Real Racin’ USA Media
Stevie LeTempt addressed a very serious situation developing north of the border Wednesday night on the weekly Straightlining With Stevie” show. It appears the Canadian is on the verge of banning all forms of leaded gasoline for motorsports.
“If that happens, there is a good chance we could lose IHRA races up there, you could lose your local tracks races up there, because lets face it, you are not going to get a 13 or 14 to 1 motor to run on unleaded fuel,” LeTempt said.
Stevie LeTempt, the host of the show should know. He has over 40 years experience in the business of drag racing, and is the announcer for many IHRA and other top drag racing events each year.
Motorsports fans and racers should e-mail John Blair at john.blair@ec.gc.gov
before Feb 22. “Everybody needs to get up there and let them know how important motorsports, not just drag racing, motorsports period is. It just baffles me how me how they could consider this. ”
For the full details listen to the news item from Straightlining with Stevie”
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
The following is from the Toronto Motorsports Park web site:
PENDING CHANGES IN CANADIAN LAWS COULD DESTROY DRAG RACING & OTHER MOTOR SPORTS NORTH OF THE BORDER BAN ON LEADED FUEL!! URGENT ACTION REQUIRED BY RACERS.
You may not be aware that although the use of leaded gasoline is banned in Ontario, there has been a temporary exemption for competition motorsports, in our case, drag racing.
In the past the exemption has been extended several times. The federal Department of the Environment recently announced that it would not extend the exemption again. The use leaded fuel for motorsports will not be allowed after December 31, 2008.
This ban will have serious consequences for drag racing enthusiasts in Canada. Racers here will not be able to obtain leaded fuel. However the US government will continue to allow the use of leaded fuel for drag racing in the United States. The end result is that we may no longer see many of the top US racing teams coming here, because they are unlikely to convert to alternate fuels just to race in Canada. That could jeopardize events like the IHRA Canadian Nationals as well as the regular participation of Canadian and US racers at other events here.
The loss of racers who use leaded fuel will be a major blow for our sport. The level of competition could suffer. The result may be a decline in drag racing interest in Canada. This would be very unfortunate, as track operators have spent several years trying to improve facilities and increase the popularity and safety of the sport.
In the end it appears that the Government will eventually ban leaded fuel altogether. Toronto Motorsports Park has written to the Department of the Environment asking for an extension of the exemption for a few more years. We want the opportunity to work with sanctioning bodies and both the Canadian and US Governments to find a long-term solution that will benefit everyone.
We suggest that as someone who will feel the effects of the Government legislation, you should let the Government know what this means to you. We encourage you to email the Department of the Environment at the address below. They have indicated that they will consider comments received by February 13, 2008.
Lorri Thompson
Oil, Gas and Alternative Energy Division
Department of the Environment
RE: Proposed Amendment to the Gasoline Regulations
Email: lorri.thompson@ec.gc.ca
If you do not wish to write your own letter, you may sign an online petition by going to the following link: http://www.petitiononline.com/Snakepit
