From the hallowed 2.5-mile paved Indianapolis Motor Speedway to the historic half-mile clay oval in Western New York, the trip for Meira marks the rarest of appearances in the Empire State and first-ever for an active Indy Car driver at the fairgrounds.
 
The speedway special spearheaded by Kevin Arnold from ABC affiliate Bradco Supply Co. based in Syracuse, N.Y. also features a full four-star program of Big-Block Modified, Sportsman, Stock Car and Pure Stock racing. Canandaigua’s 48th season gets underway Sat. April 9 and the following weekend the inaugural Jan Corcoran Memorial Big-Block 64-lapper kicks the spring season into high gear.
 
“We want to make Canandaigua THE place to be every Saturday during the race season,” remarked Jeremie Corcoran, the first-year CMP promoter who is quickly making his own tracks in wine country even before the first green flag flies. “And giving our fans a chance to get an autograph or snap a photo with a world-class driver is the kind of hype we’re bringing back. I can’t imagine all the buzz around this place if Vitor pulls off an upset just days before coming to town.”
 
A native of Brasilia, Brazil and today residing in Miami, Fla., Meira finished 12th in the 2010 IZOD Indy Car Series standings, posting six Top-10 finishes including a third-place best in the season-opener on home soil in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Twice securing second-place in the Indianapolis 500 (2008, 2005), the 33 year-old triathlete climbed to a career-high fifth on the 2006 Indy Car points chart after capturing the South American F3 championship (8 wins) in 2000.
 
Owner Foyt from Houston, Tex. retired from driving in 1993 after establishing all-time records of seven national Indy Car Championships and 67 Indy Car Series victories, four of which came in the coveted Indy 500.
 
Even before Canandaigua throws open its gates, find out all the news by going online and visiting www.CanandaiguaMotorsportsPark.com, sending along a note to fan@canandaiguamotorsportspark.com to join the e-mail list, or registering with https://www.twitter.com/Canandaigua_MSP to keep up-to-date on-line and through text messages on cell phones via Twitter.
 
Racers can take advantage of $130 in savings by purchasing in advance a 2011 Canandaigua Motorsports Park season pit pass for $395. Teams are offered an additional bonus as with the purchase of five (5) pit passes, the next one is FREE.
 
The cost of a weekly pit pass in 2011 will be $25 for members and $27 for non-members. A grandstand season pass is also on sale for $200 and each comes with a reserved seat of choice throughout the year.
 
For more information, please contact Jeremie Corcoran via cell 315-374-2839 or e-mail jeremiecorcoran@yahoo.com. Tim Bowman (315-225-0881) can be reached during the week to discuss marketing opportunities available at the track in 2011.
 
Canandaigua Motorsports Park is located at the Ontario County Fairgrounds, east of the city on Town Line Road (County Road 10), with easy access off either Exit 43 (Manchester, Route 21 South) or Exit 44 (Farmington, Route 332 South) of the New York State Thruway, just ½-hour southeast of Rochester.