The West Edmonton Mall Grand Prix Presented by The Brick

[I-Hate-Hulse]

What a mouthful... "the Brick" is your title sponsor?, I guess Cheemo wasn't biting.

Anyone going to this on the weekend? I'll start this out by giving Edmonton full credit for putting on a great race. Seems to be well organized, and although I didn't watch last year's race, if it's anything like Cleveland's airport track I'm sure it's a great show. Sure beats the heck out of street circuits like Vancouver used to be.

That said, they've hitched their fortunes to a dead series IMHO. The currently lineup of drivers is pretty weak with the schism between ChampCar and the IRL, which further weakened with the juggernaut called NASCAR. Once upon a time I was a huge open wheel fan, but after "The Split" I stopped watching - a lot of resentment to Tony George for starting the rift and now that TG is winning the fight I'm completely turned off.

I see Edmonton has signed a 4 year deal with CC, but I'm doubtful CC will exist for that full length of time.

Unfortuantely, Edmonton's giving "A" class treatment for a "C" list event...

[CalgaryDesi]

If Champ car and IRL merge, about 5 races will be dropped from both sides. The WEM grand prix is 4th in attendance, so I don't think there are any worries.

[Footscray]

Naw I don't like the series, don't really watch alot of racing but F1 is the only one I have even a passing interest in.

[Resolute 14]

Attendance isnt the only thing though. From what I've read, some drivers are concerned that Edmonton's course is too narrow and they didnt like the idea of a big parade.

Personally, I think that one of the Canadian races will be axed, but depending on how attendance goes this year, I suspect Montreal would be more likely than Edmonton at this point.

[Saint Troy]

This series has to merge if it has any prayer of survival, that said going to a live race is pretty damn cool, hard to describe but it's a very cool experience seeing the cars coming to a standstill and flying away in the blink of an eye. I am not a racing fan at all, but went to the molson indy in Vancouver (Villeneuve's last one) and it was a fantastic experience.

[mrdeeds]

I'd like to see the attendence for this years WEM Grand Prix of Edmonton. I would project lower numbers, but I may be pleasantly surprised. Gotta say though that Friday I am not sure if it was the heat or whatever, but CapitalEx seemed more sparse that I expected. Maybe because it was more spread out. The Grand Prix looked pretty packed from a distance though.