Weekly Report (5th to 11th Sept 2017)

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Weekly Report (5th to 11th Sept 2017)

Following last weekends unscheduled two nights stay at my local Cornwall Hospital, I spent  most of my week, resting and trying to re-kindle some of my energy.

My idea of convalescence is not sitting around at home, looking at the walls, so if I’m able , I want to be at the races, with my friends..

I’m  not silly, and realized that when nursing  pneumonia, I had to be careful where, and what I did, I’m  fortunate and have so many good friends that rallied around.

On Friday 8 Sept, it was the second staging  in 2017 of the Super Dirt Series at Autodrome Granby in Quebec.

My photographer buddy Don Simpson drove me up to this one, and once there, my good friend Josee Poisson had arranged for me to have a seat up in the media room, that looks  down on the action. I hadn’t been up there for  about 10 years as I’ve always been too busy taking pictures around the track.

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Before joining another friend, Caroline Champigny up there in the media room.  I took my usual  short walk around the pits to chat.

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I was looked after very well by Josee and Caroline. A BIG THANKS

The 100 lap big SDS race was won by Larry wight after, favorite to win, Matt Shepherd had his motor let go, while running in second behind Steve Bernard.

Wight managed to pass local hero Bernard in the closing laps, with Billy Decker not far behind in third. Earlier in the race, the red flag came out when ‘Aussie’ Pete Britten, did a wild flip on turn one. He walked away unharmed, but the car looked a write off.

DSC_0086-001 (Medium) DSC_0094 (Medium) DSC_0103 (2) (Medium)Don and I missed the final race of the night, for the Pro Stocks and made our exit.

My week ends racing was planned in such a way, that I could get as much rest, and warmth as I could, but at the same time, getting some pictures taken  for my galleries.

On Saturday (9 Sept) , the 358 Dirt Car Series was taking place at the Can Am Speedway , at Lafargeville NY , which is less than a two hour drive from my home in Cornwall, Ontario.  

Instead of returning home to Canada after the races, I chose to get a room at the Ramada Hotel in nearby Watertown , that do a really good deal with Canadian money on par. I’ve taken advantage of this place on a number of occasions.

I left home mid morning and drove to Watertown, to check in and have nap, before going to the track.

On arrival at 3-30 pm the place was packed for this great end of season spectacle, that not only had the 358 Dirt Car Series for Mods, but also ESS Sprint Cars,  a GRIT Series event for Sportsman and the Can Am brand of Pro Stocks.  

My buddy Terry Ladouceur was taking part in the Pro Stocks, and had asked me to get a few pics.

Start time had been brought forward to 4-00 pm to accommodate the extended program.

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Can Am Speedway , Lafargeville NY 9 Sept 2017 www.rickattheraces.com
Can Am Speedway , Lafargeville NY 9 Sept 2017 www.rickattheraces.com

It was still reasonably warm and sunny when the action began, so I went out to turn three and four to take some pics of the Modifieds and Pro Stocks .

I then went to the media room to watch the features. While I was in the area of the media room I bumped into my long time friends,  Christine Martin and her family. I’ve known Christine, a former Sportsman and 358 Modified  driver, for a number of years, and on this occasion I WAS VERY PLEASED TO SEE HER.  

She , her  husband Michael and new baby Dominick, now reside in the Tampa area of Florida , and with this weeks threat of Hurricane  Irma heading for the Florida peninsula, they had taken evacuation advice and had got a flight back to her mum and dads  (Wayne and Christine) place on Wellesley Island in the 1000 Islands region of New York.

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It was great to see her again and catch up on the news.

FLASHBACK to 2012

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They also introduced me to up and coming Sportsman driver from the area, Jordon Kelly.

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They tell me, he’s one to look out for.  After my chat with the Martin Family I returned to the warmth of the media room for the features.

The ESS Sprints  and the Sportsman had their features before the modifieds, and were won by Steve Poirier and Zach Sabotka respectively.

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The race that I was there for, the 358 Dirt Car Series race was up next.

There was a strong field of cars and it was great to see the Can Am Speedway buzzing again after a number of quiet years.

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The 75 lap race was a good one, with winner Billy Dunn # 9 being chased across the line by Chad Brachman # 3 who’d worked his way up from a rear of the grid starting position.  Local driver Jordon McCreadie was third.

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The early start of the  show  meant the race was over around 9-30, and by 10-00 pm I was back at the Ramada.

Sundays (10 Sept) destination was nearer to home, but on the USA side of the border, at the Airborne Speedway at Plattsburgh. There was no rush to get there, so after a late breakfast I took a slow ride back along State Road 11 towards Airborne.

The headline event on the  program was for the Pro Stocks, who were having a Dirt Car Series race. With the track located  between two hot spot areas for this division, it looked all set for a great show.

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My buddy Rob Yetman was in attendance with a bunch of drivers from the Albany area as well as many of my  local Canadian drivers.

This was the first time ever the Dirt Car Pro Stocks had appeared at this track.

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It was a beautiful warm and sunny afternoon so I took advantage , by spending the first part of the show getting some action pictures. I joined my friend Dave Brown the track photographer on the middle.

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With the heat races over,  once again some good friends ‘took care of me’  Kathy Caldwell and Chris Craft, invited me up to the VIP room where I watched the Features in the comfort and warmth.

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There was a full program on the card, that not only had Pro Stocks, but Sportsman, STR’s , Sling Shots and  the 4 cylinders.

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Airborne Speedway , Plattsburgh NY 10 Sept 2017 www.rickattheraces.com
Airborne Speedway , Plattsburgh NY 10 Sept 2017 www.rickattheraces.com

 The headline event was dominated by Yetman and Nick Stone, until Quebec’s C.d Beauchamp forced his way to the front in the closing stages.

I decided to miss the Sportsman Feature,  make my way home, and to so end an excellent weekend of racing.

With so much going on recently, I’ve had to neglect my following of the F1 Grand Prix races on TV and missed seeing Lewis Hamilton take the Mercedes to another win at Monza, in Italy this weekend.