Dario Franchitti at the Canadian Motorsports Expo

Some of the top racers in the world joined fans at the 2011 Canadian Motorsports Expo (CME) including IndyCar and Indy 500 Champion Dario Franchitti. The IRL driver signed lots of pictures and other racing memorabilia before joining media for a round table discussion and later one on one interviews. Dario is a favourite of Toronto fans for his win at the 2009 Toronto Honda Indy as well as his second place finish at the 2010 race, his great Scottish accent and his lovely wife - actress Ashley Judd. I look forward to seeing Dario putting the pedal to the metal in this years edition on the streets of Toronto.

Joining the motorsports superstars was also Canadian and race champion Ron Fellows (below).

For the stock car enthusiast there were plenty of NASCAR Canadian Tire Series drivers taking part in a Q&A session along with an autograph signing. The drivers were Howie Scannell Jr, Don Thomson Jr, Jason White, DJ Kennington (2010 NCTS Champion, pictured below), Caitlin Johnston, Jason Hathaway, Mark Dilley, Shawn McGlynn and Robin Buck.

Sports media personalities did there best to pick out some of the highlights and predictions for motorsport racing. The Toronto Star's Norris McDonald always provides plenty of great stories gathered over a lifetime of watching and reporting on drivers and races. In the photo below, from left to right are Russ Bond, Erik Thomas (Race Line Radio), Tim Miller (Hamilton Spectator), Norris McDonald (Toronto Star), Todd Lewis and Gerald Donaldson.

There were some Drag Racers displaying their rockets on wheels - Cassie Simonton (pictured below) had her car at the show.

Hooters girls and other models provided some beautiful atmosphere which was just perfect for a car show - see the ladies and some pictures of the motorsport show after the jump.

James joins some of the models (photos by Fresh Joe)