Montreal racing fans could soon have a new event to get their teeth into during the summer at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. And that’s good, according to former Quebec driver Patrick Carpentier.
The Montreal event of the queen series of stock cars, the NASCAR Cup, could indeed be added to the calendar for the 2024 season, at the earliest, according to an article from the Sports Business Journal released earlier this month.
The NASCAR series has already presented a stage of the Xfinity series – a series lower than the NASCAR Cup – on the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit between 2007 and 2012. The experience had however been abandoned, among other things, due to the modest interest at the ticket office for the event.
The NASCAR series would therefore be in discussion with Montreal leaders so that an event is reborn in the metropolis next year, indicated the Sports Business Journal citing numerous sources familiar with the discussions.
Patrick Carpentier also believes that there is room in the Montreal market for the holding of two car races each summer. The proof having been made with the presentation of the tests of the Xfinity series.
“F1 is hyper, hyper, hyper popular; it’s the sporting event of the summer in Montreal, immediately admitted the ex-pilot. But you know, I’ve always wondered if there’s room for a hockey team in Las Vegas, and my answer has always been “no”. Well watch them go: they just won the Stanley Cup and it’s jam-packed every game! »
“There is room for a second race in the summer in Montreal. It’s not aimed at the same clientele. If I compare the F1 amateur to the NASCAR amateur; there is one who adores wine, and the other beer”, continued with a laugh the one who is now an analyst of Formula 1 events at the Sports Network (RDS).
More intense rumors
Rumors of the NASCAR series returning to Montreal aren’t new, but they’ve intensified lately. Right at the time of the Grand Prix of Canada, this weekend.
Already last February, the director of operations Sean O’Donnell had indicated the series’ interest in adding NASCAR Cup events in Canada and Mexico, as part of an expansion plan aimed at increasing its visibility on the international scene. We now know, from the Sports Business Journalthat Montreal would be one of the targeted cities.
“Negotiations are ongoing and have still not been completed, so they could stall or lead to the postponement of the presentation of these races beyond 2024”, however warned the media in its article.
On the side of the team of the promoter of the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Canada, the position has not changed regarding the return of NASCAR to Montreal.
“We are always ready to discuss, but on the condition that it is for a NASCAR Cup event”, was limited to saying François Dumontier’s publicist, Sandrine Garneau-Lebel.
A local driver, please
For his part, Patrick Carpentier is excited at the idea of seeing stock-cars running again in Montreal. However, he warns that the event’s marketing team will have a lot of work to do to arouse the interest of Quebec racing fans in the NASCAR Cup.
“It had been hyperpopular when the Xfinity series came along. But the reason why it was popular is because there were three or four Quebec drivers on the track – Carpentier, Jacques Villeneuve, Alex Tagliani and Andrew Ranger, in particular, “said the elderly ex-pilot. 51, who notably finished second in Montreal in the Xfinity Series in 2007 and 2008.
“Right now, the problem with NASCAR is that it’s very, very, very national [américain], he continued. And there are no Canadians in the NASCAR Cup. […] So, yes I would like that, it would be super “cool”, but I wonder how we are going to manage to add a local driver in there. »
In addition, Carpentier pointed out that NASCAR series cars have evolved greatly over the past few years. They would no longer enter Senna’s “S” like real bowling balls, as they did in his day.
“Cars are very different these days. There are independent suspensions, the gearbox is semi-automatic. The NASCAR Cup car looks much more like the DTM series car. And by the way, the NASCAR series brought one to the 24 Hours of Le Mans and it didn’t look bad at all. The NASCAR Cup car finished somewhere in the middle of the field, out of the sixty entered. And it was about two seconds faster per lap than the GT3. Really, it’s a much more sophisticated car than before,” he said.
As to whether he would one day be interested in trying his luck in the NASCAR Cup if he had the opportunity, Carpentier did not hesitate for a second.
“I would need a few days of testing to get used to the car, but I wouldn’t say no,” he summed up, laughing.
The NASCAR series has yet to reveal its schedule for the 2024 season.