February 2017 Report

As you’d expect, February as normal, was  a month where racing opportunities were restricted. I had no plans to join  my friends down in Florida for the winter dirt racing, so had to make do with my local events.

Of course , many nights have been spent glued to the TV watching the fortunes of the Ottawa Senators, in the quest for a Stanley Cup Play Off spot. February proved to be a good month for them, with the hi-light being a 6-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

As usual, I had to fit my social calendar  in between  medical appointments, which included the final session ( for now) of my monthly I.V.I.G transfusions at the Cornwall Hospital.  I find out next month from my specialist doctor, where I go from here.

When February begins each year, it also signals ‘another year older’ for me, and just for a change, I went out for supper to celebrate my birthday.

On Wednesday 1 Feb , I was joined by my good friend Dawn Kamff at the Cracker Barrel in Watertown, New York. These days, I rarely do anything special on my birthday , so it made a nice change to spend it, in good company.

As far as racing goes, I was at the Kahnawake Ice track on Sunday 5th Feb.   Each year I try to get  the Ice Races at Beauharnois , Quebec at least once , but a lack of good ice prevented the Kilo Watts Club,  putting on any races there. Instead , they arranged to use the track at Kahnewake, and there first race of the year was on this day. I went along to take a few pictures.

There were a good number of cars in attendance and the sun was shining.

The following Sunday , I was reminded first thing on Sunday morning ( 12 Feb) by a Face Book posting , there was a Winter Enduro taking place on the grounds of the Capital City Speedway in Ottawa, so quickly packed my car, so I could be there for the scheduled 1-00 pm start. The weather forecast was a bit grim, and by the time I got there , the snow was coming down pretty heavy.

There were about 25 cars in attendance, and with the snow getting worse , I was glad to see the green flag , to get things underway.

I didn’t hang around for long. and once I’d got a few pictures, set off for the ‘white knuckle’ ride home in the storm.

This was the beginning of the biggest storm of this winter , and I was glad to be home in Cornwall, before it got too deep.

It continued snowing all night, and was still doing so when I awoke early Monday morning (13 Feb) for day one, of my two day I.V.I.G transfusions. I did not want to risk getting stuck in my car, so called for a taxi, to get me to the hospital.

By  1-30 pm on Tuesday (14 Feb) I was done at the hospital and spent the rest of week at home, looking out my windows at the snow.

By the weekend the temperatures had risen, and much of white stuff was melting.

On Sunday 19 Feb, I drove over to Clarence Creek ( a small village between Cornwall and Ottawa) for their annual Winter Races.

These are run by the local Lions Club, and held in the middle of the village on a piece of land. The oval of about a quarter mile in length is normally covered in ice or snow, but the rise in temperatures meant this years event took place in a mud bath.

One of the entrants in this years event was # 94 Gab Cyr , one of my local Dirt Sportsman drivers.

He was out there trying something a bit different from his regular ride at the Cornwall Motor Speedway.

As February continued, my main interest was centered around the Florida Speedweeks, and the Super Dirt Series races at the Volusia Speedway. After the first two nights were rained out, Justin Haers and Brett Hearn won the remaining nights.

Following the final night at Volusia on Saturday,  just down the road on Sunday, the annual Daytona 500 took place.

NASCAR Cup Racing does nothing for me these days, but I still try to watch it on TV if can manage to stay awake . This years race was won by Kurt Busch.