NCATS: NASCAR CANADIAN TIRE SERIES COMING TO MOTORAMA WITH RACERS, CARS AND MORE

March 13, 14 & 15, 2015 at Toronto’s International Centre

TORONTO, ON // MARCH 6, 2015 • Visitors to this year’s Motorama Custom Car & Motorsports Expo will have the chance to meet and speak with many of Canada’s top stock car racers as the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Presented by Mobil 1 returns for its annual pre-season appearance at Toronto’s International Centre.

The show takes place March 13, 14 & 15 in over 200,000 square feet of the massive facility, located across from Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.

In addition to the drivers and officials in attendance, there will be a massive display of NASCAR racing machines as seven of the series’ stock cars will be featured, all weekend long, in front of the NASCAR Operations Centre. The giant hauler is the command centre of the series’ operations during race weekends.

“This is always a terrific opportunity for us to connect with the fans, to teach people about the series, and let them see exactly what’s involved is racing at a professional level,” commented Alex Nagy, Director of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series.

The list of NCATS cars on display includes those of reigning series champion L.P. Dumoulin, two-time past champion Andrew Ranger, 2014 Rookie of the Year Matthew Scannell, as well as the mounts of Kerry Micks and Mark Dilley, Jason Hathaway, Joey McColm and 2015 rookie contender Erica Thiering. Two others series cars, piloted by Dwayne Baker and Anthony Simone, will be featured at the Sunset Speedway and Canadian Tire Motorsports Park booths, respectively.

While the static car display will be a centre of attention throughout the three-day Motorama show, there will be a special highlight for the fans as a total of 14 Canadian NASCAR drivers will participate in a pair of autograph sessions, joining two-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion and current Truck Series TV analyst Todd ‘The Onion’ Bodine. These will take place at the NCATS display at Motorama, just beside The Johnsonville Stage, at the back of Hall 2.

Among the drivers scheduled to appear are former champions Andrew Ranger, Scott Steckly and DJ Kennington, relative series newcomers Dwayne Baker, Gary Klutt, Kevin Poitras and Erica Thiering. Additional participants include veterans Kerry Micks, Mark Dilley, J.F. Dumoulin, Jason Hathaway, Joey McColm, Matthew Scannell and Anthony Simone.

Saturday’s NCATS Driver Autograph Session takes place from 3:00 – 4:00 p.m., while Sunday’s runs from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.

“It’s the fans who truly drive this sport,” explained Nagy. “By giving the fans a chance to speak with the drivers – racers who they have probably only seen from the grandstands – it not only benefits the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series but it helps the sport in general.”

Following Sunday afternoon’s autograph session – from 1:30 to 2:00 p.m. – the NCATS drivers will take to The Johnsonville Stage for a 30-minute Q&A with the fans. During this session, hosted by Dave Bradley – a member of the broadcast team for the NCATS race broadcasts on TSN – the drivers will discuss their news and plans for 2015 and will take questions from the fans in attendance. Series director Alex Nagy will also participate in the on-stage session.

Added Nagy, “There have been some changes to the Canadian Tire Series this year, and the Motorama Q&A will give us the chance to speak to the news. I imagine there are a lot of questions regarding the moving of the Ontario oval event to Sunset Speedway, I’m sure all of the drivers will have an opinion about that.”

Speaking on behalf of Motorama, Greg MacPherson said, “We truly appreciate the fact that the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and so many of its drivers support our show every year, by bringing their cars and themselves. The series, its officials and drivers are professionals in every sense and it’s an impressive sight to see it all in one place. A neat thing about them coming to the show is that it’s a less hectic atmosphere than during race weekends, when they’re all focussed on their jobs and winning races. We encourage everyone to take advantage of this unique opportunity to get up close to the drivers, cars and officials.”

ABOUT THE NASCAR CANADIAN TIRE SERIES: Created in 2007, the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series is the only professional stock car racing series in Canada. Competing from Alberta to Nova Scotia, in 2015 the series will make 11 appearances at ten different venues, with the schedule made up of seven oval track races and four road course events. Past series champions include Scott Steckly, DJ Kennington, Andrew Ranger and LP Dumoulin. For schedules, race updates, results and standings, visit the website, www.nascarhometracks.com, and click on the Canadian Tire Series link.

ABOUT THE MOTORAMA CUSTOM CAR & MOTORSPORTS EXPO: The inaugural Motorama show takes place March 13, 14 & 15, 2015 at Toronto’s International Centre, adjacent to Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. With a footprint of almost a quarter-million square feet, the show will be Canada’s biggest late-winter celebration of automobiles and motorsports. For information about the show, including sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities, schedules and more, call (416) 962-7223, or email info@MotoramaShow.com. The show’s website is located at www.MotoramaShow.com.

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