Weekly Report (5th Aug 2018)

Weekly Report   

Last weeks report ended  on Sunday 29th July after a rare weekend free of racing. My daughter Carla had been visiting, so with a full agenda of races coming up, a few days of off and a bit of quality family time was very welcome.

Carla flew home to Austin, Texas on Monday, while I relaxed at home.

My original plans for the coming week were for two Super DirtCar races scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday (31 July / 1st Aug) . One was at my local Airborne Speedway at Plattsburgh NY, and the other was at the Fonda Speedway NY.

The one at Fonda was ‘The Jack’ 100 lapper , in tribute to the great Jack Johnson. 

So, on Tuesday afternoon, I was joined by my ‘Tog’ buddy Don Simpson for the short drive to Plattsburgh.

After a spaghetti meal at the Twin Leaf Diner in Akwesasne, we were at the track around 4-00 pm.

As we arrived I bumped into Bruce Jarvis of Speedway Illstrated, who gave me one of his shirts.

He later snapped a pic of me wearing  it ,and  standing next to track photographer Dave Brown,

It was another hot day so we wandered the pits watching the teams arrive and chatting to friends. I like this kind of ambience you get at these SDS events. 

One of the first people we saw was Rejean Plante, who was helping the Steve Bernier Team. Here’s Don and Rej.

While wandering over to the DirtCar trailer I met Stewart Friesen and Starter Dave Farney.

Stewart had been racing on Sunday night in the Short Track Super Series at the BAPS Speedway (FKA the Susquehanna Speedway) near Newberrytown PA and on the return home, had transporter problems.

He told me, his truck had to be towed back to his base in Sprakers NY. so was using a back up hauler to attend Airborne.

Before taking my place to shoot pictures I said hello to the rest of the DirtCar team and took in some of the drivers meeting,

It was while talking to the team , I heard the news that the race at Fonda for the next day had been canceled. A bad weather forecast of rain for most of the day, needed an early decision.

First of all I shot from the outside of  turn four , before heading to the middle.

Joining the Big Block Mods on the program, were the DirtCar Sportsman and the domestic budget divisions.

During the heat races, the unfortunate Friesen had to retire with mechanical failure to the rear end.

The redraws took place at intermission and Series Points leader Matt Sheppard drew pole.

The 25 lap Sportsman feature was ran before the Mods and this was won by Jack Speshock.

The Mods followed next and the traditional ‘four wide’ salute to the fans took place before the 100 lap race got going.

With Friesen out and Sheppard on pole, it looked a foregone conclusion , who the winner would be, but as the saying goes ” it aint over until the fat lady sings”.

Sheppard led right up until lap 98 when the cautions came out.

On the restart Danny Johnson, who had been closing in, took full advantage, and when the green flag dropped, he got along side Sheppard on the first turn.

He kept the power on, and edged his way past, and one lap later, grabbed the checkers.

The race was over by 10-00 pm and Don and I were soon heading back to Canada.

So, with Wednesday nights Super Dirt Series canceled at Fonda, the rest of the week turned out quieter than expected.

The wet weather continued in the North East, and as I crossed the border to the Mohawk International Raceway on Friday (3 Aug)  I had my doubts if the show would run. Although ,it was dry with plenty of humidity, it looked very stormy , and already other tracks in New York state had been forced to cancel.

Much to my surprise, as it got nearer to start time, the skies brightened up, and there was no sign of rain, I wasn’t feeling 100 % , so didn’t stray too far from my usual spot on the center of turn four.

I did however take a few shots from the outside , during hot laps.

There was a good turn out of 20 Modifieds, where once again Tim Fuller showed his supremacy .

This was his seventh Feature win of the season.

The Mod Lite Race provided Dan Reif with another win.

The Novice Sportsman race was won by the young Dale Gonyo

Where as the regular Sportsman Feature went to Mike Stacey. The time was now about 10-30 pm and the Bandit Feature followed .

I chose to make an early exit and was back home by 10-45.

Saturday 4 August, was a regular show at the Brockville Ontario Speedway, so during the afternoon I took the short drive down Hwy 401. 

With plenty of racing action coming up over the next few days, I figured I’d get there nice and early and take a snooze in the parking lot. It was another hot and humid  night, so after my nap, I stayed in the car with the A/C running until just before start time.

This kind of weather aggravates my MYASTHENIA GRAVIS condition, which gives me no choice, but to be careful, and  do everything at a snails pace.

Brockville Ontario Speedway 4 Aug 2018 www.rickattheraces.com

I stationed my self in my usual spot on the center by turn one and two, for my shooting.

First Feature of the head line divisions was for the Modifieds which provided another win for Danny O’Brien, after stealing the lead from his brother Tim in the closing laps.

The Sportsman Feature was up next where  Johnathon Ferguson had very few challenges on his charge to the checkers. 

This was done by 10-00 pm, so with my busy agenda to consider, I hastily made my exit.

On Sunday my local Cornwall Motor Speedway had another big show, with the 100 lap Canadian Nationals Modified race taking center stage.

Also on the agenda was a 100 lap Topless Sportsman race (roofs of cars removed). I’ve never  been a big fan of these gimmicky type of races, but hey ! I guess it’s something different for the fans.

It was another baking hot day so I arrived just before Hot Laps and went straight into taking pics.

The Canadian Nationals followed the intermission and was first feature of the DirtCar sanctioned divisions.

This turned out to be a great race with Luke Whitteker taking the victory.

He passed early leader Jordon McCreadie then charged to the lead. He was later challenged by Carey Tarrence , and Chris Raabe, but managed to stay in front despite the leading cars being held up by back markers.

It was good to see Luke’s luck change after being forced to use his back up car , following severe mechanical problems the night before at Brockville.

I had to join my good friends Luke and car owner Ralph Murphy for this one.

Lucky for me this feature was up first and before the Sportsman and Pro Stock races, as I had to leave early.

I had to be up at the crack of dawn the next day for another adventure.