington drove many races for MacDonald Motorsports from 2007 to 2009. Current French-Canadian INDYCAR driver Alex Tagliani also joining the team for the 2009 Nationwide Series race in Montreal.

Based heavily on Canadian symbols and people, even the car number of the Meehan-owned team is significantly Canadian. The number '67' represents the year in the 19th century when Canada proceeded to becoming an independent nation.

Due to NASCAR's commitment to provide a 43-car field in the Nashville 300, the #67 Go Canada Racing Ford Mustang is assured a starting spot for this first outing. Through two Friday practice sessions for the NASCAR Nationwide Series, JR Fitzpatrick placed 25th and 33rd fastest on the timing charts. Competing against some of the best stock car racing drivers and teams, Go Canada Racing understands success will be hard-earned. Comparing the race teams in the United States to the organizations in Canada, Fitzpatrick says "I think the competitiveness in the United States is the major difference. In Canada you go out each week and there are 5-10 guys that are going to be your main competition. In the states you have 25 guys that you are racing each week."

Showing endurance through harsh winters and ruggedness interacting with a vast country like fellow country mates, it is impossible to believe that Fitzpatrick or anyone in the entire freshman Canadian racing team will bow to this challenge. As team owner Steve Meehan iterates, 7 million avid NASCAR fans in the true north strong and free will support the #67 Ford Mustang.

Hinchcliffe Joins 2011 IZOD INDYCAR for Barber, North American Races



Photo Credit: Dan Helrigel


A moment for Canadian auto racing fans to rejoice, an announcement Tuesday affirms as of the second IZOD INDYCAR round at Barber Motorsports Park a third Canadian driver (in addition to full-time Alex Tagiani and part-time entrant Paul Tracy) will compete in the 2011 North America's top open wheel series. 2010 Firestone Indy Lights title contender and open wheel standout James Hinchcliffe will wheel Newman/Haas Racing's second race car.

Since the December and January tests, the young Toronto driver impressed Newman/Haas Racing. So promising of a 2011 season together, Newman/Haas Racing and James Hinchcliffe were present at the IZOD INDYCAR open test at Barber Motorsports Park. Clocking the whirling 2.3 mile road course within the top-10 fastest cars throughout the two-day preparation session, the potential INDYCAR rookie and veteran team meshed.

Speed was definitely in the Newman/Haas Racing machine wheeled by Hinchcliffe. However, as is the case in professional auto racing, what or who is in a race car is as important as what is on the side pods. As the opening St Petersburg round for the 2011 IZOD INDYCAR Series approached, Newman/Haas Racing arrived with only one race entry for veteran Brazilian driver Oriol Servia. As Servia's sponsorship came together just in time for the streets of St Petersburg race, James Hinchcliffe was unable to obtain the financial backing to be involved in the open wheel racing series' season premiere.

Sponsoring James Hinchcliffe for all the North American races on the IZOD INDYCAR Series tour is Sprott Inc., an asset management company based in Toronto. “As a Canadian-based company it’s naturally exciting to support one of Canada’s next generation motorsport talents,” company Chairman Eric Sprott declared in the Newman/Haas Racing release on the sponsorship announcement. A publicly traded advising over 2,000 clients and 1.2 billion dollars, Sprott Inc. pairs them with a hometown 24-year old professional racer known for representing his sponsors on as well as off track with enthusiasm.

Prepared to make his first career IZOD INDYCAR start at Barber Motorsports Park, Hinchcliffe's move up through the auto racing ranks from go-karts into 2 years of the Firestone Indy Lights has reached an ultimate goal. “Finally making my IndyCar debut really is a dream come true and the end of a 15-year journey getting me to this point,”. Hinchcliffe 2011 plans includes the 2011 Indianapolis 500 and the Canadian IZOD INDYCAR races in Edmonton as well as his prized Honda Indy of Toronto.

James Hinchcliffe's IZOD INDYCAR career will officially start this weekend at the Honda Grand Prix of Alabama when the Canadian takes the green flag Sunday.

