Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs (CASC) was the national governing body for

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

from 1958 to 1988. Its origins stretched back to 1951, when three independent car clubs met in Kingston, Ontario to found the Canadian Auto Sport Committee. In 1951, inventor, engineer and MG race driver Marshall Smith Green came from Montreal to meet in Kingston with designer Jack Luck. Green asked Luck to design the Club's logo. CASC

The name was changed to the Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs in 1958, when Regions across the country were developed. To get permits for International Races, CASC was affiliated with the Royal Automobile Club (

RAC plc RAC Limited (The RAC) is a British automotive services company headquartered in Walsall, West Midlands. Its principal services are roadside assistance and general insurance, and its subsidiaries include RAC Motoring Services Ltd, RAC Financial ...

) of Great Britain until 1967, when it was recognized as a full member by the

FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backst ...

as Canada's governing body of auto racing. The nation's motoring interests, meanwhile were represented to the FIA by the CASC's roadgoing counterpart, the

CAA CAA may refer to: Law * Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 of India ** Citizenship Amendment Act protests, Protests regarding the Citizenship (Amendment) Act * Copyright transfer agreement, Copyright assignment agreement, to transfer copyright to ...

. During its lifetime, CASC developed strong national series', such as the Canada Class; the original Honda Michelin series, the Players/GM Motorsport Series, and the

Rothmans Rothmans may refer to: * Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, a Canadian tobacco company * Rothmans International, a former British tobacco manufacturer, founded by Louis Rothman See also * Rothman, a surname * Rothmans 12 hours, a series of sports car ra ...

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...

Cup series'. It also worked closely with its US counterpart, the

SCCA The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional r ...

, to develop and co-sanction the

Can-Am The Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or Can-Am, was an Sports Car Club of America, SCCA/Canadian Auto Sport Clubs, CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1987. History Can-Am started out as a race series for group 7 sports racers with two r ...

, and

Formula Atlantic Formula Atlantic is a specification of open-wheel racing car developed in the 1970s. It was used in professional racing through the IMSA Atlantic Championship until 2009 and is currently primarily used in amateur racing through Sports Car Club o ...

series'. As Canada's national governing body, CASC sanctioned such major events as the Player's 200 sports car races, th
Shell 4000 rally
the 24 Hours of

Mosport Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport Park and Mosport International Raceway) is a multi-track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville, in Ontario, Canada, east of Toronto. The facility features a , 10-turn road course; a adva ...

, and the

Canadian Grand Prix The Canadian Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix du Canada) is an annual motor racing event held since 1961. It has been part of the Formula One World Championship since 1967. It was first staged at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, as a sports ...

, which alternated between Mosport and

Circuit Mont-Tremblant Circuit Mont-Tremblant () is a race circuit about south of the village of Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, Canada. The name of the village of Saint-Jovite was often included in the name of the circuit, but since the village was amalgamated into Mont-Tr ...

. The organization's demise came as a result of a boycott by

Bernie Ecclestone Bernard Charles Ecclestone (born 28 October 1930) is an English business magnate. He is the former chief executive of the Formula One Group, which manages Formula One motor racing and controls the commercial rights to the sport, and part-owns ...

's FOCA of the Canadian Grand Prix in 1987, as detailed in Terry Lovell's Ecclestone biography, ''Bernie's Game''. CASC's FIA accreditation was revoked at the international body's next General Assembly, and its powers were instilled upon a single associate of Ecclestone's, Bernard Mailloux, until handed over to a new body,

ASN Canada FIA ASN Canada FIA was founded in 1990, after Canada's original National Sporting Authority, Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs (CASC), was expelled from the FIA. In a then-unprecedented motion, the country's sporting authority was entrusted completely t ...

, in 1990. Many of CASC's records were handed over to its Ontario Region, which re-affiliated as a territory to the new ASN, while other CASC regions were disbanded and replaced by re-formed territorial organizations. Details of the CASC history can be found in the book ''The Chequered Past: Sports Car Racing & Rallying in Canada 1951 - 1991'' by David A Charters. CASC history can be found at the archives of the

Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame The Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame (CMHF) is a hall of fame run by the Canadian Motorsport Heritage Foundation as a not-for-profit charitable institution that "honours and recognizes the achievements of individuals and institutions that have m ...

References

{{reflist Auto racing organizations Motorsport in Canada