Three-year deal keeps NASCAR in Montreal

Stock-Car Montreal, a subsidiary of International Speedway Corporation, announced on Monday that it has signed a three-year lease with the Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal to host major motorsports events on the historic Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

In addition, the management of Stock-Car Montreal announced that tickets to the third annual Nationwide Series race will be available to the public beginning in mid-March.

"We are thrilled with today's announcement and our team looks forward to hosting this unique motorsports event for years to come," said François Dumontier of Stock-Car Montreal. "With the experience we've gained over the last two years, the on-track performances of Canadian drivers such as Ron Fellows and Patrick Carpentier and the growing popularity of NASCAR in our province, we are confident this third edition will be a resounding success.

"Furthermore, with this year's race occurring on an off weekend for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, we plan to attract some of the biggest names in racing to challenge the tight turns and fast straightaways of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve."

Normand Legault, who facilitated the agreement between Parc Jean-Drapeau and ISC, is glad to see the NASCAR event and major motorsports continue in this market."This is the best thing that could happen for Montreal's racing future," he said. "I've promoted races with ISC for a few years -- they have an excellent reputation and sincerely wish to develop a long lasting relationship with Montreal and its thousands of race fans."

Premier auto racing returns to Montreal for the third consecutive year on Aug. 29-30. The event weekend will kick off with the roar of the Daytona Prototypes and GT sports cars of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series on Saturday, Aug. 29. Then, the Nationwide drivers will battle on the historic 4.3 km (2.7-mile) Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Visit www.circuitgillesvilleneuve.ca for more information.