Weekly Report (7 Aug to 14 Aug 2017)  

Monday (7 Aug)  was the scheduled start of Super Dirt Series  swing to the Niagara area , with back to back events at the Merrittville Speedway, Ontario and the Ransomville Speedway , New York. I usually combine these races with a few days of rest and relaxation in Niagara Falls. as  both tracks are a short distance from the resort.

Mondays races at Merrittville got rained out , so were postponed until Wednesday (after Tuesdays Ransomville). This meant an extra day lazing around my motel.

There was no rain about on Tuesday , and in fact it was hot and sunny. 

My buddy photographer buddy , Dan Mailhot and I were there early, and sat in the sunshine waiting for the action to begin.

Although it was a dry and sunny day, the grounds were a bit soggy and my big boots were needed on the infield.

I took my lawn chair out on the middle and took pics on turn one.

Local driver , Kenny Wills, drew pole position.

The 100 lapper got a bit dusty, and after an early lead by Billy Decker, Matt Shepherd got past. to claim the victory.

This was Shepherds third consecutive SDS win.

Decker stayed there to get second with Larry Wight , coming home third.

Wednesday (9 Aug) was another lazy day spent in Niagara Falls, on my mini vacation, before the evenings races at Merrittville.  

Again it was a hot and sunny night as I took pictures again with Dan on turn three and four.

There were many of our other ‘Tog’ friends there too, including Dale Calnan, Alex Bruce and Tom Stevens.

Merrittville has to be one of my favorite tracks for photo-ops,  you can stand close to the action and get some real ‘in your face’ pics.

This time it was ‘Mad’ Max Mcglaughlin who picked the pole.

As usual at the Merrittvllle SDS race, the cars are paraded along the front stretch, at the foot of the main grandstand prior to the start.

Once again , Matt Shepherd took the honors after a long fought battle with local driver Gary Lindberg # 28.  

This made if four SDS races in a row for Matt.

After my final night in Niagara Falls, I was back home in Cornwall soon after lunch on Thursday 10 Aug, in plenty of time for a trip to the medical center for some blood tests.

After this,  I spent a bit of time at home before making an early evening trip across the bridge to my  local Mohawk International Raceway.  They were running an extra Thursday event to replace the many dates lost earlier in the year, to rain.

I was very tired after returning from my Niagara trip so did not stay long.

I stayed long enough to get a few pictures and see Carey Terrance take the Modified Feature.

I made an early exit and was soon home in bed.

On Friday (11 Aug) , Don Simpson had offered me a ride to Autodrome Granby for the staging of the 358 Modified DirtCar Series event, but I had to decline at the last minute.

One of the many side effects of the medication  I require for my MYASTHENIA GRAVIS condition is the weakening of the bodies calcium, which effects my teeth. I had a large chunk of tooth fall apart , and after contacting the dentist I managed to get in for an emergency appointment late in the afternoon.  This meant no Granby for me, and in my absence Steve Bernier took the checkers.

On Saturday (12 Aug) the rain returned to the North East and early cancellations came from RPM Speedway in Quebec and Airborne Speedway, Plattsburgh , NY.  

My regular Saturday destination of the Brockville Ontario Speedway was still on, so left Cornwall, Ontario around 4-30 pm. I arrived in good time to set my self up in the middle, in my usual spot. It was dry, but there were black clouds that looked as if they were heading our way.

Just as the cars were doing warm ups we got a few spots of rain, which after a few minutes got heavier. Before long it got a lot worse, and the inevitable cancellation call was made.

So it was a Saturday night spent at home.

Sunday (13 Aug) we were back to sunshine again and I took a late afternoon ride across town to the Cornwall Motor Speedway.

As well as the regular divisions of Modifieds , Sportsman, Pro Stocks and Mini Stocks, the program also included the Lightening Sprints . I was expecting it to be another late finish, so had already decided I would leave before the end.

I had an appointment at the Cornwall Medical Center first thing on Monday morning, so needed to be in bed early.

As things worked out, I ended up staying right to the last race. The nights program ran very swiftly with no major delays, and the show was all over by 9-40 pm.  That was great and made a nice change from the recent late finishes.

I took my first batch of pictures from the pit tower before moving to the center after intermission.

Once I was out there, the first feature was for the Lightening Sprints, which was followed by the Modifieds.

I took a few pics on turn three and four.  

The race included Danny Johnson , in the spare # 16  (White) car of Gage Morin after Johnson’s # 22 D  ride, got damaged earlier.

The race was a pretty good one,  where J F Corriveau took the early lead.  Luke Whitteker, was on a mission so  didn’t take long to overpower him charge ahead to the checkers.

Up next was the Pro Stock Feature which provided a win for CD Beauchamp.  

There had been no major delays , and the time on my cel phone, was still only  9-15 pm.  As stated earlier, I had expected to leave before the end and miss the final race, so with this in mind, I decided to remain for the Sportsman Feature.

This was won by one of our new local drivers, Kurtis Cayer, on his first big win.

I was finished taking the Victory Lane shots by 9-40 pm and back home in my house by 10-00 pm.  All rested , and ready to be at my 8-00 am , Monday morning appointment for an Ultra Sound at the Medical Center.