RICK @ the RACES (11 to 14 April)

Mother Nature once again, put a stop to my racing plans this past weekend, but luckily for me, salvation came , via my other love,   NHL Hockey.

My destination for Saturday night was originally going to be the Can Am Speedway at Lafargeville NY for their season opener, but after seeing the weather forecast on Friday night, I had my doubts. The meteorologists were predicting rain, pretty much everywhere in the north east and it was no surprise when I heard , shortly before lunch on Saturday that the races had been cancelled.

A back up plan for the paved Evans Mills Speedway NY also had to be shelved, when that too got called off.

There was one local race , I knew for sure wouldn’t be cancelled but I chose to avoid it. My good friend and Pennsylvanian TRACKCHASER, Guy Smith had sent me a message about a show he was attending inside the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

There was a Monster Truck Show taking place and the Tobias Speedsters ( the small midget type race cars) were being added as a ‘supporting act’. This would of been a new track for me, but the thought of having to ‘endure’ all the hyped up, B/S of a Monster Truck Show, put me off.

Sorry folks, for being so harsh, but a Monster Truck ‘circus’ is not for me. Maybe I would of enjoyed it, when I was eight years old, but not as an adult in my mid 50’s, so I decided to give it a miss.

Once I got the news that the Can Am and Evans Mills races were cancelled, it was an easy choice for my Saturday night entertainment. ‘My team’ the Ottawa Senators were having an important Stanley Cup playoff game against the New York Rangers, so for me,  a night on the couch with a few beers seemed like a good alternative.

Prior to the weekend, on Wednesday (11 April) to be precise, and a day off from work, my HHR needed to go into the shop for a major brake job, so I was given a ‘loaner’ for the day. I had the use of a Chevy Impala which allowed me the mobility to carry on with my day.

I used the Impala to attend The Racing Against Drugs program that was being put on by the Ontario Provincial Police in my home town of Cornwall, Ontario. The event that was aimed at the local Grade 6 students took place in the Cornwall Armouries.

In the hall , there was a variety of ‘drug awareness’ related themes for the kids to see and learn from.

The reason , I was there, was to meet up with my good friend, OPP officer and race car driver , Joel Doiron. As well as having his Dirt Modified on display, he was also there in his ‘work role’ capacity talking to the kids.

I watched, while he and another officer demonstrated with the aid of a simulator, what happens to a human body during a vehicle roll over.

After spending some time looking at this and the other initiatives it was time to pick up my HHR.

On the same day, ( Wed 11 April)  I also learned the sad news that Bob Lodge , another of my racing friends had sadly passed away. Bob was the owner of the 730 Truck Stop at Cardinal , Ontario which has been connected with the local racing fraternity for many years.

Bob was a big race fan and over the years, he has sponsored many drivers under the 730 Truck Stop name. There’s been so many race cars with his sponsorship, I wouldn’t like to guess the number. The first one that I recall was that of Bill Mullin of  nearby Iroquois . On one of my first visits to the 730 Truck Stop back in 1995, I remember seeing the Mullin car being worked on in the shop, prior to a race.

Not only did Bob sponsor the drivers, but he also sponsored racing events too. The annual 730 Truck Stop Night at the Brockville Ontario Speedway was always an event I looked forward to.

I got to know him , and always enjoyed a chat when ever we met.

He will be sadly missed by all of us in the Eastern Ontario racing fraternity and my thoughts are with his family at this difficult time .. R.I.P Bob Lodg