Goodbye to the Edmonton Indy

Photo Credit: Chris Jones

Canadian open wheel racing fans have been punted into the tire barrier this week news concerning one of two IZOD IndyCar Series race venues above North America's 49th parallel has surfaced. Late Tuesday night on November 2nd, it was announced that talks between Edmonton city council and the race's promoter Octane Racing Group have broken down.
Edmonton city council, led by newly-reelected incumbent major Stephen Mandel, voted in July of 2010 to enter talks with Octane (who intended to take over event promotion duties from company Northlands) in order to run this major motor race weekend through 2013 at the Edmonton City Centre Airport. Complications set in when the present 1.96 mile temporary race circuit would become unavailable since the airport preferred to have the occupied runways open for air transport. Intent on relocating to a portion of the airport which is unused, this area also required a sizable investment to refurbish for the 2011 Edmonton IndyCar race event. Requiring a total 5.5 million dollar commitment from the government for the City of Edmonton, the race was discontinued for 2011. According to the City of Edmonton, the Indy race weekend had lost 9.2 million dollars through the previous two years leaving further investment in the event less than appetizing.

Following the news of the talks between the Octane and the City of Edmonton, an unnamed source within the IndyCar Series responded "We are disappointed that the city and the promoter were unable to reach an agreement on the venue changes. It's unfortunate that in a time when IndyCar is experiencing momentum and growth, the city would want to miss out on the opportunity to be part of it. We've enjoyed our time at Edmonton as the fans there truly embraced Indy car racing.”.

With the date erased from the 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule, the league has indicated a desire to replace this Canadian event. One rumour has indicated that Octane Racing Group (promoters for the Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal) could possibly work out a deal to run the series in Montreal.

At present time (Tuesday, November 9th), the website for the Edmonton Indy is still up and running having planned for the 2011 race which seems highly unlikely to happen in the future.

Shepherd Claims First NASCAR Win at Kawartha; Kennington First Championship



Photo Credit: Matthew Manor/NASCAR

 After 12 races in the 2010 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season, the final race at 0.375 mile Kawartha Speedway wraps up Canada's major stock car racing tour with drivers still desiring to prove themselves. As some drivers will want to end the 2010 season with a hard-earned top result, two drivers have a championship honour where only one driver will hold the 2010 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series crown. DJ Kennington or JR Fitzpatrick sparred all season long in the points with Fitzpatrick's #84 Chevrolet gaining an advantage on road courses while Kennington's #17 Dodge found the edge on oval tracks.


Though JR Fitzpatrick is skilled on ovals, the circle tracks appeared to be a liability to the Cambridge, Ontario native's title hopes. With three ovals concluding the 2010 NASCAR Canada season, Fitzpatrick continued to lead points following the first of those races at Barrie Speedway. However, a moment of lost power at the Riverside Speedway race in Nova Scotia gave Kennington's Castrol Edge car the edge needed to take the points lead entering Kawartha with a 40-point margin.

Prepared to make JR Fitzpatrick's job hard to reclaim the points lead at the last minute, DJ Kennington nailed down the fastest lap in qualifying for the Kawartha 250 race with the preferential lead at the start. As Kennington beat out Ron Beauchamp Jr to take pole, JR Fitzpatrick timed into the field 8th place with odds for the 2010 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series title apparently dwindling.

Once the flag dropped, Kennington led the first 53 laps until the second caution provided an ideal time for the #17 Dodge to pit. After one lap where Donald Chisholm stayed out for 1st place, Kennington would resume at the front for an additional 25 laps.

Showing himself to be the class of the field, the #17 Dodge would relinquish the top position for the Kawartha 250 running order without the knowledge the Castrol Edge time in the lead had concluded the this late afternoon event. Breaking DJ Kennington stranglehold on the lead position of the Kawartha Speedway, Brad Graham in the #19 Dodge took the front spot for 11 laps. Following Graham, 2nd place in NASCAR Canadian Tire Series points JR Fitzpatrick emerged to take the top spot on lap 91 gaining a valuable 5 point bonus for leading.

