Honda to sponsor Edmonton IndyCar race

Northlands is pleased to welcome Honda Canada on board as the title sponsor for the 2010 Honda Indy Edmonton, July 23-25. The announcement was made earlier today at a media conference attended by Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel, Northlands President Ken Knowles, and Honda Canada Inc. Executive Vice-President Jerry Chenkin.

“Northlands is very pleased to welcome a national sponsorship partner like Honda Canada as the title sponsor for the 2010 Honda Indy Edmonton," said Ken Knowles, Northlands President. “Honda Canada is a national leader in supporting innovation and community involvement in motor sports across Canada. As one of Edmonton’s leading international sporting events and tourism destinations, the 2010 Honda Indy Edmonton will provide an incredible international platform to showcase this new sponsor partnership."

“We will be working closely with Northlands and the event sponsors to ensure the Honda Indy Edmonton remains as the largest motorsports event in Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest for this year and beyond," said Jerry Chenkin, executive vice president of Honda Canada Inc.

Soichiro Honda's love of victory helped launch a small company into a racing giant. He possessed an uncanny ability to develop technology for racing and adapt it to the consumer market. At age 22, and drawing upon his skills as a mechanic, Mr. Honda developed a V-8 Curtis Wright aircraft engine to race. He took the wheel himself that year and set a Japanese speed record hitting 75 mph. Honda Racing was born. Soichiro Honda began to tackle racing from the development standpoint, producing some of the finest engines ever to race.

Honda Canada’s commitment to racing extended well beyond international borders, and could be found in communities across Canada. The company made a visible commitment to ‘grassroots racing initiatives’ for years as evidenced through the popular Honda Michelin Challenge that ran for 17 straight years in the 1980s and '90s.