OTTAWA — Government critics were agog Monday that the supposedly green-hued Conservative party is sponsoring a sport that burns leaded gasoline by the barrel.

The Tories announced this weekend that the party will sponsor a car in the Canadian NASCAR circuit in an effort to get the message out.

It's an interesting gambit, NDP Leader Jack Layton said Monday, but not one that enhances the environmental credibility of the government.

"I know one thing's for sure is they'll now have their name on some of the emissions here in Canada and I'm not sure that was necessarily the wisest decision,'' Layton said outside the Commons.

"They already have enough emissions to be responsible for here in this House.''

Competitive racers in Canada won an exemption from the ban on leaded fuels in 1994.

  While Indy cars and Formula One cars managed to wean themselves off leaded fuels, NASCAR is only moving to end the reliance in 2008.

The Canadian fuel exemption for competitive racing expires next January, and Environment Canada put out a discussion paper last month asking for submissions on whether it should be extended.

Up to 40 per cent of the leaded fuel sold in Canada is used in stock cars, while another 40 to 50 per cent is burned by dragsters.

  NDP environment critic Nathan Cullen noted that NASCAR vehicles get about two miles to the gallon.

"In a 250-mile race, that means they go through 125 gallons of leaded fuel, per car,'' he said.

"It's a stunt that could go very bad for (the Conservatives) if they don't think through what they're putting money into.''

Green party leader Elizabeth May dryly noted that her party won't be entering a vehicle in NASCAR.

"It reflects the fact there is more money than sense in the Conservative party right now,'' she said.

"We would never be associated with the conspicuous consumption of leaded gas for the purpose of electioneering.''

Ryan Sparrow, a spokesman for the Conservative party, said New Democrats will have to answer to automotive workers for their criticism of motor sports.

"They're casting doubt on the whole sport,'' said Sparrow.

But the federal Tories aren't just targeting the speed-demon demographic.

It turns out the party logo _ a big blue "C'' _ appears on the hood of the car driven by Pierre Bourque, whose popular Internet news aggregator sells torqued headlines to political operatives.

Bourque's website confirmed the connection Monday, linking to a story by Inside Track Motorsport News that noted his Dodge Charger is the sponsored Tory vehicle.

As the Inside Track story states: "Bourque's popular Bourque Newswatch site is on the daily 'must-see' list of favourites for Canadian news and political junkies.''

Research on the business model for Bourque Newswatch suggests the federal Conservative party has just guaranteed itself favourable coverage for the foreseeable future by sponsoring Bourque's hobby.

Past and current Bourque clients have confirmed to The Canadian Press that advertisers on the site can expect flattering headlines or links, or headlines and links denigrating their opponents.

  The Conservative party refuses to confirm or deny that it employs Bourque's headline service directly. But months of negative headlines and links to scathing blogs about Liberal Leader Stephane Dion on Bourque Newswatch indicate someone with an axe to grind is paying the news aggregator, which openly advertises its headline service for sale.

"The fact that they're sponsoring a prominent media personality shows an error in judgment,'' said Liberal MP David McGuinty.

  When the Conservatives announced the NASCAR sponsorship Sunday, they neglected to mention the sponsored vehicle is driven by Bourque.

Instead, the party's news release referred to Whitlock Motor Sports.

  "This is a unique opportunity for the Conservative party to reach out to Canadians,'' Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said in a release.

NASCAR has a big middle-class fan base that the Tories want to get their message out to.

  Immigration Minister Diane Finley says sponsoring a car is a way for the Conservatives to tap into that following.

"The people who follow NASCAR are our kind of people. They're hard-working families, they're taxpayers who play by the rules. And those are the people that we're targeting,'' Finley told the Globe and Mail newspaper.