Involved in the first two cautions of the Kawartha 250, the #7 Dodge of Peter Shepherd appeared to be having a lousy outing at the 0.375 mile track. A young Canadian stock car driver limited to only a partial schedule this season, Shepherd started 6th in the event hoping to parlay some fast practice speeds into a solid race run. Despite being caught up in two incidents, Shepherd and his #7 car crawled back on both occasions placing himself into contention not only for a top-10 run but perhaps a victory. Several laps after a restart, Peter Shepherd launched past Fitzpatrick on lap 109 to lead for the first time in the Kawartha 250.

Transitioning through the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series finale, DJ Kennington was 11th and JR Fitzpatrick was 17th on lap 130 following a caution called for the #13 car of Trevor Monaghan. Through the final 120 laps, both drivers proceeded back into the top-5 for the final laps as Fitzpatrick run 2nd on track with Kennington in 4th. While Fitzpatrick's 2nd place position in the white flag lap wasn't effort to catch DJ Kennington in the points, insult to injury was added by the #02 Ford of Kerry Micks. Fighting for the runner-up spot into turn 4, Micks impacted with the #84 Chevy leading to Fitzpatrick's car spinning. With the 2010 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season starting at Delaware Speedway with Micks looping Fitzpatrick, some bad feelings fester on the impact as Micks takes the 2nd spot and the #84 of Fitzpatrick crosses the line in 15th place.

Winning the Kawartha 250 as a dark horse, Peter Shepherd led 124 of the race's 250 laps in his #7 Dodge taking the lead for the final on lap 214 en route to the checkered flag. Experienced in NASCAR south of the border when the Brampton native was hired by Roush Racing from 2006 to 2007, this win at the Kawartha Speedway is his first touring series trophy from a NASCAR-sanctioned event.

Photo Credit: Matthew Manor/NASCAR

Placed in 3rd in the final results in the Kawartha 250, DJ Kennington triumphed in the 2010 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series championship points. Taking honours 87 points ahead of JR Fitzpatrick at the end, Kennington and the #17 Dodge team celebrates a long-fought first national stock car championship. A mainstay the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series since the foundation in 2007, Kennington was more importantly long-time competitor in tour's predecessor series known as the CASCAR Super Series. Since the mid-1990s DJ Kennington campaigned a #17 Dodge with Castrol sponsorship starting as a very young driver. Still only 33 year old, Kennington is officially the 2010 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series champion.
In the final race of the season, Mark Dilley and Don Thomson Jr. rounded out the top-5. 6th through 10th consisted in the order of Scott Steckly, Jason Hathaway, Jeff Lapcevich, Ron Sheridan and Ron Beauchamp Jr.

Andrew Ranger Rolls to Win at Trois Rivieres

Photo Credit: Matthew Murnaghan/ NASCAR

Clinching his second NASCAR Canadian Tire Series championship last season, the young Andrew Ranger heard the call of the richer stock car racing scene of the United States. Spliting his time stock car racing between the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and the NASCAR K&N Racing Series for 2010, Ranger's open wheel road racing background came in extremely handy south of the 49th parallel taking victories at Infineon Raceway and Lime Rock Park. Returning as reigning champion to Canada when running a handful of NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races with a #27 Dodge, the Roxton Pond, Quebec native had already accomplished a flag-to-flag victory on the Honda Indy Weekend race. By doing so, Andrew Ranger completed an unreached feat of becoming the first driver to win in the both the NASCAR K&N East and West series as well as the Canadian Tire Series in a single year.
The 8th race of the 13 date 2010 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season, Trois Rivieres' GP3R 100 transpires on the oldest running temporary street course race in Canada. With history dating back to 1967, the 1.53 mile track played host to a Canadian whos-who of racing including Gilles Villeneuve, Alex Tagliani and Ron Fellows. Like the Toronto street course, the stock cars would be involved in a practically draining but brief 42-lap event.

