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NASCAR driver Carl Edwards celebrates his victory in the NAPA Autoparts 200 race as he gets out of his car at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal , Sunday, August 30, 2009.The Associated Press

Readers of Globe Drive who have vehemently disagreed with something in this motorsport space now have their chance to hold me to account.

The opportunity comes at the Sixth Annual Canadian Motorsport Expo this weekend, which features a panel of seven motorsport journalists who will talk racing, answer questions, and happily debate issues with fans in a 90-minute session on Saturday afternoon.

The marquee panelist this year is accomplished author and Formula One journalist Gerald Donaldson who, as the saying goes, has forgotten more about grand prix racing than most of us know. Having the privilege of hearing him talk about F1 is worth the price of admission alone and anyone showing up will likely go home knowing something they didn't.

Joining Donaldson on stage will be TSN's Todd Lewis, the Toronto Star's Norris McDonald, the Toronto Sun's Dean McNulty, the Hamilton Spectator's Tim Miller, Raceline Radio's Erik Tomas, and me, representing the Globe and Mail.

The Meet the Media Fan Forum is at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The Expo itself starts Friday at 1 p.m. and wraps up Sunday evening at Toronto's International Centre at 6900 Airport Rd., near Pearson International Airport.

Okay, so perhaps chewing out some numbskull racing writer isn't enough to get you out of the house and to the International Centre. Luckily, the Expo has many other attractions that will appeal to motorsport fans.

The top driver draw will likely be 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup runner-up Carl Edwards, who races the No. 99 Roush Ford. The 2007 NASCAR Nationwide champion will also be familiar to Canadian motorsport fans after his dramatic last corner pass on Marcos Ambrose to win the 2009 NAPA Auto Parts 200 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

The NASCAR star will participate in a 40-minute question and answer session with fans beginning at noon Saturday before signing autographs. Fans will have to show up early Saturday to vie for 150 vouchers good for an Edwards signature.

The Expo will have another Napa 200 winner on hand later on Saturday afternoon when Canadian racer extraordinaire Ron Fellows takes the stage to talk about his driving plans for 2012 and his new business venture as a co-owner of Mosport International Raceway in Bowmanville, Ont. Mosport announced a long-term deal Friday that will see the track renamed Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The retailer has backed Fellows for the past few years on his Nationwide racing, especially at home in Montreal. Fans should expect big things to follow. NASCAR fans might want to ask the Mississauga, Ont., road racer if his connections in the stock car world will help him get a Nationwide race to one of Canada's most storied venues.

Saturday evening will close with the presentation of the 2011 Inside Track Motorsport News Readers' Choice Awards, which single out the best performances of the year by Canadian drivers.

Also appearing at the show is 2011 IndyCar rookie of the year James Hinchcliffe, of Oakville, Ont., who will feel a bit of pressure this season after taking over the car of departed series media darling Danica Patrick, now a NASCAR Nationwide driver. Hinchcliffe moved to Andretti Autosport this year after the team he was with in 2011, Newman/Haas, decided to call it quits. He will be on stage Sunday at 12:45 p.m. and will sign autographs following his fan forum.

In addition, 2011 World Series by Renault 3.5 champion Robert Wickens of Guelph, Ont., and 2011 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Champion Scott Steckly will make appearances.

Fans will also have their first chance to see the new Dallara DW12 car that Hinchcliffe and the rest of the IndyCar drivers will pilot around the streets of Exhibition Place in July's Honda Indy Toronto. The much-anticipated car has several new features not included in the old, such as F1-style carbon fibre brakes and a newly mandated twin turbo V-6 engine.

Early tests have already shown the DW12 car to be quicker than the old Dallara chassis. It was named "DW" after the late Dan Wheldon, who died in a 15-car pile-up at the 2011 IndyCar season finale in Las Vegas. Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and 2005 IndyCar champion Wheldon was the main test driver for the car.

The AIM Autosport Daytona Prototype Grand American car which Canadian Mark Wilkins and teammate Brian Frisselle scored their maiden win in 2008 at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in the closest finish in Rolex Series history will also be on display. It now belongs to The Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame.

In addition, Jeff Gordon's No. 24 Chevy and Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 88 Chevy have been brought to Toronto for fans to see.

Formula One faces increasing pressure to cancel the April stop in Bahrain for a second consecutive season due to growing violence in the Gulf kingdom. In an open letter published by The Times of London on Thursday, seven members of the U.K.'s House of Lords and a Member of British Parliament called on the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile to axe the Bahrain Grand Prix. The letter came on the heels of a sword attack against a British citizen that saw the man have two fingers severed.

"Given the current dire situation, with daily street protests and the deaths of more civilians, we do not believe that the time is right for Formula One to return to Bahrain," the letter concluded.

Last year, unrest in Bahrain saw the race was moved from its early season spot on the calendar before it was eventually cancelled after bloody government crackdowns against democracy protesters.

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