End of June 2016 REPORT
The month of June 2016, started in a bad way, with a down turn in health , that kept me in hospital for a few days, having a blood transfusion. Since then, and with a change to my MYASTHENIA GRAVIS medication, I have felt a lot better, and I’ve had the energy and inclination to get out and about to more races. I’m still having to take things easy , so I’m enjoying my hobby of photography on a limited basis.
On Friday 19 June it was a lovely hot and sunny day , so decided to cross the International Bridge from Cornwall to the USA , just after lunch time.
What better place is there to relax in the sun, and kill time, before an evening at the Mohawk International Raceway, than the nearby beach at Masena NY
I spent about 45 minutes lazing on the beach before heading down town for some shopping. I met up with my photographer buddy , Don Simpson, at Walmart, and we went to eat, before hitting the race track.
With the UEFA Cup Football tournament taking place, in France at this time, I was showing my support for the England team, by wearing the England flag on my shirt.
Once down at the track, it was Billy Dunn who grabbed the Modified Feature , after a Victory Lane absence of over a year,
Brianna Ladouceur captured the Sportsman checkers.
After many years absence it was good to see the Vintage Modifieds making an appearance. They put on a good show and hope to see them back again soon.
The next day, Saturday 18 June , I went along to the Brockville Ontario Speedway, and one of the first people I met, while standing by my car in the parking lot was, my friend Judy Heaslip. I hadn’t seen Judy for many years , and she quickly told me why she was there. Husband, Dave ‘the Slip’ was returning to the race track that night in the borrowed # 20 Dirt Sportsman car at the age of 71 years old.
I’ve been friends with the Heaslips for over 20 years, since I first started spectating at the Frogtown Speedway (now Mohawk International Raceway). I used to sit with Judy, and their friends, the late, Jerry Michalicka and Marion.
I sat with the Heaslip Team for a number of years and gradually became good friends. I even helped out in the pits on a few occasions, as mud scraper and joined the team in Victory Lane. 
As I moved into the media side of the sport , I helped organize a trip to England for Dave, where he represented Canada in the BriSCA F1 World Final at Coventry in 2003. 
Dave quit racing 358 Modifieds about six years ago, and only recently sold his race cars.
So when Judy told me he was out for a ‘one off’ gig in the borrowed Jason Shipclark Sportsman, I eagerly went off to the pits to find him. He was there at the drivers meeting with long time crew man Roger Soucy.
We spent a few minutes chatting about old times and Roger took a picture.
Once the racing got under way , I was in the middle taking pictures.
Dave kept out of trouble and finished mid way in the Feature, which was won by , Shane Pecore.
My good friend Jordon McCreadie, had a dominating win in the Modifieds which follows shortly , after his first ever ‘Dirt’ Feature win at the Mohawk International Raceway , a few weeks previous.
Just one week after the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal the F1 circus , moved on to Azerbaijan, for the next round. The race took place around the ancient city of Baku and at one point passes the castle. As usual these days, with my rekindled interest in F1, (and lack of interest in the NASCAR Cup racing) , I was up early on Sunday (18 June) morning to watch the televised broadcast. The race was dominated by Nico Rosberg in his Mercedes.
On Sunday night I was at the Cornwall Motor Speedway , and we had a surprise win in the Modifieds , with Lance Willix taking the checkers. It’s been a while, and I’d have to go back a few years, since I last took his Victory Shots. 
In the Sportsman division , Ryan Stabler got his first ever win. He’d had a few wins in the Pro Stock division before, but this was his first in the open wheelers.
It was also a big night for the ProStocks with extended laps for their Ultimate Series. My friend Dave Bissonnette won this one.
Tuesday 21 June, was my blood test day, and once that was done, I had a relaxing day at home , until I had the urge to go racing again !
It was kart track night at the Cornwall Motor Speedway, so I thought I’d cross town to take a few pics. I usually try to get a long at least once a year, but with so much other stuff happening in my life, I can’t make it each week. As usual there were the three main divisions racing, Kids Karts, Lawn Tractors and the Dirt Demons.
Since my blood transfusion at the beginning of the month, and the decision by the doctors to discontinue with the drug that was believed to be the cause of my relapse, I have gradually been feeling a lot better, and my energy is starting to return. My mind , if not my body, is definitely getting back to my normal self, and I want to ‘go racing’.
So , when my buddy Ron Morin offered me a ride up to the Thursday (23 June) night Modified Special at the R.P.M Speedway at St Marcel , Quebec, I hastily excepted. It’s unusual to have races on a Thursday night, but this was the start of Quebec’s provincial ‘special day’ , the Jean Baptiste Holiday. We went up in Ron’s Lincoln, and we were there nice and early.
There were four 25 lap Features for the Modifieds on the program as well as many other divisions, so it looked like we were in for a late finish, which neither of us wanted.
It was a nice night for taking pictures , and was out in the middle for the heat races.
By 10-30 pm we had seen two of the Features, the first had Francois Bernier as the winner, 
while , Chris Raabe, one of our local guys had the other.
Once I’d got my pics of Chris in Victory Lane, Ron and I were on the road, heading for Cornwall and home.
On Friday (24 June) it was the turn of my local Mohawk International Raceway once again . My nearest track, and plenty of time to sit around the house, before heading out. Once again I met my buddy Don Simpson, in Masena , for a bite to eat before the races.
