RICK @ the RACES (13 to 18 May 2011)
Normally I sit down on a Tuesday morning, to these reports, but for various reasons, things have changed this week. It’s been very busy at my place of work and as a result, my shift pattern had to change. Instead of Tuesdays being my mid week day off, I have now reverted back to how it was a year or so back, with Wednesday as my day off. I’m pleased about that as it should make it easier to attend Ottawa’s Capital City Speedway once more. This positive change to my schedule came at price, as I now have to work on Saturdays. The agreement with my work, is that I finish work by 2-00 pm each week, which will enable me to fulfil my evening commitments at Brockville,
So with this in mind my plan for 2011 is to do these reports on Wednesday mornings, prior to me heading off to Capital City. Mother Nature then came into the picture so it hasn’t worked out as planned for this week.
As expected , I missed out on my chances of seeing any Friday night racing, by a late finish at work. The Can Am Speedway at Lafargeville NY was running that night where Chris Raabe got his second consecutive 358 Modified victory.
Saturday was the scheduled opener at the Brockville Ontario Speedway, but continuous rain meant an inevitable cancellation. Brockville wasn’t the only casualty ! In fact, most of the races in the North East got rained out that night, giving me no alternative events to attend. The rain kept on coming through Saturday night and all of Sunday, with The Cornwall Motor Speedway’s season opener having to suffer the same fate as Brockville.
So, when Wednesday morning came around, I had nothing to report about, and decided to hold back another 24 hours. On Wednesday evening it was the Capital City Speedway opener in Ottawa, and with the weather outlook looking slightly better, I kept my fingers crossed. Even though it was still damp and miserable things were still positive for racing and a green flag waving on the web site, when I left my home in Cornwall around lunch time . ( I wanted to be there early ! ) I had to call in on a friend in Maxville on my way, and be for leaving her house I made a precautionary phone call to the track. After getting an answer machine message that was still conveying positive hopes, I set off. Just one minute later, my cel phone rang with a call from the tracks new promoter Todd Gow. At that very moment they had just made the decision to cancel and courteously called me back to give me the scoop. All though it’s not the news I wanted hear, I really appreciated his actions, and Todd earned plenty of ‘Brownie points ‘ with me.
So, it meant me having to return home to Cornwall, and back to doing this report with still no racing to talk about ! That now means three of my four local tracks have had their season openers postponed. Brockville’s will now be Sat 21 May, Cornwall’s will be on Sunday 22 May and Capital City’s on Wednesday 25 May. My fourth local track, the Mohawk International Raceway at Hogansburg NY has its opener scheduled for Friday 20 May.
Finally, before signing off for this week, I must mention some interesting items that have just reached me. Firstly I’ll mention a release that came from the Watkins Glen Circuit . It’s about a ‘not to miss’ event which involves NASCAR’s Tony Stewart and top British F1 Grand Prix driver Lewis Hamilton. Instead of me telling you about it, I’ll ‘cut and paste’ the release for you to see and include it at the end of this report .
Another hot piece of news this week is that World of Outlaws Late Model Champion Josh Richards has joined Kyle Busch Motor Sports to compete in a select number of NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races. I’ve seen Josh in action many times, including his feature win at the Cornwall Motor Speedway back in 2008, so it’s always good to see a top Dirt racer get a shot at NASCAR.
Last but not least, I’ve just heard a bit of news through my ‘Face Book Friends’ in England that is really awesome ( if it’s true) and I’m still trying to verify this. Apparently, prior to her meeting with Prince William and their subsequent marriage, Kate Middleton was a stock car racing fan and used to attend races at my former local track of Brafield (Northampton Stadium) . As I said, this piece of news has only just reached me via some Face Book postings, so I’m hoping someone can soon confirm it. I hope it’s true, because it would be great to think that a possible future Queen of England was a race fan.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 17, 2011
THE MOBIL 1 CAR SWAP AT THE GLEN WILL BE OPEN TO SPECTATORS
Admission is Free and Numerous Locations will be Available for Viewing
WATKINS GLEN, NY – Watkins Glen International is proud to announce that the upcoming Mobil 1 Car Swap at The Glen on Tuesday, June 14, will be open to all spectators. Admission and parking will both be free for fans of all ages and there will be numerous locations for fans to watch NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star Tony Stewart and Formula 1™ World Champion Lewis Hamilton take laps in their own and then each others’ cars during the event.
“It has been our goal from the beginning to make this historic event open to our tens of thousands of fans and we are thrilled to make this announcement,” said Michael Printup, president of Watkins Glen International. “There has been no question as to how badly our fans want to attend the Mobil 1 Car Swap at The Glen. They have overwhelmed us with their emails, phone calls, and comments through social media and it is this incredible passion that makes our fans the best in motorsports.”
Beginning at 11:00 a.m., fans will witness Hamilton take laps in both his team Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-23 and Stewart’s No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala. Stewart also will take a spin in his No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Deport Chevrolet Impala before climbing into Hamilton’s MP4-23 for his first-ever laps behind the wheel of an F1 car.
Visitors to WGI will find it easy to park, enter the track, and watch the car swap from numerous locations around the legendary road course. All spectators will be able to park near and enter through Gate 4 which can be accessed from Kuhl-Winner Way off of Route 16. Gate 4 will be open 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and from there fans will have easy access to the facility. The spectator viewing area is located outside of the track and stretches from Turn 1, down the entire FrontStretch, and all the way to the toe of The Boot. This means fans can choose to watch from the Ninety and FrontStretch Grandstands, the Turn 11 Viewing Berm, the elevated areas around and inside of The Boot, and any general admission viewing area located in that range. The inside of The Boot can be accessed through the pedestrian tunnel which is located between the heel of The Boot and the West tunnel.
The fans that sit in or around the FrontStretch Grandstand will see the largest amount of activity throughout the day. The location will not only provide a great view of the cars as they drive through Turn 11, down the FrontStretch, around Turn 1, and into the Esses but also as they enter and exit pit road and are worked on in the special garage areas directly behind the pits. Please note that access to the infield will be restricted to authorized personnel only during the event.
The FrontStretch Concession Kiosk will be open 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. and feature Sahlen’s Hot Dogs, Bog Hog Pulled Pork sandwiches, donuts, potato chips, ice cream, Coke products, coffee, bottled water, and premium Budweiser beer. Fans are also welcome to bring their coolers to enjoy a full picnic experience during the day.
Tickets for the 2011 race season at Watkins Glen International are on sale NOW! Fans can order their tickets or get more information by calling the WGI ticket office at 866-461-RACE (7223) or logging on to the official website, www.TheGlen.com. Gift certificates and track merchandise can all be purchased at The Shop located at 2 North Franklin Street in downtown Watkins Glen. The Shop is open Monday-Sunday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm. Keep up with the latest happenings at The Glen by going to the official Watkins Glen International Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/watkinsgleninternational, and following WGI on Twitter, @WGI.