200th Career Win for Chris Raabe (28th August 2024 BLOG)

200th career win for Chris Raabe (28th August 2024 Blog)

My last BLOG ended on a rained-out , race-less weekend on the 17th and 18th of August.

On Monday the 19th , I was expecting my V.I.P guests to arrive.

My daughter Carla, her husband Alex and my grandkids , Benji and Sophia were travelling up from Raleigh , NC to pay me a visit.

It was still raining when they arrived, and had been doing so , since they left their ‘on-route’ hotel in Syracuse that morning.

There wasn’t much we could do with kids on a wet day in Cornwall , so I took them to the indoor Visitor Center at the Ontario Power Dam

There was lots to see and ‘hands on stuff’ for them.

The rain eased off , and it was dry enough on Tuesday to take them for a ride in my 1978 Ford Thunderbird to Upper Canada Village and the Iroquois Ship Locks.

We were up early on Wednesday morning , and crammed into Carla’s Audi for a road trip.

We were off to Niagara Falls for a few days.

We got there just after lunch and checked into the Crowne Plaza Hotel, located opposite the Rainbow Bridge and walking distance of the Clifton Hill attractions.

The Rainbow Bridge to the USA

The view from the hotel restaurant.

Of course the kids loved Clifton Hill and all the amusements, but Wednesday was our big day.

Our plans were to take the ‘Maid of the Mist’ cruise under the falls.

Carla and I , have both done it over 30 years ago, when we first moved to North America. but it was an exciting new experience for Benji and Sophia .

FLASHBACK to 1993,

We spent two nights in Niagara Falls before heading back to Cornwall on Friday morning.

On the way back we stopped at the Big Apple at Colborne on the 401.

I’ve past it so many times since I’ve lived in Canada, but never stopped to check it out .

This was a first.

The kids enjoyed it and the apple pies they produce are delicious .

I will be stopping again !

On Friday , my guests made an early morning departure and by 8-30 pm , were back home in Raleigh.

On Saturday the24th of August my racing routine resumed with action at both my local tracks.

The Mohawk International Raceway was up first with an extended show.

Not only was there an Autograph Night, two rain-postponed features , but the program was also boosted by the visiting Mod Lites .

It was obvious we were in for a long night , and that sure was the case.

Thankfully , there weren’t enough cars in each division , to warrant consi’s.

Once Hot Laps were over things got under way when the first of the postponed Features took place ,

This was for the Sportsman and the Vic Lane ceremonies for winner Dan Ferguson were done after their second feature, later in the night to save time.

Next up, was the rain-postponed Modified Feature.

Chris Raabe took this one, and later in the night, did the sweep and took the second Modified feature too.

This also marked a milestone in Chris’s career , with his 200th win.

With such a busy program of events , it was after 11-30 before the last race was over (the regular Sportsman feature) .

This went to Josh Jock

Other big winners on the night were, Rookie Sportsman .

Camdin Cook

Pro Stocks

Ian Bressett

Mini Stocks

CJ LaVair

Mod Lites

Antonin Lafleur.

Yeah , what a busy night it was , but they got it all in and I was on my way home before mid night.

On Sunday it was another local track , and my destination was just across town, at the Cornwall Motor Speedway .

It was a regular nights racing with the STR’s and Street Stocks replacing the Pro Stocks on the program.

You get a great view of the drivers meeting up on the pit tower and I got this shot of Corey Wheeler and Briana Lascelle with their respective young sons .

The next generation of racers may be !

As usual , I took my hot lap pictures up on the tower and Tyler Lacelle captured this shot of me up on my perch.

I was back on the middle for the heat races .

The modified heats came to a quick halt when Corey Wheeler flipped on the home stretch .

He walked away uninjured, and was back on track later , racing in the main event.

Once the heats were done , it was feature time.

The first of the night was for the Rookie Sportsman , and it was won by Jacory Thompson.

Before the break for intermission and track prep, the STR’s had their big race.

Yan Bussierre took the checkers in this one.

I’ve known Yan (who is the Autodrome Drummond promoter) for many years and to my surprise he asked me and Don Simpson to join him for a Victory Lane pic.

Tyler Lacelle took the picture, I’m going to have to learn to look at the camera next time LOL.

After the break the Sportsman had their Feature.

Tristan Ladouceur dominated this one and looked all set for the win, until a late caution closed up the field .

Gabriel Cyr took advantage and made a last bend pass to claim the victory

Next up was the main event .

The feature for the 358 Modifieds.

Carey Terrance took the checkers in this one .

Next up it was the Street Stocks feature

This Gave Tyler French another Cornwall win for his resume.

Last race of the night was the Mini Stocks feature.

This went to Christopher Proulx .

The show was over around 10-30 pm and I was soon back home.

I had a relaxing day on Monday and with it being a nice summers night, it was just right to take the Thunderbird on a run to the Morrisburg Cruise .