NASCAR is planning a fact finding mission to Canada in the next three months to determine the feasibility of holding either a Busch Grand National and Nextel Cup race north of the border.
George Pyne, NASCAR's chief operating officer, says the stock car sanctioning body will visit Toronto and Montreal in the next 30 to 90 days with the goal of finding a suitable venue.
"The two markets are Toronto and Montreal. Where within those markets? Obviously it will be a road course. But where, we don't have an answer," Pyne tells the Winston-Salem Journal.
A NASCAR spokesperson says while series executives visit Canada from time to time, they don't have a definite timeline for a possible race here.
There have been whispers that Montreal's Gilles Villeneuve Circuit would be the ideal candidate for a NASCAR road race. However, promoter Norman Legault recently confirmed that he has a contract to operate only two races in the city each year - Formula One and Champ Car.
The Champ Car contract in Montreal is set to expire in 2006.
Toronto's lakeshore circuit, which is used to stage the annual Molson Indy, is not a suitable alternative in its current configuration, according to Pyne.
"Now it could be modified. That remains to be seen," he tells the newspaper. "But I'm told there are other locations in Toronto where we could run a road course smoothly."
Momentum for a NASCAR race in Canada has been gaining following the recent success of a Busch series race in Mexico City. They too are also hoping to lure NASCAR's top series south.
Roush Racing owner Jack Roush says Mexico City and Montreal would make a fine addition to the NASCAR series.
"I'd be fine with a Cup race in Mexico City and a Cup race in Montreal," he tells the Journal. "I'm not interesting in crossing the ocean to race on somebody else's continent.
"But we have roots, born and defined in the Southeast, and we could see it spread from Mexico to Canada and that would be fine. Our economies are spun together and our peoples are coming together.
"As long as we can satisfy our fans without loading our stuff on boats and going east or west is fine with me."
Given the climate in Canada, executives are likely looking at a June, July or August date for a NASCAR race.
The current Nextel Cup schedule is considered full and the series has plans to bring NASCAR racing to underserved areas of the United States first, such as the Pacific Northwest and New York City. That means a Nextel Cup race in Canada or Mexico is unlikely in the near future.