Weekly Report (28 May 2019)

Weekly Report (28 May 2019)

It was another cold and wet start to the week , but by the time Thursday came around , it’d  got a bit warmer. Friday looked good for racing and I was looking forward to the busy schedule I had planned for the weekend. 

I was hoping it would be ‘third time lucky’ for my local  Mohawk International Raceway, who were still tying to get their first  race of the year into the books.

Although, the weather reports had stated  Friday would be nice and dry , it still turned out to be cloudy and cold. At least it wasn’t raining, so I crossed the International Bridge from Cornwall mid afternoon and was sitting in the parking lot in good time to watch the race teams arrive.

As I sat there I chatted to Dale Planck who was there to help the Mulder Team. It was good to be back at the M.I.R and catch up with friends.

Don and I, posing here with Corey Wheeler before the races.

 

After wandering the pits I listened in on the drivers meeting before taking some hot lap pictures from the outside of turn three.

The evenings program consisted of the headlining 50 lap Memorial Cup race for the Modifieds, as well as the Sportsman, Rookie Sportsman, Mod Lites and Bandits (MiniStocks) divisions. There were 20 Modifieds in attendance and about 30 Sportsman. 

As usual,  the Bandit Feature was run before the intermission , and was won by Nick Perham.

This was quickly followed by the Rookie Sportsman feature where Kurt Russell took the checkers.

It was then time for the short intermission . Time for a break before racing resumed.

Next up was the Sportsman feature, where Shane Pecore #22P driving the spare Cedric Gauvreau # 22C car, showed his skill and ability by stamping his authority all over this one.

The Mod Lite feature was next and following a number of stoppages for wrecks, was won by Kevin Foster.

The final event of the evening was the 50 Lap Memorial Cup for the Modifieds.

With only one caution, Chris Raabe turned his luck around by holding off Tim Fuller to take the checkers

So far this year Chris had been dogged with bad luck, including some bad damage at the Airborne Speedway.

Lance Willix followed Raabe and Fuller to take the final podium place.

The racing was over by 11-00 pm and I was soon back over the bridge and home.

Things looked grim again for Saturday (25 May) with rain predicted all over the North East.

My plan was to attend the Airborne Speedway at Plattsburgh, for a special event they had scheduled for the Pro Stocks, but unfortunately this was one of the first tracks to cancel.

The Brockville Ontario Speedway also cancelled early, as did Autodrome Drummond. As the day went on, I got to hear of more being rained out, but the Lebanon Valley and Fulton Speedways managed to get their shows in before the big storm. That meant a Saturday night at home for me.

I was up early Sunday (26 May) to watch one of my favorite races live on TV. It was time for the world famous Monaco Grand Prix, the one event that has been on my bucket list for many years.

I visited Monaco on a Family holiday back in August 1991, but I’ve yet to see the historic race.

The race turned out to be a good close one, with Lewis Hamilton taking the checkers. He had been chased by Max Verstappen for much of the race and it was the young Dutchman  who followed Hamilton across the line. Earlier in the race , Verstappen had picked up a Five second penalty for an unsafe pit maneuver , so  Sebastian Vettel and Valtteri Bottas who had been on their tale, took second and third positions on the podium .

While I was watching TV, the sun was shining and things were warming up outside my house. Things looked good for my evening at the Cornwall Motor Speedway. A good thing for me about the Cornwall track, is that it’s only a ten minute drive from my house , so I can relax at home for most of the day before making my way across town. 

Joining the regular divisions for this show, were the Lightening Sprints, not my favorite things, so I was hoping they wouldn’t delay the program too much. I wanted an early night , as I had big plans for Monday.

While, on the subject of the Lightening Sprints, a good friend of mine for number of years, Terry Ladouceur is now driving one. He is in his second year and is now joined by his son Skyler.

While I was in the pits, I had a look at the tracks latest acquisition, a new set of scales for the tech area. A few of us weighed ourselves, and will check at the end of the year to compare.

After placing my lawn chair behind Victory Lane, I decided to do most of my shooting from the center this week.

Lucky for me, the show went along quite smoothly.

First Feature of the night was for the Mini Stocks and this was won by Justin Jodoin, which was then followed by the Lightening Sprints.

Jordon Poirier took the checkers in this one.

The main event , the 30 lapper for Modifieds was up next, and this one was dominated and won by Brian McDonald.

There had been no major delays, and by around 9-15 pm the final race of the night took to the track, a 25 lap Feature for the Sportsman.

 

Ryan Stabler was the early leader , then following a number of cautions and a ‘red flag’ situation, the on form, Shane Pecore was able to catch up and pass for the win.

Even with  delays encountered in the final race, the show was all over before 10-00 pm.

The early finish was just what I needed for my Monday plans.

It was the Memorial Day Holiday in the USA and a Super DirtCar Series was being held at the Weedsport Speedway NY.

At around 9-00 am in the morning , I left home in Cornwall for a leisurely drive south. I took it nice and easy and stopped several times along the way for a ‘tea break’.

I was in  the town of Weedsport  by lunchtime and dined at the  local Arbys, just before getting to the Speedway.

I was one of the first to arrive in the Speedway parking lot, so out came my lawn chair, for a snooze in the sun.

While I was parked there,  a race fan who introduced himself as Rich, parked up beside me in customized Ford Coupe, We chatted as he showed me his pride and joy.

The pit gates opened at 3-00 pm and it wasn’t long before I was catching up with my tog friends. I always have a good time , when I meet up with the race photographers of Central New York.

 Weedsport  has a nice area designated for spectators to socialize before the races.

Once start time arrived I moved my trusty lawn chair to the middle, to make my base camp  for the evenings picture taking.

The headline event was the 100 lap ‘Heroes Remembered’ Super DirtCar Series race for Big Block Modifieds. 

I took a few hot  lap shots on turn three before snapping the heat races on turn two.

The Big Blocks  were joined by the DirtCar Sportsman and a group of CRSA Sprint Cars. 

Most people that know me , will confirm, that I’m not a big fan of Sprint Cars, so I was glad when their feature was over, and the big event got under way.

It turned out to be a great race with Erick Rudolphe dominating, as Billy Decker closed in as the race drew to an end.

At the checkers it was Rudolphe with  Decker close behind   and Stewart Friesen in third.

It was now 11-00 pm, so I chose to make my exit and the miss the final race of the night, the Sportsman Feature.

What great night of racing it was, Mother Nature decided to co-operate and I really enjoyed this one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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