In Toronto for the Canadian Motorsport Expo on Saturday, Quebec native Jacques Villeneuve weighed in on the cancellation of the 2009 Canadian Grand Prix, Montreal's Formula One race.
"It was very sad because it was one of the most popular races of the whole season," Villeneuve said. "For the drivers, for the fans, it was always a great venue - exciting, fun. Even the whole weekend in town was fun."
The Montreal event was dropped from the Formula One calendar back in October because of a dispute over sponsorship, leaving Canada without a single F1 race for the first in more than two decades.
"For Montreal, it's a terrible loss of business," Villeneuve said.
The race, first held in Canada in 1967, brought in approximately $75 to $80 million to Montreal every year.
He added that he was currently busy working on budgets for NASCAR.
"I always felt that there was room for Canadian backing - mostly that NASCAR is well followed in Canada," said Villeneuve. "The TV numbers are actually better than F1, so there is definitely room for a sponsor to get good promotion out of sponsoring NASCAR."