RICK @ the Races (2nd & 4th June 2006 )

Friday 2 June   Autodrome Edelweiss (Que)

Sunday 4 June  Augusta Motorsports Park (Ont)   …  # 142 on my TRACKCHASING totals

It was yet another  wet weather wipe-out , here in the North East when persistent rain put an end to any thoughts of going to the races on Saturday night, but I did get some action in over the weekend.

Once again , I finished work early enough on Friday to make it to the Autodrome Edelweiss, situated in the mountains north of Ottawa, for their regular show of DIRT Modifieds , Prostocks, 8 cylinder and four cylinder Street Stocks.

Seventeen Modifieds were in attendance, and the feature gave the packed stands, an ending not often seen. Brian McDonald, driving the # 96 Lasalle Racing / KRISKA Transportation car, took an early lead, and looked like he`d got it all sewn up, until he hit a track marker tire with about 5 laps to go. The mistake allowed the chasing Laurent Labouceur to sneak past to take the lead, leaving McDonald as the one in pursuit. A late caution with one lap to go, meant a single file restart, with the former SUPER DIRT SERIES Champion , Ladouceur on pole. When you get a situation like this , it`s normally a forgone conclusion , who`s gonna take the flag, right ?…. Not this time ! , on the approach to the final turn, McDonald slung his car, way up high on the top groove, gaining just enough power to catch Ladouceur, and be half a car length in front as they crossed the line. It was great stuff, that kept the fans on the edge of their seats.

The DIRT ProStocks event was won by Dave “the Bulldog” Bissonette, in the ex-Ron Morin car.

Saturday June 3rd 2006 , will not exist in the history of north eastern auto-racing, with rain causing cancellations virtually everywhere.

I had to go into work for a Saturday morning shift, and my plan was to go to the Frogtown Speedway (NY) that night. It was raining when I woke in the morning, and was still raining when I went to bed that night !

On returning home from work, and checking my e-mail, the first batch of cancellations I learned of,  was for the the Brighton Speedway (Ont) and for the Sprint Car show at Brockville (Ont).

I then phoned Frogtown to hear the same thing , followed by the same story, at Autodrome Drummond (Que) , Can Am (NY) and Airborne (NY).

More were added to the list as I scanned the various web sites, so had to settle down for another Saturday night at home.

Sunday night I was scheduled to be at the Cornwall Motor Speedway, but not surprisingly the constant rain all day on Saturday
resulted in an early cancellation.

Looking on the brighter side, this allowed me to add a new track to my “TrackChasing” totals when I visited the Augusta Motorsports Park (Ont) for a style of racing that excels in wet and muddy conditions.

The only  countable stuff , as far as Track Chasing is concerned,  was the wheel to wheel racing, for beefed up trucks and dune buggy type racers, but the program also included, Monster Trucks , Mud Drags, ATV racing and Tractor Pulls.

I quite enjoyed the racing, which was on a circuit consisting of  mud , dirt and humps, with about five cars racing at a time….  it made me think how good it would have been if some European style RallyCross cars were to have taken to the track.