Six Star Magazine Six Star Magazine Winter 2010/2011 | Page 32

FEATURE

ERIK TOMAS

RACELINE RADIO:

RACING SHOW, ROARING SUCCESS
In 1992, a pair of devoted gearheads
launched Raceline Radio, the first
nationally syndicated motorsport radio
program in Canada. Eighteen years
later, the show is still going strong with
a presence in the country’s 20 biggest
markets and a loyal following that tunes
in every week to learn all about the
racing scene from coast to coast.
Some 10 years ago, Subaru Canada, Inc.
recognized that this enthusiast program
appealed to a lot of the same people who
love Subaru vehicles – namely, people
who love their time behind the wheel as
much as they love their racing.
“Subaru Canada has got an
interesting product and it kind of
dovetails with what we talk about at
Raceline Radio,” reports Erik Tomas,
who is now flying solo after the
untimely death of his co-host John
Massingberd in late 2008. “But it also
ties in with street performance. There’s
a direct connection between their
motorsports efforts and what they sell

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here in Canada, particularly the WRX
and WRX STI models.”
The race series covered by Raceline
Radio comprises a diverse group – as
diverse as the entire motorsport scene
itself. Tomas reports on everything
from regional series to the upper
echelons of professional racing,
including NASCAR, Formula One and
the Canadian Rally Championship.
Rallying is, of course, of particular
interest to Subaru Canada, despite
Subaru’s withdrawal from the world
championship at the end of 2008.
“In terms of rallying in North
America, Subaru is still a major force,”
says Tomas. “Even the people on
the corporate side at [Subaru parent
company] Fuji Heavy Industries in
Japan, they know what’s going on
here. They know [Canadian rally
champion] Pat Richard, they know
when Subaru is winning, when they’re
losing and why motorsports helps
them sell these cars.”

As someone who has been a big
promoter of motorsport in Canada – part
of the show’s mandate is to highlight the
next generation of homegrown racing
talent – Tomas has great respect for the
similar role Subaru has played over
the years.
“If you look at racing in Canada, the
only other manufacturer that has shown
consistent support in Canada is Dodge
in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series,” he
notes. “Subaru presents the Canadian
Rally Championship, backs individual
competitors and supports privateers who
run Subaru equipment. Without their
support, the whole thing doesn’t work.”
In the same vein, without the support
of Erik Tomas and Raceline Radio, the
Canadian motorsport scene would be a
much poorer place – and there’s no sign
of either slowing down any time soon.
For information on when and where
to hear Raceline Radio, visit:
www.900chml.com/Station/
RacelineRadio.aspx.