RICK @ the RACES (24/25 Sept)24 Sept                          Kawartha Speedway, Ontario24 Sept                          Brighton Speedway, Ont25 Sept                          Cornwall Motor Speedway, Ont

This past weekend was a busy one for me, where I attended three events in two days. It should of been four events in three days, but Mother Nature decided otherwise. My original plan was to head straight from work on Friday night for the Brighton Speedway for day one of their weekend ‘Applefest’ races. Once a year, Brighton opens it’s doors to the DIRT style Modifieds and it’s an event I don’t like to miss. The Modifieds always headline the Saturday night show, while the DIRT Sportsman do their thing on Friday. This years Sportsman race was a ‘Series’ round so I especially wanted to be there. Regular readers will be aware, that Friday night races arn’t usually compatible with my ‘day job’ and so my chances of getting there were slim.

I’d decided that, because it was a two day show, I’d drive down to Brighton on Friday night, what ever time I finished work. Even if I got there late and missed most of the show, I could ‘party’ with friends that were camping over night. I’m a truck driver and I’m employed by a company with a dedicated contract to ‘the worlds biggest retailer’ where I’m based out of their large Cornwall (Ont) distribution depot. It turned out to be a typical Friday at work, involving a busy day of driving around the Montreal area.

It looked possible that I might get finished by about 7-00pm, so in theory , I could get to Brighton before 10-30 pm. At this point, I decided to give www.rickattheraces.com web master Craig Revelle a call, (who was at the track) and asked him to text me with updates, before I got there. It was then that I heard the bad news, that rain had caused the show to be cancelled. There was no point in going to Brighton, when I could sleep in my own bed ! , so went straight home after finishing work.

My plan for Saturday, was to attend the qualifying for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series at the Kawartha Speedway , near Peterborough (Ont) , during the day , before going back to Brighton for the 50 lap Modified race in the evening. I’d arranged to meet up with my buddy Jim Clarke, (Mosport announcer and Kawartha PR man) at Belleville, and travel to Kawartha together. After having breakfast at the Ten Acres Truck Stop on Hwy401 , we arrived at the track around 11-00pm.

The first person we bumped into at the ‘sign in’ gate was Adam Ross, who is the NCTS announcer and the owner of www.dirttrackdigest.com . I’ve known Adam, through our media connections for quite a few years, so we chatted for some time. By the time we’d finished talking, the mid day hot lap sessions had got under way so Jim and I watched these from the pit parking lot, before venturing on the center.

The NCTS is considered to be the top paved oval racing series in Canada, and I try to attend at least one round each year. I had three friends racing that day , so made a B line for them, once we’d reached the infield .

Chris Raabe who recently dominated DIRT Sportsman racing, and has just completed his first successful year in 358 DIRT Mods made his NCTS debut this month.

He is driving for the Canadian Tire backed team of Scott Steckly and had his first race at the Barrie Speedway on Sept 10 and then the Riverside Speedway , in Nova Scotia on Sept 17.

Further along pit row I found another friend of mine from the DIRT  racing world, Dexter Stacey. Dexter from Kahnawake , Quebec , is also a regular entrant in the SUPER DIRT SERIES events.

One of the big news stories of 2011 was the NCTS debut of another Quebecer , Isabelle Tremblay.

I met Isabelle earlier in the year at her local Autodrome St Eustache for a chat and photo session for an article I was planning.

She’s a very determined and ambitious lady and had set her goal on becoming the NCTS ‘Rookie of the year’ . The Kawartha race was the last round in the series and before the race , there was only one point separating her from Louis- Phillipe Dumoulin , the other contender. She’d impressed me by winning at St Eustache, and we’ve kept in touch since then.

Another friend, we bumped into was, race driver/ car owner /and Kawartha promoter Derek Lynch , who introduced us to his driver, Jason White from British Columbia.

Whilst In pit row I also met , Nova Scotia driver Donald Chisholm who like, Dexter , Isabelle and Derek, added a www.rickattheraces decal to their car.

After the Qualifying had taken place, an on track autograph session got under way for the fans, before the start of the big race. While this was taking place. Jim and I  made our departure.With the ‘APPLEFEST’ 50  lapper for Dirt Mods beckoning us at the Brighton Speedway , about 45 minutes away, we had to get on our way, and would have to miss the NCTS race ( You can’t be in two places at once ! )

In our absence DJ Kennington won at Kawartha , so Craig Revelle who remained there to see the race sent me a Victory Lane shot.

Unfortunately , a rear end failure put and finish to Isabelle’s quest to become ‘Rookie of the year’. It must have been very disappointing for her, because I know how much effort she put’s into her racing. ‘That’s racing’  I guess,  and she now has to focus on next year.

We arrived at Brighton at about 5-45 pm and from the parking lot , we could hear the Modifieds  out on the track. Start time had been brought forward to 6-00 pm and the hot laps were taking place. Following the previous nights rain , the track was now back in great condition and the Sportsman cars, who’d missed out on Friday were allowed to join the Mods.

The Vintage Mods, that had also been scheduled for  Friday had been slotted into the Saturday program too . There were a lot of races to get in , and I made up my mind , from the start, that I’d have to head back home after the Modified 50 lapper.

The Canadian Modifieds ( similar to IMCA Mods) were the first to Feature , followed by the Mod Lites and then the ‘Applefest’ 50 lapper for 358 Mods .

This turned out to be a fantastic race, and probably the best I’ve seen, anywhere this year. There were only a few cautions and for most of the 50 laps there were four to five cars battling at the front for the lead.

Eventual winner was Tim O’Brien, with his brother Danny in second and Mike Bowman in third.

With another busy day ahead on Sunday , I was out of the gate and driving back up Hwy 401 towards Cornwall. I was home soon after 1-00 am by which time I was in need of some serious ‘shut eye’ before the next big event.

On the Labor Day Weekend rain caused the Cornwall Motor Speedway to cancel the end of season Finale , which included the 358 Modified SUPER DIRT SERIES /CANADIAN NATIONALS  and  the rescheduled date was slated for this Sunday, starting at 1-30 pm in the afternoon.

After Friday’s disappointing wet weather at Brighton, Saturday and Sunday turned into two glorious warm and sunny days and  it was a perfect afternoon to watch racing in Cornwall. The grandstands were packed with fans who basked in the sun as the show got under way.

For the many visiting  photographers present, it was like paradise, who were able to take pictures in such bright and sunny conditions. I took over 400 shots that day and managed to capture a spectacular flip by my friend Kayle Robidoux as he rolled over the hood of Danny ‘the Doctor’ Johnson .

It looked scary and it was a relief to see Kayle walk back to the pits .

This occurred in the 125 lap Modified Feature which was the headline event and included a ‘half way’ mandatory , ten minute, pit stop on the front stretch.

It’s great for the fans to watch as the pit crews go into action, right in front of their eyes.

Stephane Lafrance dominated the race and was there at the end to take the checkers ( and his first ever SUPER DIRT series race) with the Twin Leaf Team of Carey Terrance and Dale Planck taking second and third.

Other Feature winners included Shane Pecore (Sportsman) Ryan Stabler (Pro Stock) Nico Leblanc (Semi Pro) Ernie Cree ( Ministock)