Andrew Ranger returns just as the stock car racing tour concluded a two-race Western Canadian oval track stint. Apart from Ranger's appearance, the most concentrated focus has been on the tight 2010 championship fight between DJ Kennington and JR Ftzpatrick. After the Edmonton road race, the #84 Schick Hydro Chevrolet driven by Fitzpatrick held the lead in the points standings but Kennington has since launched himself into the points lead driving the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge. Qualifying 2nd, Fitzpatrick was positioned to make some serious gains on Kennington back on the road courses. In that same qualifying session, Ranger took his 3rd pole piloting the  #27 Jacobs Racing team's limited season.

Well-positioned at the beginning of the GP3R 100 on Circuit de Trois Rivieres, Andrew Ranger's attempt at a second NASCAR Canadian Tire Series victory for 2010 was hindered from the start.  Seeing opportunity immediately on lap 2, JR Fitzpatrick dived on Ranger through turn 6 allowing the #84 Chevy to grab the lead. Caught off-guard by the early race pass, Andrew Ranger slipped into the barrier. While suffering only minor damage along the drive side his #27 Dodge, Ranger lost a multitude of positions. By lap 6, Andrew Ranger was resuming the event in 6th place but was out of touch with the lead pack consisting of Fitzpatrick and the #02 Ford of Kerry Micks. The Ford/Chevrolet battle was fought valiantly at the front with leading 26 laps between the Micks and Fitzpatrick. By lap 13, the Dodge of Andrew Ranger continued his recovery emerging to 4th place chasing down Jason Hathaway seeded in 3rd place.

A caution for the stopped #77 vehicle of Isabelle Temblay allowed the teams to regroup on lap 16. With three yellow flags slowing the GP3R 100, the timing for each stop set up some priceless moments for the NSACAR Canadian Tire Series stars a golden opportunity to improve their position. Once the green flag flew following the first caution, Ranger successfully bypassed Hathaway's #3 Dodge for third.

Winding up at the halfway point, the race course challenged the mechanics of certain stock cars. Former Montreal Canadians hockey player Patrice Brisebois and Antony Simone were early race retirements. Also requiring extended service, the #4 Chevrolet of Don Thomson Jr. fell more than 12 laps off the lead. Thomson Jr. has been weathering an extremely tough 2010 season where the Home Hardware Chevrolet seems plagued with troubles.

JR Fitzpatrick led GP3R 100 event when caution fell for the second time for debris. The lap 28 restart would become the single definingmoment for the Trois Rivieres NASCAR Canadian Tire Series race. Three-wide between Fitzpatrick, Micks and Ranger, the fight prevailed in the favour of Andrew Ranger making a full recovery from his early race misadventure. Ranger's retaking of the lead position survived a the 3rd and final caution. Kerry Micks' Ford took second away from Fiztpatrick's Chevrolet.

Finishing 3rd, JR Fitzpatrick's race did not go the way the 2006 CASCAR Super Series champion would has preferred. Souring the podium effort was the knowledge that 2010 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series title leader DJ Kennington finished one position behind Fitzpatrick's #84 car. However, gaining 15 points on Kennington, Fitzpatrick has closed the gap by a single point.

Finishing 3rd through 10th, Jeff Lapcevich, Scott Steckly, J.F. Dumoulin, Jason Hathaway, Peter Klutt and Mark Dilley crossed the Trois Rivieres finish line.



Next on the schedule for the 2010 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series is the Dickies 200 at the Mosport Speedway oval this saturday.

Motorsports at the 2010 Toronto International Auto Show

Photo Credit: Christopher Nagy/XSL Speed Reporter

Attending the 2010 Toronto International Auto Show, I took a break from the shiny presentation of all-new street vehicles to visit a more unique display at this year's event.

