07 | August | 2017 | Rick at the Races

Weekly Report (1 Aug to 6 Aug 2017)

As August arrived , summer did too and after a July of wet weather in my area, we suddenly had a few hot and sunny days.

My lead up to the weekend was another one filled with medical appointments, which started on Monday 31 July for some blood work.

Then on Tuesday morning (Aug1 ) , my friend Debbie asked me to to drive her to a doctors appointment in Iroquois.

In the evening it was still warm and sunny so I took a drive across town the the Cornwall Motor Speedway, where the small Kart Track was in action.

As usual there were karts, Dirt Demons and Lawn Tractors on the program, plus many friends to chat with.

I hadn’t got plans for Wednesday (2 Aug ) so just took it easy.

On Thursday and Friday (3/4 Aug), I had appointments for I.V.I.G transfusions at the Cornwall Hospital in regard to my MYASTHENIA GRAVIS condition. Both days went well and I was all finished at the hospital by 2-30 pm on Friday .

After returning home for a while I was ready to head across the bridge, to the Mohawk International Raceway at Hogansburg , New York.

The forecast was for thunderstorms, and already I’d heard of cancellations further south in NY, but continued with my plans.

It was hot and humid when I arrived at the track, and although the skies looked threatening, it was still dry. There were a few sprinkles of rain before start time, but nothing serious.

The hot laps took place , and soon after , the heat races began. The Bandit class had completed theirs, and the Rookie Sportsman, had begun theirs , when the skies opened.

My photographer buddy Don Simpson and my self were ferried to the shelter of the Tech Shed by the fire crew , until the rain eased off.

We didn’t have to wait too long, and for a while it looked like we might be lucky. We started thinking, racing would continue.

It wasn’t to be, because , before long a full blown storm erupted.

Another night was once again lost to Mother Nature at the M.I.R, and by 8-00 pm I was back across the bridge in Canada.

The weather didn’t look good for Saturday (5 Aug) either, but looked a bit more promising than Friday.

One of Saturdays first casualties was Autodrome Drummond in Quebec.

My regular Saturday place, the Brockville Ontario Speedway, still looked good, so I set off on my usual afternoon trip down Hwy 401.

On arrival it was cloudy but dry, so like everyone else, I kept my fingers crossed.

The early cancellation at Drummond, proved to be a bonus for the B.O.S, with seven additional cars joining the Modified ranks. There were a total of 24 Modifieds in the pits, the best all year.

Dale Planck was back behind the wheel, driving the # 12 John Mulder car.

Under cloudy skies, the racing got under way, as I took pics from turn one and two.

It also boosted the Mod Lite ranks who were visiting with the TUSA tour.

Jeff May won their Feature .

The rookie Sportsman Feature gave Alex Gagnon his first Sportsman win since moving up from Street Stocks.

It was the Ogilvee Series night for Sportsman and Modifieds, which meant extra laps.

The 30 lapper for Sportsman was won by Ryan Scott.

The 50 lapper for the Mods was a great race where Luke Whitteker and Danny O’Brien battled for the lead throughout, with Dale Planck close on their heels.

At the checkers it was Luke Whitteker.

The rain had held off, but the night had turned chilly, so like normal, I made my exit after the headline division features. I was back home in Cornwall before mid night.

Sunday (6 Aug) was another cloudy day as I headed across town to the Cornwall Motor Speedway. The headline event was the 125 lap CANADIAN NATIONALS for the Modifieds and the pits were full when arrived. As well as this Sportsman , Pro Stocks and Mini Stocks were on the Program.

There were plenty of 358 Dirt Modifieds, which was good.

I’d already decided to take things easy, arrive a bit later and depart before the end, as I had plans for a trip to the Merrittville Speedway on Monday, which meant an early start.

Just as the last batch of heat races began, which were for the Pro Stocks a brief rain shower occurred which delay things for a short time.

I took shelter and took time out until the big race began.

The 125 lapper turned out to be a great race with many lead changes. There was a red flag status mid way when Danny Johnson flipped over on the back straight.