NASCAR will not return to Montreal

Jacques Villeneuve (22) runs into Alex Tagliani (30) at the NAPA Auto Parts 200 NASCAR Nationwide race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal on Saturday, Aug. 18, 2012. (Tyler Remiorz / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

MONTREAL—NASCAR will not return to the Circuit Gilles Villeneueve in Montreal next season, ending a six-year run for the Nationwide Series.

Placing the blame on lagging profitability, promoter Francois Dumontier announced the end of the agreement he held with the American stock car racing series on Friday. The agreement had been renewed on an annual basis.

While NASCAR was willing to return to Montreal, it was unwilling to make a number of concessions requested by Dumontier's promotion group. Citing a 20 per cent fall in attendance last summer, the promoter wanted the race to be held later in the summer.

NASCAR balked at the request, and any suggestion that the more prestigious and profitable Sprint series—the top league in NASCAR—could be held on Montreal’s road course.

While the stock car association hopes to still have a racing presence in Canada next season, possibly with the Truck Series, one potential venue is the Mosport International Raceway in Toronto.

NASCAR also plans to fill the void left by Montreal in its 33-race schedule, which has yet to be announced. The racing league’s preference is to explore new markets where it's not currently sanctioning national series events.

One of Dumontier’s promotion companies filed for bankruptcy last week. While that company was behind a race in Edmonton, which has also been cancelled, Dumontier said there was no connection between the two announcements.

Downtown merchants are worried by the loss of NASCAR, especially coming after the student protest and NHL lockout.

--with files from The Associated Press.