August weekends in Ontario packed with racing

NASCAR Canadian Tire, sprint cars, drifting, karting and ALMS all on tap for this month

Aug 01, 2009

Motorsport Writer

It's Aug. 1 (where has the time gone?) and looking ahead to what's on tap for auto racing fans this month I can report that a buffet – a true smorgasbord – of delights awaits us.

In short: motorsport in all shapes and forms to suit just about every taste will be on offer over the next 31 days.

NASCAR CANADIAN TIRE

Next Saturday, for instance, the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series will travel to Mosport for a 200-lap race on the half-mile speedway there.

In June, on the road course, current points leader Andrew (Knuckles) Ranger bulled his way to the front and held on to record one of his three victories so far this season.

Primarily a road racer (he drove two seasons in Champ Car, remember), Ranger is no slouch on the ovals, either. He won on the half-mile bullring at Sun Valley, B.C., two weeks ago and will have his sights set on the checkered flag at Mosport – as will Kerry Micks, who won last year's race.

All the NCTS stars will be there: defending champion Scott Steckly, Don Thomson Jr., J.R. Fitpatrick (who just picked up a nice new sponsor in Schick razor blades and good on him – and them – for that), D.J. Kennington and Ron Beauchamp Jr., among others. The race should be a barn-burner, if previous Mosport jousts are any indication.

More info at www.mosport.com.

A LA KART

Also next weekend, in the parking lot of the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, the fourth annual Hershey Centre Grand Prix for karts will be held and all are welcome to attend.

It's free if you just want to watch the races, but if you want to wander the paddock, you'll have to purchase a pass.

Presented by the Toronto Kart Club in conjunction with Kawartha Durham Kart Club, this event is rapidly becoming a must-attend, must-race event for the karting community.

More info at torontokartclub.com or kawarthadurhamkartclub.com.

GET THE DRIFT?

In two weeks, at Downsview Park in Toronto, the fourth round of the Castrol Drift Mania Canadian Championship will be held and if you've never attended one of those competitions, I'd suggest the time to start is right now.

Drifting? This is where drivers of high-performance automobiles are sent out on a circuit to qualify in a series of solo runs where they are judged on speed (yes, they have to get around as quickly as possible), line (at certain marked places on the circuit, the driver has to break his tires' adhesion and drift/slide the car to another marked place without scrubbing off too much speed or losing control of the car), angle (the amount of counter-steer the driver is forced to use to maintain control) and overall impression (quick and neat is the key).

All drivers start with 100 points and lose points for screwing up some of the above. Which means that, at end of the day, not necessarily the fastest car wins the competition.

The initial field is whittled down to 32 and there are then two-car runoffs in a number of classes to determine winners and, ultimately, champions.

This is a fast-growing form of motorsport. Think of movies like the Fast and Furious and you'll get the idea. It is also a sport that attracts the young: Drifting's demographics – mostly male – indicate that if you are older than 30, you're probably going to feel a little out of place.

But that shouldn't stop you.

WORLD OF OUTLAWS

If you missed the World of Outlaws' visit to Ohsweken Speedway this week, relax. There's hope for you yet.

The Indy 500 for sprint cars – the Knoxville Nationals – is coming up in two weeks at Knoxville Raceway in Iowa and the Speed Channel will be there to beam the grand finale right into your living room at 10 p.m. on Aug. 15.

Now, just like every other fast-paced sport – hockey, in particular – TV doesn't do justice to sprint-car racing. It can't duplicate the speed, the noise or the thrill of getting dirt in your teeth every time those violent, fire-breathing monsters fly past only feet away from where you sit – but it's not that far off.

Sure, there will be the usual NASCAR, F1 and IRL races on the tube, but if you've never watched sprint cars in action, the Nationals will be a wonderful introduction.

MORE TRACK NOTES

Finally, Aug. 27-30 will feature the most important road-racing event of the year, the Mobil 1 Presents the Grand Prix of Mosport, featuring the American Le Mans Series, the Star Mazda Series, Formula Atlantic, Formula BMW, IMSA Lites and on-and-on.

There will be lots of Canadian content in the show.

Toronto's Tony Burgess will be back with Team Autocon in ALMS P1 and it's rumoured that old favourite John Graham is putting a package together for a ride with somebody.

Kyle Marcelli of Barrie will drive in IMSA Lites and fingers are crossed that he might actually get his first ALMS start.

Gianmarco Raimondo and Alex Ellis of St. Catharines will be carrying Canada's colours in F-BMW Americas competition.

I will be writing lots between now and then about what other goodies will be on offer but I can honestly say I haven't seen as fine a racing lineup planned for one weekend at one track in years.

Toronto Star