Located in the on level 700 of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the majority of the floor paid tribute to the abundant history of American sports car Kingpin Carroll Shelby. Not only was there a slew of Shelby Cobras, modified Mustangs and the rare GT40, the showcase also included cars significant to Shelby's racing career as a driver. A relatively short career which was ended due to personal health problems, Shelby started racing as a hired gun first for drag racing but more memorably for road racing. Shelby's 2nd and 3rd cars (a MG-TC and an Allard) were represented as well as a replica of an Austin-Healey he ran in the 1954 Carrera Pan Americana Mexico rally.


Photo Credit: Christopher Nagy/XSL Speed Reporter

Past the Shelby exhibit, I ventured into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame. A collection of cars stocked with a choice sampling of vehicles wearing the maple leaf flag in competition.

Entering the small hall, the first car to greet me was a Midland F1 M16 race car. Since the team was classified as a Russian F1 team, the Canadian connection wasn't entirely clear. I needed to take a brief modern history lesson to learn that the Midland F1 Racing was owned by a Russian-born Canadian business Alex Shnaider. Co-founder of the Midland Group, Shnaider's ventures includes the current Trump International Hotel and Tower scheduled for completion in 2010. The Midland F1 Racing team existed for one season in 2006 having previously been the Jordan Grand Prix organization. Absent the Toyota powerplant which propelled the Formula 1 car, the Midland F1 car's place in the display is now clear.

Deeper in the Hall of Fame exhibit, another Formula 1 car sat representing to more successful efforts of Walter Wolf. Wolf, like Shnaider, was a foreign born man who settled in Canada who entered into grand prix contention through the mid to late 1970s. Walter Wolf Racing, proudly displaying the Canadian flags, was founded for the 1977 season with future Formula 1 World Championship driver Jody Scheckter piloting the race car. In the hall was one of the Wolf WR1s that competed in the maiden season which included one of the team's three F1 victories.


Photo Credit: Christopher Nagy/XSL Speed Reporter


On the right of the Wolf WR1 is probably the most prestigious car in the display. The 2000 winner of the LMP675 class at the LeMans 24-hour race, the Nissan-powered Lola was campaigned by Markham, Ontario's Multimatic Motorsports, Along with being a Canadian-owned entry, the driver lineup was an all-Canadian contingent of John Graham, Scott Maxwell and Greg Wilkins.


Photo Credit: Christopher Nagy/XSL Speed Reporter


Last but certainly not least, the eye-catcher in this Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame exhibit was a #99 Reynard chassis wore the famous Players blue and white colours. With the tobacco brand a staple in the open wheel series for 11 seasons, this car from 1999 wore the name of late, great BC native Greg Moore on the bottom of the roll hoop.



Photo Credit: Christopher Nagy/XSL Speed Reporter

Providing only a snapshot (pardon the pun) for the rich auto racing history of Canadians, the vehicles within this exhibit are without the drivers that once piloted these race machines. However, unlike the beautiful, newborn factory creations that consumed much of Metro Toronto Convention Centre, these vintage race cars radiate the sweat and passion of their former drivers as a lasting time capsule.

Pete Shepherd: Need For NASCAR Speed

Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

In what would be the infancy of my interest in NASCAR, I remembered the near weekly visits to my local racing collectible store. Often spending less than 20 dollars on a simple die-cast, my visit was given gifted with the accompanying race talk with the storekeepers. With Formula 1 and other open-wheel series abundant with Canadian maple flags, the following for NASCAR dominated every conversation. One of the most memorable exchanges involved the name of one Canadian stock car prodigy winning late model races at Peterborough Speedway. The competing teenage driver, this NASCAR hopeful received an optimistic comparison to Jeff Gordon by the storekeeper. Keeping my ears opened since, five years later I heard prominent NASCAR owner Jack Roush compare this Canadian to driving like a young Mark Martin. That driver was Peter Shepherd, and the than 20 year-old's showing in Roush's Driver X talent contest for a truck ride would garner the Canadian racer acclaim amongst American motorsports. Falling just short of the coveted truck ride, Shepherd proudly accepted a development deal with Roush Racing to begin during the 2006 racing season.

