End of May 2017
The end of May continued to be wet , we had some days of pouring rain, and others of sunshine.
The Ottawa Senators were still playing in the Final of the Eastern Conference of the Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh, so I had plenty of TV to keep me occupied.
On Friday 19 May I had a morning appointment with my MYASTHENIA GRAVIS specialist, at the Ottawa General Hospital, where the next steps of my treatment were discussed. I was finished in Ottawa by lunch time, and was back home in Cornwall early afternoon. It was t he start of Canada’s Victoria Day long weekend.
I had plenty of time to cross the bridge to the Mohawk International Speedway for the regular Friday night show. As usual, I met up with my buddy Don Simpson for supper at the Twin Leaf Diner, before heading to the track. I had my usual look around the pits and chatted to friends.
The first person I bumped into was Jordon McCreadie, and we were soon joined by Lynda, wife of Bruce Makinson. Thanks to Hilary Jacobs for taking the picture.
Don and I took our place on the middle to take our pics.
Appearing on the program that night was a special series event for the Mod Lites, which was won by Paul Klager. He was one of the organizing parties involved in the appearance of BriSCA F1 driver Ryan Harrison guest driving a Mod Lite at various tracks last year,
The Rookie Sportsman Feature went to Junior Delormier
The Modifieds Feature was up next, where Tim Fuller took his second win in a row.
Last race of the night was the Sportsman Feature, started late ( due to an on track Autograph session) and got off to a bad start. In the opening laps when a big wreck took out about six cars.
Luckily no one was hurt , but the cars were badly tangled together , and a long time was needed to clear the track.
By this time it was 11-45 pm, I’d had a long day, so made my exit before the race restarted. In my absence I missed Jonnathon Ferguson get the win.
The next day (Sat 20 May) it was the turn of the Brockville Ontario Speedway to have its opening night.
I sat in my lawn chair on turn one and two snapping pictures of the heat races, before retiring to one of the booths to watch the features with my friend , Taya Heldens the Victory Lane hostess.
It was a case of De Ja Vu as far as the Modifieds and Sportsman, with Danny O’Brien , taking the checkers in the Mods, while Dylan Evoy took the Sportsman honors. Both no strangers to the B.O.S Victory Lane.
The two big races were over by 10-00 pm so I took the opportunity of a quick get away, and was back home in Cornwall before 11-30 pm.
The weather forecast for Sunday 21 May , was not good, but for most of the day it had been dry and overcast. It was still like this in the afternoon when I made my way across the city to the Cornwall Motor Speedway.
The pits were full for this rescheduled season opener. The planned opening night had been cancelled two weeks earlier.
I hung out with my friends Ted , Tyrek and Chantel Lesage by the Tech booth then took some pics of the hot laps from the pit tower.
Just as the heat races started, we got our first drops of rain, and things were put on hold. The rain continued and the outcome was inevitable . I was soon on my way home , from an earlier than expected night. Another win for Mother Nature.
As I sat at home late that night watching TV, the sad and horrific news began to break through from Manchester , England concerning a terrorist attack at a teenage music concert. Not much was known at this time, but it was a fact that many young people had lost their lives. Over the next few days, more details emerged about this sickening tragedy. THINKING OF MANCHESTER, a city I know well, have many friends and their families in the area.
On Monday evening (22 May) a Big Block Modified, SUPER DIRT SERIES was scheduled for the Weedsport Speedway , New York, and although the weather continued to look ‘iffy’ , I left Cornwall at 9-30 am in hope that it would still be on. After an hours driving I stopped at the Ogdensburg Dunkin Donuts for breakfast, and a WiFi link.
It wasn’t long after going on line, I got the surprise news, that Weedsport had been called off. ( at this stage it was not raining where I was) After my croissant and coffee, it was time to turn round and go home.
So, it was yet another night sitting in front of the TV .
A rare Tuesday night show (23 May) for the Sportsman GRIT Series had been planned at the Can Am Speedway, at Lafargeville NY, and with two races already scratched from my agenda, I decided to go. I had not been to this track for over a year, and now that the Caprara family were back there running things, I was looking forward to a visit.
