Two Types of Horsepower (Weekly BLOG 17th Aug 2023)
This weeks BLOG begins where last weeks left off with me down in North Carolina .
After attending the New Egypt Speedway NJ , for the first time in 20 years, I drove to my daughter Carla’s place in Willow Spring , near Raleigh.
I arrived on Wednesday the 9th of August for a bit of quality time with the family.
Sophia, my six year old granddaughter was having her first horse show the coming weekend.
As mentioned in last weeks Blog, I went along to the Saddletree Stables to watch her practice.
On Thursday one of Carla’s priorities , was to get her Audi to the local tire shop.
She’d picked up a nail and needed to get it fixed, so I went along for the ride to the tire repair shop in Willow Spring .
During the day on Friday, I spent relaxing around the house and doing some shopping in nearby Fuquay Varina.
It’s nice to know that common sense still prevails there .
They don’t have to put up with all the ‘save the planet’ B/S we have in Canada . Stores still give you plastic bags to carry home your stuff.
In the evening, I took off on the short 20 minute drive to the Wake County Speedway, on the outskirts of Raleigh.
It’s a similar distance from Carla’s place as my local Cornwall and M.I.R tracks are to my home. I went there for the first time, while I was visiting last year.
On arrival I met up with promoter Charlie Hansen again, who also does the job of track announcer
It was also nice to reacquaint with Miss Wake County Speedway Allexis Thiede and her husband Tyler.
The nights program consisted of two big races for the Late Models, plus, Legends. Bandoleros, Champ Karts , and ‘Enduro’ type cars.
After the qualifying time trials, there was a short intermission before the big races got under way.
I stayed for the first bunch of the features , but never stopped for the second of the Late Model races.
I didn’t want to be too late as I had a busy day ahead on Saturday.
The family were all up at the crack of dawn , because Sophia’s horse show began at 8-00am in the morning.
There were quite a few young riders in attendance and she was allocated the # 519.
Carla also intended to compete, but the horse she was due to ride , went lame so she had to withdraw. Her own horse , Lee, is not ready for competition just yet.
After doing her thing in the competition arena , Sophie got a sixth place rosette, which made us all very proud of her.
Her section of the show was all over by about 11-00 am.
This was perfect for me, as this was the day, I’d planned to head back to Canada, and my car was packed and ready to go.
My plan was to stop overnight at the Red Roof Inn , in Winchester , Virginia, which is a place I’ve stayed before on a few occasions.
It just so happens to be located , just a ten minute drive from the Winchester Speedway.
This was a track I’ve never managed to visit before , and I was about to rectify this.
I got to the hotel at about 6-30pm , and after quickly dumping my stuff in the room, I was at the track before 7-00pm. I was just in time to catch the end of Hot Laps.
The headline division on the program was for USAC Sprints. There are no silly looking wings on these, so they got my approval 🙂
Joining them , on the program were the UMP Modifieds, Limited Late Models, and Hobby Stocks.
The first Feature race of the night was for the USAC Sprint Cars.
These were very fast, and I could quite easily get into watching them , if the opportunity presents itself. Wingless Sprints Rule
Kenny Miller won this , from Carmen Perigo.
Next up was the UMP Modified Feature. These are similar to the IMCA Modifieds which are one the most common types of Modifieds found in the USA
Dave Defibaugh dominated this , with a run away victory.
The Limited Late Models followed this and was one by Brad Omps.
I skipped the Victory Lane pictures and made my exit, also opting to miss the Hobby Stocks Feature.
This became Track # 253 on my ‘Track Chasing totals’
I was soon back at the Red Roof Inn, ready for an early night. It had been a long and eventful day.
I was awake at 5-30 am , and back on the road again heading towards home at 6-15 am.
By 2-00 pm I was crossing the USA/Canada border at 1000 Islands , and after stopping at Tim Hortons in Brockville, I was pulling into the Cornwall Motor Speedway at 3-45 pm. This was about the usual time I arrive each week.
A big show was on the cards, that included, Modifieds, Sportsman , Late Models, Street Stocks and Vintage Modifieds.
The Street Stocks Feature was up first.
Winner of this was Dakota Sharp from Ogdensburg NY.
Next up, we had the Late Models.
This was won by Steve Baldwin.
The main event was next, the 358 Modified feature.
This gave Carey Terrance yet another Cornwall win.
As usual ‘Crew Chief Chris’ , his number one fan was there to join him in Victory Lane.
The Sportsman feature followed .
Gabriel Cyr was the winner of this one.
The Vintage Modified feature ended the night. As normal in their features , they had two winners .
Josh Powers won the 70/80’s class and Dexter Billings won the 50/60’s catergory.
I’m pleased to say the racing was all over by about 10-15 pm, and just what I needed, after a busy weekend.
I had I.V.I.G appointments at the Cornwall Hospital so never made it to the Super DirtCar Series races scheduled for Breweton on Monday, Fulton on Tuesday and Canandaigua (now called Land of Legends) on Wednesday. Mat Williamson was the Brewerton winner, Fulton got ‘rained out’ and Matt Sheppard added to his wins with a Canandaigua victory.
My Chev Impala had gradually developed an exhaust blow during my road trip and I was starting to sound like one of those teenagers who drive around town in their noisy little Shxt Boxes. That meant a Tuesday visit to shop to have a new muffler fitted.
So the end of my week was spent relaxing , with the occasional cruise in the T Bird.