Another Good Week for the Roy Family. (12th June 2025 BLOG)
After a few weeks where rain has curtailed my racing plans, I managed to get a run of four events in four days.
With that in mind, I will cover each event briefly and only concentrate on the premier divisions (Modifieds, Sportsman and Pro Stocks).
As usual my weekend started on a Thursday night when on the 5th of June I attended my local Airborne Park Speedway.
Once again I travelled to the track with my Tog buddy Don Simpson.
It was a regular night with 358 Modifieds and Sportsman taking center stage , and the domestic Renegades and Mini-Stocks as supporting acts.
A bit of driver/car info I must mention regards Chris Raabe.
Instead of his usual car, he was driving the 4K , Joliette Nissan sponsored Modified.
With , at last nice weather and good driver behaviour , the night ran very smoothly with no major delays.
The modified feature was a memorable one, with Jeremy Roy # 90 getting his first career win.
Once he’d passed early leader, Jordon Fornwalt # 24 , he stayed up front to the end , with Mike Mahaney in hot pursuit.
Jeremy became the latest member of the Roy family to add his name to the Airborne’s winner list.
When the checkers fell Mahaney and his brother Felix followed him home.
Turn the clock back 15 years and at this track his father Martin won plenty of races, then more recently his brother Felix has had wins.
Martin Roy wins at Airborne in 2009
The race finished around 8-30 and the Renegades took to the track for their Feature.
Tylor Terry got the victory in this one
It was then time for the the Sportsman Feature.
Local driver Nick Heyward got the popular win .
Victory Lane was all done by 9-30, and it was time to make our exit.
A nice early finish, just what we needed with a long weekend of racing ahead.
So with event number one of my four day schedule in the books, it was on to Friday night at the Mohawk International Raceway , which is just over the bridge from my place in Hogansburg , New York . The track is less than a 15 minute drive from home , so it’s usually a nice relaxing night.
There was a lot on the schedule , but I was still hopeful for an early finish .
As well as the usual Modifieds, Sportsman , Limited Sportsman , Pro Stocks and Mini Stocks , the Eastern Ontario Vintage Club were paying a visit. There was also a Modified ‘make up’ feature from the rained off race, the previous week. On paper it looked like it would be a long night.
Things got under way with the 20 lap rain delayed Modified feature,
Casey Swamp had a runaway lead in this one and took the checkers, only to get DQ’d at the scales.
This gave the win to Dale Gonyo Jr , who had followed him across the line in second place.
While doing his Victory Lane pictures, we also gave Jarrett Herbison a proper ‘twin 20 win picture’ who missed out due to the previous weeks weather.
Once this was over the regular nights racing got under way.
As usual, the Mini Stocks and Limited Sportsman features took place before Intermission and were won by Felix Lavictoire and Keith Pelkey.
After the break , there were four more features remaining.
The Vintage were first before the headlining Modified feature.
Chris Raabe , was back in his regular car and took this one
The Pro Stocks were up next with their feature.
Veteran Pro Stocker, Denis Gauvreau got the win in this one.
The night came to an end with Shane Pecore taking his second consecutive feature in the Sportsman.
The extended show was all done before 10-30, which was great. The only thing that spoiled my night was the long delay at the border. Only one booth open !
They should know by now that when the races are over, there is a larger volume of traffic.
On Saturday, My plans were for a trip to the Autodrome Drummond in Quebec.
They were staging the second night of back to back Quebec swing of the Canadian Big Block Series .
The night before, and while I was at the M.I.R , a race took place at Autodrome Granby. It was no surprise to hear that the winner there was Granby track expert, David Hebert.
Autodrome Drummond is my favorite of the current Quebec tracks , so it was nice for me to be back.
The Canadian Big Block Series is still pretty much a fledgling series and it mainly consists of local Quebec drivers, but there’s usually a handful of ‘invaders’ in attendance too.
Past winners have been US drivers Carrey Terrance and Erick Rudolph. This years ‘invaders’ included Terrance and Jackson Gill from NY and from Ontario , Corbin Millar and Chris Raabe .
Chris was back in the 4 K car that he drove at the Airborne Park Speedway on Thursday.
I’m still having to pace myself , as I continue to battle my recent health problems , so decided in advance that I’d only shoot the heat race pictures from the middle, before becoming ‘a race fan’ again and watch the features from the Grandstand.
I was in attendance for the Big Blocks and Sportsman but they also had races for STR’s and Mod Lites on the large oval . The inner oval also had Sling Shots and Mini Sprints taking place.
The main event , the 100 lapper for Big Blocks took place following the Fireworks and ‘raz a ma taz’ introductions that we are accustomed to at Drummond.
I enjoyed sitting up in the stands watching the race unfold instead of snapping pictures.
The race was a good one, as David Hebert began dominating. Once Felix Roy came upon his back bumper it was a different matter. He passed Hebert and shot into a good lead. There was also a lot of action behind them among the following front runners , and got interesting every time a caution bunched them up.
At the checkers it was Roy, from Hebert with William Racine not far behind them.
The final race of the night was the Sportsman feature.
After a big wreck on the front stretch that needed a red flag things got back under way.
The winner was Jacob Nadeau
Once Victory Lane pics were done, I was out of the track soon after 11-00 and was back home in Cornwall before 2-00am .
That was it , three out of my four events in the book, and just my local Cornwall Motor Speedway to do on Sunday night.
It’s just ten minutes away from my house, so gave me plenty of time to relax .
The show was a regular program of Modifieds, Sportsman , Rookie Sportsman , Pro Stocks and Mini Stocks, with the addition of the visiting Lightening Sprints.
During the winter the old pit tower was demolished, and replaced by a new one. The concession part is still under construction, but the top deck is now completed . The Fat Les food truck is in place as a temporary measure.
I took my usual spot up on the top for hot laps.
For the most of the night I was on the middle shooting from the front stretch .
The first race of the night was the Rookie Sportsman feature rain delayed from the previous week.
This was won by Garin Thompson .
The regular nights heat races then began
The first of the regular night features was for the Mini Stocks, which was won by Sebastien Raymond Beaurgard .
Next up , it was the main event for the Lightening Sprints which was won by Etienne Arpin.
It was then time for the headline divisions to have their features.
The Modifieds were up first .
Lance Willix dominated this one from start to finish with only Louie Jackson Jr giving him a challenge. Corey Wheeler came home third.
The Sportsman Feature provided Tristan Ladouceur with a win.
Then in the Pro Stocks Marc Lalonde took the checkers.
The final race of the night followed this which was for the Rookie Sportsman and gave a win to Nicolas Mainville.
Well that was it , my first four races in four days of this year .
If things had gone to plan , on Tuesday the 10th of June , I would of been at the Airport in Montreal getting ready to board my overnighter to London . Plans were afoot to be back in the U.K. for a week visiting family and friends, plus, of course a weekend of BriSCA F1 racing at Ipswich and Gt Yarmouth.
It wasn’t to be , As mentioned in previous blogs, I’ve been fighting off some health issues and couldn’t shake them off in time.
With physio appointments coming up, I sadly had to cancel . Hopefully I’ll get back across the pond in October .