RICK @ the RACES (8 to11 Oct 2008)
www.rickattheraces.com
Wed 8 Oct NYS State Fairgrounds, Syracuse, NY
Sat 11 Oct NYS State Fairgrounds, Syracuse,NY
Sat 11 Oct Five Mile Point Speedway, NY
Sun 12 Oct NYS State Fairgrounds, NY
SUPER DIRT WEEK 2008 opened up at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse this Tuesday ( 7 Oct) for tech inspection and Wednesday 8 Oct was the first day of official practice.
I was up early for the three hour drive down there, and after stopping for breakfast in Watertown I was at the Fairgrounds at around 11-30.
As expected there were a lot of tidy looking cars to be seen as they prepared for the afternoon ‘Happy Hour’ hot laps session.
Pete Bicknell # 42, Yan Bussiere #21 ,David Hebert # 1 and Stewart Friesen # 44 were the Canadian drivers I noticed.
I joined fellow photographer friend, Jim Young (from PA) on the cinder track for about an hour before heading back north.
My plan was to attend the Can Am Speedway at Lafargeville NY for one of the satellite events supporting SUPER DIRT WEEK before heading back to Canada. Can Am which is situated just 20 minutes from the border was holding a SUPER DIRT CAR Series race.
It had been a lovely day at Syracuse, the sun was shining and was still very much, T shirt weather. Just to prove it check this out. I was captured by someone else’s camera !
Alas, as I walked through the gates of Can Am, the oh so familiar spots of rain were felt. It continued to drizzle until 7-30, when the promotional team had no choice but to cancel. It was announced that the remake would be on Saturday 25 Oct , a week after the big Eastern States Weekend at Middletown NY.
As for the rest of SUPER DIRT WEEK , I would be back down at the NYS Fairgrounds at the weekend, as my work commitments back in Canada meant a return home.
With yet another rain out to add to my 2008 tally I was back at my place around 9-30′
I had to wait a couple of days before I could return to SUPER DIRT WEEK at Syracuse following my visit to the ‘Happy Hour’ this past Wednesday.
I also had to miss out on the two 358 ‘satellite’ events at Brewerton (Thurs) and Rolling Wheels (Fri) , that went ahead free from weather related problems , unlike Can Am Speedway’s show on Wednesday that got rained out.
I left home in Long Sault at 5-15 on Saturday morning and met up with my buddy, Jim Clarke for breakfast at 8-00 am at the Grist Mill , in Parish NY on the I 81. From there we drove down to Syracuse.
By 9-00 am on Saturday morning (Oct 11) we were parked up at the Fairgrounds for the first of the two headline events of the weekend.
With all the diabolical weather we’ve experienced this year, where rain has caused so many issues, I was fearing the worst for Syracuse, but just like Wednesday, it was warm and sunny. It was a beautiful day and the forecast was good for the rest of the weekend.
It was warm enough for T shirts and I’m sure that Miss Motorsports Tiffany Skias was a ‘happy camper’ for her traditional Saturday lunchtime bikini ‘photo shoot’ at the AARN booth.
Everything went well, and it wasn’t long before Billy Decker was celebrating his victory in the 358 ‘Salute to the Troops’ 150 lapper (around 5-00pm).
Top Canadian, and past winner Pete Bicknell of St Catherines (Ont) was an early casualty after a first lap incident.
I decided to give the Sportsman race and the ‘satellite’ events at Rolling Wheels ( Sprint Cars) and nearby Weedsport ( the last chance Modified qualifier) a miss and took off in a southerly direction to Binghampton.
The non-DIRTCAR sanctioned track of Five Mile Point were running a “Southern Tier’ 50 lap Modified race that night and this was a track I hadn’t been to before. Most years when based in Syracuse I try to do something ‘different from the rest’ on the Saturday night.
I arrived at Five Mile Point a bit late as I had difficulty finding a room for the night, but got there in good time for the feature. Prior to the race they had an on-track ‘meet the drivers’ session where I was able to take some close up photos. While doing this I met up with Jeff Rudalavage # 112.
A couple of years ago I was taking photos of Jeff on a regular basis, when he was a team owner and Alan Johnson was driving his car. I remember having a beer and a chat with him in the Lebanon Valley Speedway bar that year.
The next familiar face I bumped into was Allan Brown from Comstock Park , Michigan. Allan is a fellow ‘Trackchaser’ and publisher of the National Speedway Directory , the ‘must have’ , book for all race fans.
He presented me with a complimentary 2008 copy in recognition for one of my photos used on the cover ( Pat O’Brien and Danny Johnson side by side at Can Am). I sat with Allan and his friend Freddy Pearson to take in the action.
I really enjoyed what I saw, and the racing was first class. There was a great four way battle for most of the race involving Mike Colsten, Joey Grammes ,Tony Kawalchuk and Rudalavage .
It was Mike Colsten who was at the front when it mattered. After the races I walked round the pits with Freddy and he introduced me to Joey and Tony.
FIVE MILE POINT became # 172 on my TRACKCHASING Totals
After staying overnight in Binghampton, I drove the one hour and thirty minutes back to Syracuse in the morning. Again the sun was shining and for the second day running I was wearing a T shirt. Today was the big one, the RITE AID 200 ( formerly the Eckerd 200) for Big Block Modifieds and the place was packed with eager DIRT fans.
As always the support race was a 25 lapper for DIRT ProStocks. My buddy Joey Ladouceur who won pole position and was on the front row told me how he’d blown his engine the day before, during qualifying and an unknown donor had loaned him a replacement motor.
There were two other friends of mine from Ontario in the race, Roch Aubin from Alexandria and Giles Godard from Cornwall.
Normally the Pro Stock division provide fans with succession of cautions but on this occasion they behaved themselves quite well and the race went reasonably well. Lebanon Valley Speedway regular Sean Corr # 8C won this one.
When the Modifieds took to the track , it was Tim Fuller and Matt Shepherd who led the pack, but in a 200 lapper like this, it means nothing, as anything can happen.
Once again fuel and pit stop strategy was a key factor and as the laps ticked away many of the main contenders fell by the way side.
Frank Cozze # 44 took the lead from Vince Vitale # 56 on lap 124 and with various others in hot pursuit, many people were wondering if he’d got enough fuel. As the white flag came out Cozze , who must have been ‘running on fumes’ and with Shepherd on his tail managed to power it round the final mile to take the checkers.
It was a popular win with the fans, (me included), who’ve been waiting a long time to see the Wind Gap, Pennsylvania driver get the big one. Both Canadian drivers, David Hebert and Stuart Friesen put up great performances and were never too far from the front.