Travel Blogger Daily Blog Post: Fun Memories Of the Molson Indy Toronto

It was ‘Oh, My Canada’ At the IndyCar Race With Block Parties, Beer, Bars and Girls, Girls, Girls. Oh, And Racing

By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com Travel Blogger

One of the best times I’ve ever had – certainly when combining work with play – were my days at the Molson Indy in Toronto, Canada.

That was a car race in the city and while it survives today as the Honda Toronto Indy, it was certainly at its peak in those days in the late 90s and early 2000s.  At least for me. It featured the Players cars with Canadian drivers – Greg Moore, Patrick Carpentier, Alex Tagliani and local hero Paul Tracy, “the Thrill from West Hill” – plus Michael Andretti, Alex Zanardi and Bobby Rahal. And an unknown at the time named Dario Franchitti.

But it wasn’t the actual race that was so great for me.

It was the fact that it was an event, a happening, that overtook the entire city.

And not just for race weekend, but for nearly two weeks leading up to it.

It was the most vibrant event in the city of the entire summer and one could feel the electricity it created just walking down the streets.

Molson was the sponsor and when big beer companies sponsor sporting events, they do a lot to promote it in bars because they want people drinking their products. (And I did quite a bit of that in support of this particular sponsor.) Nearly every night, Molson would be at one of Toronto’s many fun and lively bars (of which there are many), doing promotions and giving away tickets to the race.

In one instance, a friend whom I had met during one trip (at a bar, of course) and accompanied me in my nightly adventures, was the winner for not only tickets, but as a judge of the bikini contest. This perennially thirsty Canadian later made his mark as a judge, at one point grabbing the microphone from the MC and saying “we need more beer!”

Together, Andrew and I – plus Craig, Derek, Tom, Gordy, The Greek and some people I can barely remember – tore it up. We were out and went hard every night. And we wrapped it up at the Molson Indy wrap party on Sunday night after the race, which was the best night – and party – of them all.

As for the event, originally there was not one, but two, block parties. The first was a “mini-Indy” where people raced vehicles of their own making down a city street that was framed by bars. The biggest and baddest, though, took place on John Street, the #1 party street in the city at that time. Thousands of people attended and it was even better than the exclusive VIP driver party the following night at Gretzky’s (and that was an awesome event in its own right).

The John Street party Thursday of race week and we were out until last call at Al Frisco’s. Then I was up in the morning, at the track all day, went to the Gretzky’s party and then hit the bars. Sleep was for losers; this was the Toronto Indy!

The best part of these events was not the fact that bars, beer and fun parties were involved, but the Molson Indy girls who attended each one. Known as Team Red, they were all gorgeous. talkative, Canadian friendly and, like me, part of the Indy promotional team. There were a dozen of them and they went to a different bar each night dressed in their tight and sexy white shirts and red skirts (or for a change of pace, red shirts with blue jean skirts).

And we followed them like hunting dogs on a trail.

Yet they were only part of beauty picture. The girls who worked full-time at Molson and whose job it was to put on and promote the race, were also adorable.  I got to spend a lot of time with them because my job was to promote the series, CART, to the local media. I spent two weeks in Toronto for the Indy and loved every second of it. Toronto is a great city and I looked forward to this race from the moment its date was announced on the schedule (the 2011 one is July 8-10).

The media was hungry for every possible story angle, and it was intense. But with great teamwork, we got it all done, which made the beer taste even better at night. Because after those days, every night was like a celebration.

And things kept getting even better over the years. Roskso, a great mate from Australia, brought his Miss Indy contest that was the highlight of the Vancouver race east to Toronto. That is where I first saw the stunning Lynne Kush.

 

Adding to this were the promotion girls of other sponsors. Of particular note were the Players girls from the Canadian cigarette company that was a huge supporter of Canadian drivers. When the law passed to ban tobacco companies from sponsoring race cars, the Canadian driver pool disappeared faster than my beers at Frisco’s. Players was great for Canadian motorsports and the Indy and is missed in Canada and the entire IndyCar series.

The best of these girls was a stunner named Amber who apparently was “imported” from Vancouver.  Blonde and bold! We had several beers with her and her sidekick Karmen.

 

Then there were the girls of Toronto themselves whom, I must say, are among the most beautiful in the world. Even the girls in the Toronto media were stunning.

One was Cheryl Hickey, an appropriate name if ever there was one. Anyone who thinks ESPN pioneered babe reporters are mistaken; Toronto has employed them for years. I wish I could list them all here but there are too many to even remember (one, Kathryn Humphries, married a member of popular Canadian band Tragically Hip.)

Cheryl Hickey was just one of many beautiful Toronto journalists. 

Cheryl was good at her job, by the way, and great to work with, too. As was everyone I dealt with at “the Indy” for that matter.

I wish I was there again.