Last Sunday’s Nationwide Series race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal was, as always, a great race. While some would say that NASCAR should have called the race instead of bringing the cars in to switch to rain tires for the closing laps, no one can argue that racing in general in Montreal is great for the sport.
The historic Circuit Gilles Villeneuve venue itself is a beautiful one that looks good on television, and the host city of Montreal is a great place for an event. Add to the mix the enthusiastic multitude of Canadian race fans and you have a win-win situation.
So why doesn’t NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series race there?
Let’s face it, these days the sport of NASCAR, as a product, is just as reliant on the fans that watch on television as those who head to the track. Time was that NASCAR depended more on the thousands of fans who showed up at a track then those who watched on TV. But now even with the economy just starting to revive, empty seats are the norm and TV ratings are increasingly more important. 
The biggest issue isn’t the logistics the Nationwide Series has proven that to be no obstacle. The biggest issue would be where to add a race on an already crowded schedule. Maybe California could lose a date, or Phoenix.
Some may argue that perhaps the biggest reason NASCAR’s top touring series should head North, is because it’s time. NASCAR needs to expand internationally and Canada seems the logical choice given its location and the fact that the Nationwide Series has paved the way.
So what do you think? Should NASCAR take the Sprint Cup Series to the Great White North? And which race on the crowded schedule could they drop in order to accommodate it.
Here’s a bonus question for the week. For the second year in a row, the Nationwide Series was on rain tires. Speaking on ESPN Sunday, NASCAR president Mike Helton seemed to open the door to the possibility of racing in the rain for the Sprint Cup Series in the future, perhaps the near future. While it’s almost a given that rain tires could be used on road courses, but given the number of rainouts this year, could rain tires be used at smaller tracks such as Martinsville or Richmond. Not in a pouring monsoon rain, but when a track is damp.
So the second question this week is: Is it time for rain tires in the Cup Series?
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Comments
You might want to ask the car owners if they wanna race in the rain. The carnage from Sunday's race was incredible. As the cars came off the track they looked like they'd just finished an A Feature on a local dirt track. I'm not sure if it was the inexperience of the Nationwide drivers or the rain, but there were an abundance of wrecks. Personally, I don't think we need another road course. They are sleepy at best to watch from the couch. But NASCAR is gonna have to go where the money is and it may be in Canada. Before we add another road course to the schedule, how bout we add a dirt track? Think about how exciting it is to watch The Prelude compared to another boring road course. By the way, if I buy a sympathy card for Marcos Ambrose, do you all want to sign it?
How about expanding to the Pacific Northwest first? There's still no race...not even a Nationwide or Truck race...in the region, despite the fact that it produces top drivers (Kahne, Biffle).
I dont think we should put the nascar drivers into such a dangerous situation. The skills that it would take to takle road racing in the rain may be more that those drivers can handle. Pehaps is best to leave the more difficult events to more superior racers.
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