CUP: Gordon In Track Talks

Sprint Cup

CUP: Gordon In Track Talks

A signed deal to build a new track in Canada could be in place next month.

Tom Jensen | Posted April 08, 2009 Charlotte, NC

Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 DuPont Chevrolet, gets in his car during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. (Photo: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

A source close to Jeff Gordon confirmed to SPEEDtv.com that the four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion is one of the parties involved in negotiations to build a $200 million, 65,000-seat race track in Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada.

“There is no signed agreement at this time,” the source said Wednesday morning, but there is a letter of understanding among the parties involved with the track, which would house one of Gordon’s driving schools. The deal to build the new track could be in place by next month, the source said.

The newspaper Niagra Falls Review said Fort Erie Mayor Doug Martin confirmed there has been talks with Gordon's representatives. “We have met with them at the region, they have been here,” Martin told the newspaper.

Gordon’s stepfather and business manager John Bickford has visited the Middle East in recent years looking for partners in motorsports-related business opportunities, and a magazine called Professional Motorsports Circuit said the backing for this project is coming from Kuwaiti-based investment bank Bayt Al Mal Investment Co.

“After carefully studying the pitfalls and successes of motor-sport initiatives in the North American market for almost two years, (Bayt Al Mal Investment Co.) assembled a high-profile team,” the magazine reported. “The team was spearheaded by multi-NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon, flanked by Paxton Waters Architecture, Derek Daly Design, and Philips Engineering, and supported by a host of local and international strategic partners.”

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

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Tom Jensen

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