Johnson supports Canadian NASCAR race

Johnson supports Canadian NASCAR race


Canadian Press
7/25/2005 2:21:15 PM
TORONTO (CP) - The idea of NASCAR coming north has the full support of its top driver.
Jimmie Johnson, who leads the Nextel Cup overall standings in his No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet Monte Carlo, said the time has come for wildly popular stock-car circuit to stage a race in Canada.
''To come north is a no-brainer,'' Johnson said Monday during an informal gathering with reporters at Wayne Gretzky's restaurant in Toronto. ''We need to be here and hopefully it can happen.
''I think Canada can support Busch, (Nextel) Cup and (Craftsman) Trucks. I know NASCAR is working real hard to have the growth of our sport go the right way at the right time. It's just going to take a bit of time for everything to come into place. I'm encouraged by everything I've heard.''
Canada hosts a Formula One event (the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal) and Champ Car races in Toronto, Montreal and Edmonton but no NASCAR events. NASCAR expanded into Mexico this year, staging a junior Busch Series race at a road course in Mexico City.


''I know there was some concern to go to Mexico as far as team owners getting equipment down and being in a safe environment,'' Johnson said. ''But everyone made it down safely and they had a great, great race.
''Obviously travelling north into Canada is a totally different situation.''
Last month, Normand Legault, the promoter of Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, said he had talked with NASCAR officials about staging a road race there but nothing had been finalized.
Ovals are the predominant track in NASCAR, allowing for the spectacle of cars travelling more than 200 m.p.h. (320 km/h) going three-wide in a mad dash to the finish line.
''I have mixed feelings for a race in Canada,'' Johnson said. ''First, I'd like to see an oval because that's where we put on our best show and that's what we're known for.
''At the same time I love road-course racing and I know there are great road courses here. I feel with us having two road-course events we're at a point where it's either lose them or add a few more . . . if we're going to go road-course racing we'd like to see three or four.''
The five-foot-11, 175-pound Johnson was 12th Sunday in the Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway. Despite that modest finish, Johnson still leads the overall standings with 2,799 points, 66 ahead of Tony Stewart and 87 in front of Greg Biffle.
Johnson, 29, has finished second in the driver's standings the last two years but is putting his bid for a first NASCAR title temporarily on hold. The next race is Aug. 7 with the Allstate 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway so Johnson plans to head to Italy this week and spend some down time with his wife Chandra.
''I love to eat so my plan is to eat pasta and drink some wine,'' Johnson said with a chuckle.
NASCAR has been called the fastest-growing sport in North America. Some of its most fanatical fans travel to the various tracks, spending the weekend in motor homes and watching races either in jam-packed stands or perched atop buses or motorhomes, all donning hats, shirts and other related merchandise of their favourite drivers.
''I can say I meet Canadian fans at every single race we go to, even as far south as Talladega, Alabama,'' said Johnson. ''I know there is a huge race market up here and a lot of fans.''
And there are plenty more in Canada watching on television.
TSN has averaged 276,000 viewers for the eight races it has carried so far this season, excluding the Daytona 500, an increase of 41 per cent over the same time last year. Add in the Daytona 500, along with its two support events, and TSN's average jumps to 293,000.
The network attracted 550,00 viewers for the Daytona 500 alone, an increase of 166 per cent over 2004.
''The reason for NASCAR's success is a complicated answer,'' said Johnson. ''First, we have great racing and there's entertainment value for the fans.
''Fans are also able to be close to the drivers who are in cars that you can attempt to buy on the showroom floor and there are products on the cars that you attempt to use. There's a lot of things that connect with fans.
''Being a speed enthusiast, I love watching F1. I've been to F1 races and had a great time watching them in practice and especially qualifying. But once the race started, you could predict basically how the outcome would be. I think competition plays a big part why NASCAR has done so well.''
But not all of the attention in auto racing has been focused on NASCAR. Danica Patrick, a 23-year-old rookie in the Indy Racing League, has continued to grab headlines after becoming the first woman to lead the Indianapolis 500 en route to an impressive fourth-place finish in the race.
Johnson said the attention Patrick is attracting is great for the sport and he expects there to be a full-time female driver in the NASCAR ranks very soon.
''It's great for sports, period,'' Johnson said. ''Danica had a great showing at Indy and has been showing great progress every week.
''It (full-time female NASCAR driver) is a matter of time. That's something I'd predict seeing very soon.''

Greasemonkey.