Montreal Secures 3-Year Deal with NASCAR

Canadian fans might not see much Formula 1 action on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve any time soon, but they have been secured some quality NASCAR time for the upcoming 3 years. According to the Associated Press, the NASCAR officials have decided to keep the aforementioned track on the Nationwide schedule for an additional 3 years.

Not only that, but the Canadian track will become the host of a stand-alone NASCAR event, a measure aimed to bring more good drivers to compete in Canada in the years to come. Until now, the Nationwide race at Montreal was scheduled in the same weekend as Sprint Cup race held elsewhere.

That made it impossible for some of the best drivers in the Sprint series to make it to both events during the same weekend. All of that is about to change now, as the Montreal event will also change dates from Friday-Saturday to Saturday-Sunday. The importance of bringing Sprint's big guns to race in Canada in Nationwide-sanctioned events was underlined by Stock Car Montreal boss Francois Dumontier.

“We should get more top drivers to do the event and overall, it should be a bigger event. NASCAR responded to our request for a stand-alone weekend,” announced Dumontier.

“With the experience we've gained over the last two years, the on-track performances of Canadian drivers such as Ron Fellows and Patrick Carpentier and the growing popularity of NASCAR in our province, we are confident this third edition will be a resounding success,” added the Montreal official.

Ron Fellows managed to win last year's N'Wide event at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, becoming the first driver to win a NASCAR race in rainy conditions.