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Auto racing in Canada is threatened by federal regulations concerning the use of leaded fuel.
The purpose of this site is to expose the issue and call upon all auto racing enthusiasts to send a strong message to Ottawa that banning the use of leaded fuel in competition vehicles will kill auto racing in Canada.

The Issue:

The Canadian auto racing industry and its fans are being dealt the biggest blow in their history. Regulations came into force in 1990 prohibiting the production, import and sale of leaded gasoline in Canada, with exemptions provided for leaded gasoline used in aircraft, farm machinery, boats and trucks over 3 856 kg. The Regulations were amended in 1994 to add a two-and-a-half year exemption for leaded gasoline imported, produced or sold for use in competition vehicles. The competition vehicle exemption was extended in 1997, 1998 and 2003. The most recent exemption expired on January 1, 2008. Proposed amendments will extend the exemption for one (final) year, expiring on January 1, 2009.

The United States is not currently planning to ban or restrict the use of leaded fuels in racing events. Pro Stock (IHRA NHRA and Motorcycle) will not participate in events in Canada if leaded fuel is banned. For all intentions and purposes this will have the effect of killing auto racing in Canada. Technically the ban is now in place (January 1, 2008) but the federal government will be making a decision in February, 2008 whether or not to extend the exemption.

Read the official government document here.

Plan of Action:

We must act NOW if we want to save auto racing in Canada. The government plans to make its decision by February 13, 2008! We must write to the government to express our concern. You may write your own letter, but please consider and feel free to use the letter template from the text box below. Copy and paste it into a blank e-mail message. Replace the spaces with "[Insert your name here]," etc. with your information.

Sample letter / Template:

Click inside the text area. This will select the text of the letter. Copy the text (Edit > Copy, or Ctrl+C). Click the email address below to compose e-mail message. Paste the text into the message body (Edit > Paste, or Ctrl+V). Remember to replace the spaces with "[Insert your name here]," etc. with your information. Dear Minister Baird, Please reconsider the “Regulations Amending the Gasoline Regulations” that will devastate the racing industry in Canada. A large cross section of the industry has already converted to Methanol. However, there are no plans to do so in the United States and most major Canadian events depend on US participation. The very small group that races in special classes sanctioned by the National Hot Rod Association (Glendora, CA) and International Hot Rod Association (Norwalk, OH) will not run national events in Canada with these classes eliminated. These sanctioning bodies will not modify their programs. They will just cancel these events, which represent a combined worth of over 120 million dollars to the Canadian economy. The minimal number of these vehicles and their emissions is insignificant compared to the small aircraft industry (which remains exempt from leaded fuel restrictions). As well, please recognize that 11 respondents (as per the Gazette) is not a proper industry consultation. Many hundreds of industry stakeholders and racers are not even aware of the proposed changes to the regulation. Please consult with the Canadian industry and racers. Let’s create a long term solution. Thank you, [Insert your name here] [Insert your address here] [Insert your phone number here]

Send to this email address: John.Baird@ec.gc.ca

For more information please contact Dale Finch:

dalefinch@shaw.ca