RICK @ the RACES (24 to 28 June 2009)

24 June                        Capital City Speedway , Ottawa, Ont

26 June                       Autodrome Edelweiss , Cantley, Que

27 June                       Brockville Ontario Speedway, Ont

28 June                        Cornwall Motor Speedway, Ont

Since my last report, it’s been another hectic week for me, chasing around to the race tracks of Eastern Ontario and Quebec. My week began on Wednesday when the Capital City Speedway (Ottawa) returned to it’s regular race night.

For the first part of the year the CCS had been running on Friday’s, which clashed with a few of the other established tracks in the locality, so for me, getting back to normal was good. besides..Wednesdays are my day off from work !

It had been a scorching hot day and the evening was warm and humid.

Once again the regular divisions put on a good show of racing, which included another three car battle in the Legends feature.

At the checkers it was Norm Lynch.

The Late Model feature also turned out to be a nail biter with Tim Dorning being at the front when it mattered.

It was then back to work for another couple of days before the next event on my agenda. An unexpected early finish on Friday ( at 3-15pm ) gave me the opportunity of visiting Autodrome Edelweiss for the first time this year.

The weather forecast for the whole weekend had been grim, with rain expected all over the North East. When I left work in Cornwall (Ont)  the skies were already pitch black and had started to drizzle . As I looked over the St Lawrence Seaway it looked very bleak and I feared the chances of the nearby Mohawk International Raceway and the Can Am Speedway of surviving were very slim.

The skies were brighter in the direction of Ottawa ( and Edelweiss) so I decided to chance it. By the time I was driving down Rideau Street in the heart of the city, what I saw in the sky looked a lot more inviting, and in between breaks in the clouds it was warm and sunny.

The headline event of the evening was the Mohawk Race Parts Series race for DIRT Pro Stocks with the 358 Modifieds being relegated to a support division for the night. During the Modified heats the red flag came out after Pierre Dagenais and Joel Doiron came together on the pit bend.

Dagenais did a multiple rollover while Doiron did a pirouette on his front end.

The heats had just been completed for all the divisions when a passing cloud dumped it’s contents on to the track. It was just a short shower and the track was ready to race again after the intermission.

The 50 lap Pro Stock feature was first, and as expected, there was a fare amount of yellow flags, but in between the cautions some great action could be seen between front runners Joey Ladouceur of Alexandria, Ontario and ‘invader’ Pete Stefanski from the Buffalo NY area.

Stefanski, tried hard but just couldn’t get passed Ladouceur.

To beat the 11-00pm curfew, following the Pro Stock checkers, the Modifieds were hastily bought on to the track for their Feature.

Dagenais who wrecked his car in the heat, started at the back of the grid in his second car. He worked his way through the pack but could not catch , Kingston, Ontario youngster Bobby Herrington who claimed his second career victory.

Saturday dawned, to yet another damp and miserable day. The Brockville Ontario Speedway was my destination, and just like the previous week it managed to survive the rain storms that surrounded the area.

You’ve heard the saying, ‘ one day you’re the windshield, the next day you’re the bug’, well this definitely applied to the unfortunate Dirt Sportsman driver Jessica Power. Last year the talented local girl, moved up to Sportsman after a successful career in the 4 cylinder rookies. It’s taken her a while to get used to the extra power, but on Saturday night she marched on to a commanding heat victory. All the photographers in attendance were clamoring to capture the moment.

The young lass was in seventh heaven, but come Feature time her fortune changed. A car crashed in front of her and with nowhere to go, she piled into it, only to be struck from behind by the speeding pack. The race was quickly stopped while the medics did their job. It was unclear at the time, to the extent of the injuries, but I received a ‘Facebook’ message from her on Monday confirming that she’d broken her collar bone. I hope you have speedy recovery Jessica. Matt Billings was the Sportsman Feature winner.

Once again the 358 Modified Feature turned out to be a demonstration of excellence by Danny O’Brien the present day master of the track. You just know, that once he gets in the lead, no one will catch him.

It was great to see my good friend, and veteran driver Dave Heaslip # 84 at the B.O.S sporting an nice design on the back of his car commemorating  his 50 years of racing.

Like Edelweiss and Brockville, the Sunday show at the Cornwall Motor Speedway was run throughout, under the constant threat of rain. We did get a few sprinkles towards the end of the heats, but the cars stayed out and after a few laps under caution the racing resumed.

I must comment about an incident that occurred during the modified heats and before the wet interruption. Young Gage Morin, the 17 year old grandson of promoter Ron Morin, went for a real wild ride, when his car somersaulted a couple of times before doing a ‘Dipsy Doodle’ on it’s rear end. The reds came out immediately as the emergency crews rushed to the scene. Within seconds Gage was out of his upturned car and striding back to the pits under his own power. What a relief it was to see him do that !

With the ever increasing chance of more rain, the program was moved along quickly. Laurent Ladouceur, father of Edelweiss Pro Stock winner, Joey took the Modified Feature, while Louie Jackson scored in the Pro Stocks.