A TRIP TO MIDDLETOWN , Latest Blog 13th April 2023.
It was a quiet start to the month of April, with a mix of weather. One day it would be dry and sunny , the next would be wintery conditions again, We even had an ice storm where many places near to me, lost power for a few days.
On the good days , I was able to take the T Bird out for a run, and park it up by the river.
On one of the trips out, I met up with my buddy Don Simpson for a chat and a coffee at the Morisburg McDonalds.
While it was parked our good friend. and local race driver Luke Whitteker spotted it, and came in to join us.
On another of my little joy rides I ended up at the Flying J Travel Center at Lancaster (Ontario) . To my surprise, they had some nice 1 /43rd scale diecasts on sale .
I came away with a lovely 1967 Chevy Impala to add to my collection.
The Easter Weekend was on 7/8/9 of April , and as usual here in North America, there was very little racing activity scheduled for the Sunday.
I did however have plans for Good Friday and Saturday . There were a few events taking place and my choice was the Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown , New York, where a Short Track Super Series was taking place.
I was joined by my buddy Don Simpson for this trip, and we left in my Chev Impala from Cornwall, at 9-00 am on Friday.
It’s a six hour drive and after the minimum of stops , we were checking into the Super 8 Hotel in Middletown, around 4-00pm. The speedway is only a five minute drive away, and it wasn’t long before we were signing in at the pit gate .
There was no rush, so checked out the 31st Lap Bar
Friday night was practice only, for Modifieds, Sportsman and Street Stocks, but we had plenty of old friends to catch up with.
It’s hard to believe I’ve been coming to this place for over 20 years.
My first time at the OCFS was in 2001, when I drove down from Canada in my rusty old Honda Civic, that I used to sleep in .
There were two Canadian drivers in the pits, our friends Francois and Steve Bernier, from St Hyacinthe , Quebec, so we hung out with their team.
It was a cold night to be standing around taking pictures.
Once I felt satisfied that I’d got enough pictures , I grabbed a coffee and warmed up in the Bernier Bros hauler.
It had been a long day , so Don and I decided to leave early and get some food inside us.
Less than a quarter mile from the track, is a Texas Road House . That hit the spot, perfectly.
Saturdays racing was a regular evening start time, so there was plenty of time to kill before we headed down to the track in the middle of the afternoon.
The pits had a few additions to the previous nights practice.
I had a nice chat with Mat Williamson (St Cathrines, Ontario,) who flew back that morning from his vacation in the sun, just to be at Middletown.
Another Canadian driver that had arrived was Donovan Lussier from Quebec, who was there with his father Dominic, the Autodrome Granby and Le Rpm Speedway promotor. Donovan was racing in the Sportsman division.
Once the racing began I took up a position on turn three with my photographer buddies Boris Rudzinski and Aj Yarbroady.
A bit further round the corner were my long time ‘tog’ friends Harry and Jane Cella.
As usual at the O.C.F.S the racing was fast and furious.
The big race of the night was a 50 lapper and it was great to see veterans, Billy Decker and Jimmy Horton battling it out at the front during the early stages.
As you’d expect, it wasn’t long before the new breed of ‘hot shots’ were up at the front and a great battle developed between Larry Wight and Matt Sheppard.
In the end , Sheppard got the better of Wight and went on to take the checkers.
Mat Williamson followed to take the third spot.
It had been another cold night so Don and I decided to ‘pass’ on the Sportsman Feature and head back down to the Texas Roadhouse once again.
We were back on the road early Sunday morning , and heading back to Canada.
There was no hurry , so we stopped by at a few tracks along the way.
Firstly the Five Mile Point Speedway , near Binghamton .
Then the Brewerton Speedway.
Next was the Can Am Speedway at Lafargeville.
Finally before crossing the border back into Cornwall, Canada, we checked out the Mohawk International Raceway at Hogansburg.
My place is less than two miles from the border , and I was home by 4-00 pm.
I was back indoors in time to watch an excellent GRAMMYS SALUTE TO THE BEACHBOYS on CBS TV . (SUNDAY 9th April)
I bought my first vinyl record by them, when I was a kid and I just kept on buying them, Singles , EP’s , LP’s , and later CD’s, I’m pretty sure there aren’t many of their recordings, I don’t have.
I have a lot of favorite bands , but these guys have to be my # 1 .
Anyone who has delved into the archives of Rick @ the Races, will be aware, I’ve seen them live three times.
The tribute show on TV was really good, and the performers who covered their songs did a great job.
On Easter Monday, I took a drive across town to check up on my buddy Ron Morin, who recently underwent surgery at the Ottawa Hospital.
He is slowly recovering and was at the race shop (next to his house) to see the progress of his grandson Gage’s Dirt Modified.
My next few days were spent , TV watching the final two games of the Ottawa Senators regular season. They beat the Carolina Hurricanes and lost to the Buffalo Sabres. They never made it to the play-offs but had an encouraging end to their season.