I combined this trip, with a late lunch date, in nearby Watertown with my good friend Dawn Kampff. We got together at the Panera Bread , for their special Mac & Cheese.
After this I headed back to the Speedway, where the pits were full of cars. Joining the Sportsman on the program, were Can Am’s own brand of Pro Stocks and the small 4 cylinder division.
I met up with many old faces from the track, as well as my friend, and track photographer Rebecca Eisele. Rebecca knew I was coming and kindly presented me with bottle of local red wine. Thank you .
We both opted for turn three and four for the heat races and one and two for the features.
Shawn Kirby won the Pro Stock race,
Rocky Warner took headlining Sportsman Feature.
The races were over before 11-00 pm and I was soon on my way home.
As for the hockey, The Ottawa Senators and Pittsbugh Penguins games , had gone the full stretch, and required a game seven on Thursday 25 May to decide the winner. It turned out to be a pretty even game with a second overtime period needed before we got the winning goal.
Unfortunately it wasn’t going to be the Senators in the cup this year, with the Penguins getting the deciding goal. Congrats to them, and a big thanks to the Ottawa Senators for giving us fans , such a remarkable year.
Friday 26 May, was another win for Mother Nature, with rain out cancellations for most of the tracks in the North East, including my local Mohawk International Raceway.
Saturday 27 May, the weather had improved , and a night at the Brockville Ontario Speedway was on my agenda.
I set off earlier than normal , as there was something I wanted to check out on route. As you may all know, this year is Canada’s 150th anniversary and one of the many things planned to celebrate the grand occasion, is the sailing from coast to coast, via the ice bergs of the North West passage by the Polar Prince.
It was berthed in Prescott harbor for a few days before setting off on its epic journey from Toronto to Vancouver on 1st June. I wanted to see it and get some pictures.
After getting my shots, I headed of to the track.
It was the special Ogilvie Series night for Modifieds and Sportsman, which meant , extended lap races. I expected it to be a long night, but things moved swiftly and the racing finished ( Mods and Sportsman) only slightly later than the previous week.
As usual I shot the heat races from the middle , before moving to the booth with Taya for the Features.
Once again Danny O’Brien won the Modifieds, while Jonnathon Fergusson got the Sportsman spoils.
As I said , the racing ( that interest me most) was over in good time and I was back home in Cornwall by 11-30 pm.
On my return home, it wasn’t long before I started getting messages from racing friends in Quebec, regarding a fatal accident at the Autodrome Drummond. The talented Dirt Sportsman driver Guy Ouellette had lost his life in a horrific crash. My thoughts and condolences go to his family and friends R.I.P Guy Ouellette.
On Sunday 28 May, I have to admit , I overslept, and missed the start (8-00 am) of my favorite Grand Prix.
The Monaco event is one of the oldest races in the world and has been on my ‘bucket list’ for many years. This year it was Ferrari first and second, with Vettel and Raikonnen, while Daniel Riciardo in the Red Bull was third.
The weather was a lot better on Sunday and once again I joined my friends Ted and Chantel by the Tech area at the Cornwall Motor Speedway.
We checked out a bunch of friends in the pits before the action got under way. I’m always made welcome at the Dave Bissonnette trailer.
I took most of my shots from the pit tower, while Chantel took a bunch of pit shots etc, . These have been put up in the web site gallery in a separate album.
Before the Feature races got under way, the drivers, officials and fans had a moment of silence in respect to Guy Ouellette who lost his life at Autodrome Drummond , the previous night.
The big race of the night was a 100 lapper for Sportsman. This gave young Jonnathon Ferguson his second win in two days.
The Modified race was won by Corey Wheeler,
while the Pro Stock even was won by Marc Lalonde.
The Vintage Modifieds which were a welcome addition to the program was won by Cory Winters.
So the month of May came to an end, and according to media reports, it was one of the wettest in the history books. Lets hope there is turn around, and June is dryer and sunnier Month.