A far way from native Brampton, Ontario, Shepherd's American racing career was born in 2006 at Homestead Miami Speedway wheeling the RE Technologies USAC Silver Crown racer, co-owned by recent Roush Racing sensation Carl Edwards. A departure from stock cars, Shepherd identified driving a Silver Crown car as “different”, riding paved ovals on the right rear tire through the corners. In spite of this different feeling, Pete Shepherd scored an impressive inaugural race finish of 7th place. Through the course of the Silver Crown season, Shepherd bettered that effort with a 3rd at the newly-built Iowa Speedway in September and a stunning 2nd two months earlier at the 1.5 mile Chicagoland Speedway. Shepherd says the ultimate lesson he gained from the Silver Crown machine the empathized importance in hitting your marks on the racetrack.



Blake Johnson/ R.E. Technologies

Proving proficiency with a 700 horsepower, 1,500 pound Silver Crown sprint car in just a few starts Shepherd was invited to run some ARCA/Remax stock car events. Along with a pair of tenth-place finishes, he recorded his season's highest result of fourth at Gateway International Speedway through a rough and wild race where he, even wearing his rookie stripes, endured without any noticeable race damage on his car. Weighing at 3400 pounds, the 750 horsepower ARCA stock cars are a far cry from the 550 pound lighter fiberglass-bodied race cars he wheeled in the CASCAR Super Series a year before in 2005. Now known as the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, Peter Shepherd speaks highly of his Canadian stepping stone commenting that the series treated him so well.

Completing a tri-fecta in American motor racing, Roush offered Shepherd some select races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, an inroad to the elite Nextel Cup series. For Shepherd, the 'banging wheels' terminology is a mere figure of speech considering his displayed driving style. “Put in laps and give the folks at the shop an easy time” he said were the only general instructions given.

Having parted with a few moments for an interview during a 2006 Silver Crown race at the newly-commissioned Iowa Speedway, Pete Shepherd spoke with the utmost professionalism as he expresses cautious aggression during his limited runs in top-notch machines. Within the brief privilege of speaking with this hot Canadian stock car racing prospect, his combined articulation of technical facts could pay dividends for a car chief's work while his poise, coupled with praise-filled tone, would please any big dollar sponsor. However, even with that well-rounded talent, a planned larger schedule in the NASCAR Craftsman truck series was largely scaled back by lack of sponsorship for 2007.

With 2007 highlighted early prepping Matt Kenseth's #17 Dewalt Ford during Daytona 500 testing, it would not be until the Milwaukee Mile's truck series race in June when Shepherd's 2007 season started. After four truck starts and selected ARCA starts, Peter was bitten twice by misfortune, marred by a rare Shepherd collision with another race vehicle at the truck race in Kentucky. Proving the end of an awkward set of races Pete will likely vanquish with better memories, a qualifying lap wreck in a very fast Roush-prepped Ford Fusion ARCA car caused him to miss that race altogether. In spite of frustrating events, Pete Shepherd bounced back, recording a personal best weekend in his limited NASCAR career came with a hard fought 15th place finish on the ¾ short track of Memphis Speedway during the 3rd of 4 races.

As an ominous note, Pete's short racing season ended in August of 2007 with Roush Racing later releasing him from the driver development contract. For a sport which depends so much on sponsorship dollars and bankable, American drivers, Pete Shepherd is unsettled so far for 2008. But probably Jack Roush's comparison to Mark Martin will prove as even greater comfort. While Mark Martin's first launch into the big leagues of racing fell flat, the second wind shown by that popular NASCAR driver acts to show the yet truly inspired life in Shepherd's career.
For Canadian Pete Shepherd, whether he is being compared to Jeff Gordon or being mentioned to possess the skills of Mark Martin, this 21 year old succeeds setting his benchmarks.