No updates for a week??! What kind of blog is that?? Well, I apologize for the lack of updates and though the story as to why I haven’t is interesting, I will simply apologize again and continue writing about the topic at hand. But it is interesting…

So….93 thousand, down from 133 last year and 175 in 2002. Yet…the series is on a huge upswing, there continues to be three Canadian drivers, including the up and comer or the ‘new’ star of Quebec, a Frenchman leads the standings and we’re coming off four events at over 140 thousand people. Doesn’t make much sense does it?? When I first walked into my ‘office’ over the weekend in Montreal, an office which overlooks the pits and the start/finish, the first thing I noticed were the lack of grandstands on the front straight. I knew there was triple that in the years past. I knew all those grandstands had been full on raceday. I knew something didn’t sit right. I couldn’t believe for a minute that it was because they couldn’t sell those tickets. Even a half-full grandstand is better than nothing.

By now everybody knows the reason, or at least the potential reason. The people in charge of the Montreal track want NASCAR and will do what they can to not renew ChampCars contract in 2007. Representatives from NASCAR were at the event this weekend and I am told they even got a pacecar ride. NASCAR wants to race in Canada and there is no easier place to do it then Montreal. Apparently Montreal wants NASCAR more than it wants a series with three Canadians, a proven record at the circuit Gilles Villeneuve and a heck of a fan base in Quebec. Not to mention a series with a history of launching some of the biggest stars ever in Quebec.

I don’t blame NASCAR one bit in all of this. They have been vocal about the fact that they want to race in Canada and that the circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a choice for them. Why not? They can literally flick the switch at the track and go racing. But NASCAR hasn’t said they want to steal an event away from ChampCar, they haven’t been derogatory towards our series and that event. They simply want to race there.

My personal feelings about all this is that this series is doing too well, its too strong, and has too many potential markets to be treated this way. Having said that, before checking out of Montreal, a race in the north-east is necessary (hello Philly!). But once we do get a race secured in the area, well then it becomes Montreal’s loss.

The circuit Gilles Villeneuve isn’t made for Champ Cars anyway. I am not talking about the actual track. I will get to that in a second. I am talking about the whole island. The paddock is tiny and it takes a ridiculously long time to get there. Access to anything like stands takes forever to get too and the lack of a pitlane makes it impossible for a certain jackass to film any type of ‘feature’. Okay, maybe that last one isn’t important, but the others are. Walking 6 miles from your seat to the paddock shouldn’t happen. But what do you expect? Its built for Formula One where you go to your seat and shut up. A fan friendly and accessible series like the Champ Car World Series needs a venue where everything is within short walking distance and the attractions are never more than a few feet away, be it the track or anything on the outside. Although Molson does have a stage In Montreal and there ARE many activities, getting from one to the other takes several hours.

Having said all that, the track itself is perfectly suited for the current generation of ChampCars, more so then the Formula One cars and more so than stockcars and Indy Cars. Now, the track is fast with long corners, blind corners, a great hairpin…I mean the track is great, that’s the bottom line. But aside from the very first moment of the F1 race where the cars are still relatively close together, it quickly becomes a parade. I know there have been ‘moments’ in the past, but that’s going to happen when you’ve been at one place for so many years. You’re bound to find a few needles in the haystack.

Stock cars still haven’t found a great formula for road racing yet. That’s why there have only been two on the schedule for so many years. It’s not particularly exciting and what ‘saves’ them is the amount of cars on the track. But let’s face it, those stockcars are meant for the ovals. I don’t know that too many people would argue with that. And we saw what happened at Infineon with the IndyCars. It’s just not that exciting. Without ‘power to pass’ and with traction control, it just makes it too easy for some of those machines.

All in all, the big losers will be the fans in Montreal. I know there are many stockcar fans in Montreal and I have no doubt that they will come out in droves to the circuit (like they would have come out for Champ Cars, had the grandstands been built. It’s a city that loves racing and supports it!). But for city that knows the intricacies of a good quality race, they are going to be disappointed in the product.

You couldn’t ask for a better finish to the Molson Indy Montreal and its something we have seen in the past and will (hopefully) continue to see at the circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
I’ll leave it at that for today and talk about the race tomorrow.