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With talk of bringing an IndyCar race to the streets of Calgary — perhaps high-speed Deerfoot Trail or winding sections of Memorial Drive — politicians are warming to the idea and the financial boost it could bring a lagging economy.

“Obviously, we should be doing things like this,” said Coun. Shane Keating.

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“To have a great city, we have to offer as many diverse recreational opportunities as we can. We should do it all, from the opera to auto-racing. If we don’t, we’ll be alienating people who have a passion for these unique areas.

“We’re a very big city, and we have a lot of different interests here.”

James Hinchcliffe, the lone Canadian driver in IndyCar, is campaigning to bring an IndyCar race to Calgary along with his race team, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, which is co-owned by Calgarian Ric Peterson.

Hinchcliffe was in town last week to attend a Christmas party thrown by Peterson’s company, Oculus Transport Ltd. He’s been sponsored by Peterson and well-known IndyCar owner Sam Schmidt since the fall of 2014.