RICK @ the RACES ( 21/21 May 2011)

21 May Brockville Ontario Speedway

22 May Cornwall motor Speedway

This past weekend it was the Victoria Day Holiday here in Canada and a feast of racing activity was planned for those without work commitments. My place of work has been busy lately, so my agenda had to be reduced. After many days of continuous rain , that had washed out the previous weekend, we were all hoping Mother Nature would finally give us a break. The rain did ease off a little towards the weekend and things looked good for my local Mohawk International Raceway’s opener at Hogansburg NY on Friday night. The crews worked hard throughout the day, in an effort to get rid of the excess water, and the show was able to go ahead. As usual, I had a late finish at work on Friday night which prevented me from being there. It turned out to be a blessing ! During the first Feature race of the night ( for 358 Mods) the rain returned, and the night was ended. Chris Raabe was declared winner of the shortened race.

The Can Am Speedway at Lafargeville NY had better luck and they got their Friday night show in. Billy Dunn was the winner there.

My new work schedule means I have to go in for a shift on Saturday morning, but the sun was now shining and I was looking forward to the ‘rain delayed’ opening night at the Brockville Ontario Speedway. I was finished before 2-00pm as planned and I was at the track in good time to watch everybody arrive.

Although the track was in good shape, there was still plenty of water laying in the grassy areas surrounding the oval which would prove troublesome during the night. The problem being, if a car went off the track and into the wet stuff, it would get stuck, and so did the tow trucks that were sent to do the recovery.

The racing at the BOS was excellent with one of my buddies, Stephane Lafrance taking the Modified Feature. For those that don’t know, Steph is the nephew of my long time friend and traveling companion Roger Aubin, who sadly passed away in January of this year.

Former Modified driver, Ryan Poole, now back in the Sportsman division took their Feature. The other Feature’s were claimed by the following. Cole Dingwall (Vintage) Jean Mark Lerose ( Rookies) and Pete Raabe (StreetStocks).

On Sunday , the Cornwall Motor Speedway , like Brockville, were attempting to run their rescheduled season opener, following the rain storm that washed out the previous week.

Seven days later, the weather would still be a major factor. The forecast for Sunday wasn’t so good as Saturday, and for most of the day, the skies were overcast. Not only was this, Cornwall’s season opener, but it was the first round of the Canadian Nationals for 358 Modifieds. I arrived early and watched as over 100 cars from the various divisions crammed into the pits.

With threatening skies and the occasional spots of rain , the racing got under way with a great dose of non stop action.

After two heats for the Ministocks, three for the Semi Pro’s, four for the Mods, three for Pro Stocks and one for the Sportsman, Mother Nature returned to spoil the evening. The few spots of rain we had been getting , became more intense until once again the speedway was awash.

The night was cut short with double features including the 100 lap Canadian Nationals race rescheduled for next Sunday (29 May).

I must mention Pat Cashman # 86 , one of the Modified winners. He is one of the unfortunate drivers from the Gatineau (Que) area who have lost their local track, now that Autodrome Edelweiss has closed. Pat told me that after ten years of trying, this was his first ever win. Great to see you with the checkers Pat !

With it being the holiday weekend, the Merrittville Speedway, close to Niagara Falls (Ont) were hosting the opening round of the 358 SUPERDIRTCAR  Series and many of my local drivers were heading down there. It’s a six hour drive from my place in Cornwall, and in past years I’ve also made the trip. Once again, my work commitments came in to the equation and I had to give it a miss. Although I was ‘off ‘for the holiday Monday, I had to be back at work  to start my shift at 7-30 on Tuesday morning. I figured, that if the racing was typically over by 11-00 pm, it would only leave me about one hours sleep !

I decided to stay at home and follow , www.rickattheraces web master, Craig Revelle’s updates, via his own web site www.finishlinewebdesign.ca . Well, I think I made the right decision ! Just 25 laps into the 100 lap feature , rain once again returned to spoil the night.

As I prepare this report on Wednesday (25 May) I’m keeping my fingers crossed for some racing tonight. It’s the turn of the Capital City Speedway in Ottawa, to have their second attempt at the season opener.