Photo Credit: Ashley McCubbin
Pinty’s continues to step up their commitment with NASCAR in Canada as in addition to sponsoring the series this season, the chicken-based company will sponsor the series’ event on the streets of Toronto in July.
The Pinty’s Grand Prix of Toronto is set to take place for the NASCAR Pinty’s Series on July 12 as part of the Honda Indy Toronto weekend, which features the Verizon IndyCar Series, the Mazda Road to Indy and more.
“It is very exciting because going back to the announcement in December in announcing NASCAR’s return to Toronto, it was a big moment for us,” Jeff Atkinson, President of the Honda Indy said. “With Pinty’s now coming on board and what they’re going to do in turn one and becoming the entitlement of the Pinty’s Grand Prix of Toronto on Saturday, it’s a big win for our fans.”
Pinty’s has been associated with NASCAR racing in Canada since 2012 as a contingency sponsor for the series. Their partnership continued to grow with each season as they sponsored events throughout the calendar the past couple years, now taking over as entitlement sponsor for the series this season.
“We saw the benefits of that initial spend and investment, with some return from that,” Tony Spiteri, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Research and Development for Pinty’s. “When the opportunity came to step up and take the series, we did a soul check in how this will fit long-term with NASCAR. We met with the teams to see what some of their dreams and desires are and interesting enough, when you can strip away their individual needs, everybody is the same. They’re all looking for the same thing. So we felt we could be the center of that in that if we could look after everybody’s interest, we could all benefit. I’m excited along with the drivers.”
Spiteri says it’s exciting for the company to sponsor the event as they hope to “pump up one of the crown jewels in Canada”.
The 2016 event will mark the first time in five years the stock cars have taken to the streets of Exhibition Place in the heart of downtown Toronto, Ontario, with Andrew Ranger winning the past two races in 2010 and 2011.
“We’re excited,” Atkinson said. “This is probably a crown jewel on their calendar. So for that reason, we’re excited. In addition to the overall Honda Indy Toronto festival weekend, for us, it ties it together. We have everything from the NASCAR Pinty’s Series to the Verizon IndyCar Series to the Mazda Road to Indy ladder. It all ties the weekend together whether for fans coming down for their 30th time, or their first time.”
The excitement is shared by long-standing members of the series, as Joey McColm states Toronto was his favourite track when it was on the schedule previously.
“Just being on these streets is cool because I went to school at Ryerson,” he said. “I was on these streets for a lot of time and to go up the Lakeshore and through all of Exhibition Place/CNE Grounds, it’s like no other place that we go to. Plus, it’s Toronto so the hype is massive.
“Now with Pinty’s and Honda Indy, these are big name and big players and they’re putting support behind us. It just helps us elevate what we do and makes our job a little bit easier. It just gives us the opportunity to engage more fans and activate our brand and partners. I’m so happy that the Toronto Indy is back.”
Taking a step back from driving to focus on managing Canada’s Best Racing Team, McColm hope one of his drivers can pick up the win in July, such as Kevin Poitras. Poitras will be running the road course events on the schedule this year for CBRT.
“I’m super pumped for this upcoming season,” Poitras said. “The Honda Indy is something I’m looking forward to. I’ve never come down here as a competitor, just as a spectator. So to be apart of it will be exciting.”
Both of them note the biggest challenge for the drivers will be the changing pavements, as the track shifts from concrete to asphalt to pavement, with some spots newer than others. With the first corner being tight, the drivers know the challenges will begin right away on the opening lap.
“When you’re coming into turn one, you have a lot of different pavement as you get into turn one,” McColm notes. “So these big heavy cars that weight 3000 pounds and the brakes aren’t the greatest, you have to time your braking as the cars twitches a lot getting into one.”
“It will take a bit in getting used to the track, and learning the track,” Poitras added. “(Street courses also) tend to be a bit more blind. You can’t see through the corners as well, and they’re usually tighter. For the spectators, they usually get a little better show as the cars are closer together, especially with our Pinty’s NASCARs. They’re bumper-to-bumper, door-to-door racing.”