There were a few different faces in the pits this week including the return of my good friend Brent Kelsey # 30 Sportsman . Since I’ve been in poor health, Brent’s father Terry has been one of the friends in the background that have given me a lot of support. Terry had been keeping me informed of the new cars progress and I was expecting to see them. 
I tried taking a few pics from outside the track for the hot laps and got this interesting one of Chris Raabe getting the power down.
Once the heat races got under way I took a spot on the middle.
Another friend back in action locally was Mike Maresca, who had been doing his early season racing in Ohio.
The Sportsman Feature gave Rob Delormier his first ever victory.
As for the Modifieds, Cornwall’s Brian McDonald got a long overdue win,
The show moved along quickly and once again , I was home at sensible time.
As usual on Saturday ( 25 June) I was at the Brockville Ontario Speedway, and for the second week running , Dave Heaslip was in the Jason Shipclark Sportsman.
It was a big night for the Speedway , with Ogilve Series races for both Sportsman and Modifieds.
I took pictures on the middle for the heats and , then sat down to watch the Features. I joined my friend , Victory Lane hostess Taya Heldens up in one of the booths.
Taya, with Mini Stock winner Chris Bakker
As for the Modifieds and Sportsman, we had two very familiar faces, with multi winners Danny O’Brien and Dylan Evoy respectively taking the honors,
I must also mention , the great performances we are seeing from young Jarret Herbison # 38J (son of Modified driver, Chris) in the Sportsman. He is definitely a star of the future. 
The big races were all over by 10-00 pm, and once again I was home earlier than expected .
Sunday 26 June , was the ‘big day’, and one I look forward to every year. It’s the day the Big Block Modifieds visit the Cornwall Motor Speedway for the SUPER DIRT SERIES.
Now that I’m no longer on the paid staff at the track, I don’t have to be there so early , but on this occasion it’s not a good idea to get there late. ,
I got there at around 3-30 pm in good time to park by the pit gate , and be able to sit and relax in my car as the race care haulers made their entrance.
All the big names were there , as well as all our local talent.
Once I’d signed in, I was able to chat among friends in the pits before everything got started.
For the hot laps and heat races , I chose to base my self on the pit tower to take pictures, and was quite happy with my results.
Once I’d finished on the tower , I went down to the start line to watch the re-draw , where Max McLaughlin’s young helper drew number one on the grid, with Stewart Friesen getting number two.
After the intermission the big race got under way , with the traditional four wide , ‘Salute to the fans’
I watched the big race from the middle , using one of the flat bed recovery trucks as my vantage point.
It turned out to be a great race , with Stewart Friesen, Matt Sheppard and Danny Johnson having a great battle at the front.
Friesen led most of the race until about five laps to go, when Sheppard got by. He only stayed there for a couple of laps as a determined Stewart , put the hammer down and regained the lead in lapped traffic. All the time Johnson was on their tails ready to pounce. It was one of the best endings to a race , I’ve seen for a while a pleased my friend, Stewart Friesen got the win. 
It’s been a long time since he has won at Cornwall, ( probably 2004) when he first started following the 358 Modified SUPER DIRT SERIES. I’ve known him since 2003, when he was a rookie on the 358 tour. He was just a teenager in his first full SUPER DIRT SERIES and he was racing at the now defunct Autodrome Edelweiss (nr Ottawa). From that day on wards, we’ve always had time for a chat when our paths have met. 
From the off set it was obvious he was destined for great things, and I was at the Fulton Speedway NY when he won his first ever 358 SUPER DIRT SERIES race in 2004.
Here’s one of his cars with a RICK AT THE RACES sticker .
Oh yes , and back to Sunday night at Cornwall, it was Shane Pecore who took the Sportsman Feature.
As I mentioned earlier, it’s been the UEFA Cup time in France , and after a reasonable start , the England Football Team were due to play Iceland, for the next round, on Monday 27 June. Well, once again , my team were a let down, and they had an embarrassing loss against the ‘under dogs’. Iceland deserved the win, and good luck to them in the rest of the tournament . My red and white flags of St George have now been removed from my front porch, and the T shirts put away until next time.
While I was at home on Wednesday afternoon ( 29 June) I had a surprise. I was sitting in doors doing stuff on my lap top when I heard a roar in the sky above. I looked outside and saw the ‘Snow Birds’ , the Royal Canadian Air Force aerobatic team in action. They went over my place then turned around , ( I would guess) over Summerstown , Ontario/ Fort Covington , NY and then started heading back in my direction. I grabbed my camera, and did the best I could.
To end the month, on Thursday 30 June, I went along to the Canandaigua Speedway , in central New York for another Super Dirt Series event.
The weather was perfect , and it was great to hang out with my photographer buddies. (there were quite a few of us)
Tim Fuller was the winner after wresting the lead from Matt Sheppard around mid way point of the 64 lapper. Billy Decker made a late race pass on Stewart Friesen to grab third. 
The SDS was over in good time and I was soon back in the comfort of my Econo lodge room in town, downloading my pics.
The next day , the first of 1 July, was CANADA DAY which was spent taking the leisurely drive back home. I dropped in to see my racing friend Dawn, at Sandy Creek , where we checked out her local beach before , heading to a local eatery in Pulaski to catch up on our news.
I was back home in Cornwall, around 7-00 pm just as the cities CANADA DAY celebrations were coming to an end.
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