Car Modern 2011

Paul Tracy pictured above finds a ride with Jay Penske's Dragon Racing Team. His contract allows for five races including the Edmonton and Toronto Indy runs. On April 2nd Paul tweets "All the hard word has paid off , I have a 5 race deal with jay penske dragon racing" Paul joins Montreal driver Alex Tagliani at the 2010 Honda Indy Toronto Street Party, below. Alex will be in the 2011 race.



And Indy Lights Championship Runner-up and Canadian driver James Hinchcliffe will drive with the IRL, racing in North America which includes our own Honda Indy Toronto race.
And remember it's not all open wheel cars and bud girls.

Paul Tracy's latest ups and downs has seen him leave his KV Racing Technology team (Tony Kanaan takes over) and hired by Dreyer and Reinbold Racing with a run in the Indy 500 and some believe that he may race in the Toronto and Edmonton Indys.
The downs for Paul (pictured at top: Paul on the right, with Helio Castroneves on the left) included the difficulty in finding the large bucks sponsorship needed for the price of admission into the very expensive race series. I want to see the bad boy running the track and also raising everyone's temperatures off the track (like Ontario/Tracy vs Quebec/Tagliani  - I just hope he doesn't end up trashing his car.
Another driver I am looking forward to seeing out on the track is of course the famous and beautiful Danica Patrick shown above at the 2010 Toronto Street Party signing autographs. I think it is great that several ladies are part of the IndyCar Series and doing so well in it - here is Simona de Silvestro entering the pits at the 2010 Honda Indy Toronto.
The Honda Indy Toronto owners - Green Savoree Racing Promotions, have also purchased the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and School. This increases their holdings with along with the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg. It's always good when the promoters are growing. They say “Properties like Mid-Ohio don’t come on the market every day,” said Green Savoree Co-Owner, President and Chief Operating Officer Kevin Savoree. “It was a great opportunity to invest in a property with a great history and tradition that, like us, has deep roots in sports car and Indy car racing. It was also a chance to extend our relationship with Honda, which is a longtime partner of Mid-Ohio and our other properties.”
It will be interesting to see if the September 17 Indy Japan 300 ends up being run with the extreme damage and hardship the people of Japan have had to endure with the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear plant problems        - especially since IndyCar intends to drop the Japanese race after the 2011 season. Japan was where Danica won the 2008 race.


IndyCar Lights driver James Hinchcliffe from Toronto (and Canadian Driver of the Year) has started the transition to IndyCar and hopefully the Canadian will run and place near the top of the series in his first season.

NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, Firestone Indy Lights and Canadian Tour Car Championship racing will be back and those large NASCAR stock cars fill up the track pretty fast. And Ferrari Challenge anyone?
After a rocky period several years ago when the ownership of the Grand Prix and later the Indy seemed to burn and churn, the last several years has seen a steady improvement each year. Free Fridays is a fantastic way to get people in to see the excitement of the high performance race cars. It will soon be time to sit in the warm sun, watch the cars burn around the track and enjoy some cold barley pops.

I can feel it, so close, CNE and race cars. Be there this July 8-10 for the 2011 Honda Indy Toronto (Dario Franchitti above, Alex Tagliani in the gif below). For your winter car fix you should head to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre to see the Canadian International AutoShow starting this Friday from the 18th - 27th of February.

Some of the top racers in the world joined fans at the 2011 Canadian Motorsports Expo (CME) including IndyCar and Indy 500 Champion Dario Franchitti. The IRL driver signed lots of pictures and other racing memorabilia before joining media for a round table discussion and later one on one interviews. Dario is a favourite of Toronto fans for his win at the 2009 Toronto Honda Indy as well as his second place finish at the 2010 race, his great Scottish accent and his lovely wife - actress Ashley Judd. I look forward to seeing Dario putting the pedal to the metal in this years edition on the streets of Toronto.
Joining the motorsports superstars was Canadian and race champion Ron Fellows (below). NASCAR Champion Brad Keselowski was at the show on Sunday - see my post here.

Thank goodness for racing and women - two things to chase away the winter blues. Inside Track Motorsport News is sponsoring the 5th annual 2011 Canadian Motorsports Expo through the January 21 weekend at the Toronto International Centre. You can visit the main show website to pick up coupons for the show. Headliners include 2009 Toronto Honda Indy winner, 2010 finalist and IndyCar Series 2010 Champion Dario Franchitti and Brad Keselowski, NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion. Don't forget the Honda Indy Toronto is scheduled for July 8-10, 2011 and the tickets are already on sale for the race weekend.



Our own NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Champion DJ Kennington will be on hand along with fellow Canadian race champ Ron Fellows.


Besides the drivers and fabulous race cars I am sure there will be some Hooters girls and hopefully some other beautiful models that help to make the show a winning combination.

While Toronto prepares for winter hibernation the Honda Indy Toronto is busy planning the July 8-10, 2011 race weekend. They have released their lineup which includes the main Indy race as well as the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, Firestone Indy Lights, Acura Sports Car Challenge and the Ferrari Challenge. 2010 Honda Indy Toronto winner Will Power makes his way to the media immediately after winning the race in the above photo. Hopefully we will be able to watch Paul Tracy run the course next year as well.
They didn't release the lineup of the beautiful girls yet but I bet that the Bud and Hooters girls make an appearance or two.