CASCAR

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The Canadian Association for Stock Car Racing (CASCAR), established in 1981 by President Anthony Novotny (who still serves in this capacity), is the governing body for amateur and professional stock car racing in Canada. Today it boasts the highest level of stock car racing in the nation and sanctions Canada’s only national stock car racing series, the CASCAR Super Series.

On November 16, 2004, CASCAR announced it had entered a multi-year operational and marketing agreement with NASCAR [1], after NASCAR had formed NASCAR Canada earlier in the year.

This also opened the way for NASCAR's purchase of CASCAR [2]. The purchase will allow Craftsman Truck Series and Busch Series races to take place at Canadian venues beginning in 2007.

On September 12, 2006, NASCAR completed its purchase of CASCAR and announced the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, a series of 10-12 races from May-October 2007. [3]

[edit] The Cars

Unlike NASCAR, which mandates the use of steel-bodied shells, CASCAR-approved cars consist of fiberglass bodyshells covering custom-made tube-frame racing chassis. Also, where NASCAR has strict rules concerning body shapes (in order to maintain as much parity as possible among the approved models), CASCAR's rules tend to be more lax.

However, as in NASCAR, CASCAR cars' engines are normally-aspirated, pushrod V8 units producing approximately 500 horsepower.

[edit] The Tracks

Present CASCAR events are held exclusively on short track ovals, permanent road courses, temporary road courses and street courses. NASCAR's schedule, on the other hand, heavily favors larger oval courses with the occasional permanent road course event (such as the Nextel Cup Series events at Watkins Glen International and Infineon Raceway,) and have no street course events. In recent years, new additions to NASCAR schedules have tended to be 1.5 mile oval tracks.