Toronto race to lose title sponsor

UPDATE #2 This is a year-old rumor so do not read too much into its title. Recall that last August we said Coors would be dropping sponsorship of the Toronto race and moving the money to NASCAR. Today they announced they would become the official beer of NASCAR in a 5-year $20M deal. Steelback did step up to sponsor the Toronto Champ Car race this year and did an excellent job with it.

09/07/06 This rumor, first reported by AutoRacing1.com, is upgraded to 'fact' today. "The Molson Grand Prix of Toronto is no more. The race will live on, but under a new name with Molson opting not to renew its title sponsorship of the Champ Car race in 2007, though it remains the beer sponsor for the event.

“For the first time in 21 years it won’t be the Molson Grand Prix of Toronto, it will be the ‘XYZ’ Grand Prix of Toronto," confirmed Charlie Johnstone, president and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Toronto, which manages the event.

From its inception in 1986 through to 2005 the race was owned by Molson Sports and Entertainment and called the Molson Indy. Molson sold the race to the Champ Car in 2005 but stayed on as title sponsor for the renamed Molson Grand Prix of Toronto in 2006.

Johnstone said the association has been considering the possibility Molson may pull out for months, but just received official word last week.

And while he would not provide a specific reason for the decision, he said it was a strategic move on Molson’s part that had nothing to do with the health of the event. Last November Molson Canada also dropped its title sponsorship of the Champ Car race in Montreal…" Marketing Magazine

[Editor's Note: As we predicted when NASCAR opened an office in Canada, and in Mexico, while Champ Car tried to manage those markets from thousands of miles away, NASCAR would ultimately pluck the Champ Car paddock dry of all Mexican and Canadian sponsorship. That prediction is coming true, one sponsor at a time. The exodus is nearly complete. The same source who told us Molson would drop the Toronto event, told us that Molson would likely pick up the Montreal NASCAR event. Just as NASCAR took over the USA market, they also aim to take over the Canadian and Mexico markets.]

08/27/06 According to AutoRacing1.com sources, Molson will not be back as the title sponsor of the Champ Car race in Toronto next year, and instead will probably just be the "Official Beer" of the race. We hear Molson-Coors will sponsor the NASCAR Bush race in Montreal under the Coors name……so now you know where the Champ Car Molson money is going…..and the open wheel split continues.