jjo

Once again the Canadian Federal Govt in all its wisdom
has decided that effective Jan 1,2009 ALL LEADED RACING FUEL
(C16, 114 Oct)will be BANNED from use in any competition vehicle in Canada.
This will be a death knell to all the NHRA & IHRA sponsored events that
both US & Cdn participants annually compete in Ontario,Quebec,BC.
No Pro Mod, No Pro Stock, No Top Fuel or Nitro Funny Car and no American competitors in any of our sportsman classes. Only Alcohol Funny Cars would remain unscathed.
With the loss of revenue, the few remaining dragtstrips will close;
and "taking it to the track" will now be simply a moot figure of speech.

Excerpt from the Canada Gazette :

The proposed amendments
The proposed amendments would extend, until January 1, 2009, the exemption under subsection 3(2) of the Regulations with respect to gasoline imported, produced or sold for use in competition vehicles, from limits on the concentration of lead and phosphorus in gasoline, as specified in the Regulations (record keeping and reporting requirements would still be applicable).
The proposed amendments would provide the racing industry with a period of one year to adjust to the full provisions of the Regulations. In light of new scientific evidence regarding the impact of lead on human health, the proposed amendments would allow the continued use of leaded gasoline during the 2008 racing season, for which it is expected that racing events have already been planned, after which the Government of Canada intends to allow the exemption to expire.
The proposed amendments would also remove the provisions in subsection 4(2) of the Regulations which allow the production, import and sale of leaded gasoline for use in farm machinery, boats, and large trucks, as there has been no reported production, import or use of leaded gasoline for these purposes in recent years.
The proposed amendments would also update references to the test methods for determining the concentrations of lead and phosphorus in gasoline found in Sections 7 and 8 of the Regulations. Since the Regulations were last amended, these test methods have been reviewed and revised.
Industry
In the absence of the proposed amendments, 2008 racing events featuring competition vehicles using leaded gasoline would be cancelled, including those racing events sanctioned by major U.S. sanctioning bodies that use leaded gasoline (e.g. the IHRA and NHRA). Data show at least 12 events sanctioned by the IHRA and NHRA in 2007, located at race tracks in Ontario, Alberta, Quebec, and British Columbia. The cancellation of racing events would have a direct, negative impact on facility revenues, in addition to indirect impacts on affiliated businesses and communities, with increased impacts on facilities that have already planned events for the 2008 season.
The cancellation of racing events is also likely to result in significant impacts for race tracks located in rural or remote locations, where economic activity affiliated with the racing facility may contribute more significantly to local economic activity when compared to facilities in more densely populated regions with more diversified economies.



If any concerned motorsports afficionado (US or CDN) would like to sign an online petition, you may do so here : http://www.petitiononline.com/Snakepit/petition.html

Stop the insanity !

thank you for your time...

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/10 Challenger SRT8