RICK @ the RACES (23 to 27 Jun)

June 23    Mohawk International Raceway, Hogansburg, NY (Modified SDS RACE)

June  25   Autodrome Edelweiss , Cantley , Que

June 26   Autodrome Drummond, Drummondville, Que (Pro Stock DIRT SERIES)

June 27   Cornwall Motor Speedway, Ont

This weeks report starts off on Wednesday June 23, when the Big Block Modified SUPER DIRT SERIES came to my local Mohawk International Raceway in NY. Actually it was a double header with the SPORTSMAN cars also having their SUPER DIRT SERIES race.

‘As the crow flys’ the MIR is my nearest track, being located just across the St Lawrence Seaway from my house in Cornwall, Ontario, and just a five minute drive once you’re across the border to the USA . Wednesday is now a regular work day for me, so a special request was put in to finish early. Things went to plan and I was done at 4-40 pm, which even gave me time to go home first to wash and change ! There was only a 20 minute delay ( but that’s too long) at the border and I was soon at the track. I didn’t stop to eat along the way, as I planned to eat there. The new improved MIR now has some of the best food on the north eastern dirt circuit. For about six bucks I had a delicious ‘pulled pork’ sandwich and fries. Another bonus for me , is it’s a Pepsi products facility. As you know, most places these days sell either Pepsi or Coke products. I’m a Diet Pepsi drinker so this works well for me.

Once fed and watered I took my place on the center with my buddy track photographer Mike Watts. It was a big race so we were joined by other notable cameramen , Bob Mortier, J Fish and Ben Graham from Australia. I first met Ben at Syracuse last year and he’s just returned for another racing vacation.

The weather had been overcast and the radar showed rain for late evening , so the program was hurried along. Matt Shepherd started on the outside front while Pat Ward had pole. There were only a few cautions and it turned into a good race. Super ‘Matt’ led the first 89 of this 100 lapper until Jimmy Phelps took control.

Phelps worked his way through to the front and the following places were then traded by Billy Decker, Danny Johnson and Shepherd.

The final result was Phelps (winner) Decker (second) and Shepherd (third). Just as the checkers fell, a few drops of rain started to fall, and by the time the Victory Lane photos were being shot, it had turned into drizzle. The SPORTSMAN cars which were lined up for their race returned to the pits while we waited the outcome. The rain continued and there was no choice but to post pone the race. Make up date is yet to be announced.

An unexpected early finish at work on Friday ( 3-30 pm) gave me the opportunity to attend any one of four tracks ( MIR, Granby, Can Am or Edelweiss) . I’d been to the MIR on Wednesday and fancied a change, so I chose to head up to the Gatineau mountains of Quebec to Edelweiss.

I was lucky and chose a good night to be there ! The Coors Lite Girls were in attendance who enjoyed having their pictures taken with the drivers in the pits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s a hard life being a race track photographer !The program of Modifieds, Mod Lite’s, and 8 Cylinder Street Stocks were complimented by a visit of the Lightening Sprints and a bunch of guys on quad bikes.

The quads are ‘not my cup of tea’ or the sprints for that matter, but on this occasion I found them quite entertaining. They are basically a smaller version of a regular sprint car but powered by a motorcycle engine.

Unfortunately the additions to the program had their feature races first and when problems arose in the Modified event we ended up losing out. An incident occurred where a driver refused to leave the track following a Black Flag, which then caused a race stoppage. Things could not be resolved so the complete field of cars were ordered back to the pits. The 8 cylinders then came out for their feature Feature which also got red flagged after a scary roll over on the start line. By now it was 11-00 pm, and with Edelweiss’s strict curfew, the night came to a premature end. It was definitely a memorable night.

My plans for Saturday were to make my regular visit to the Brockville Ontario Speedway but rain throughout the morning caused it to be canceled early.

By 1-00pm I was checking out the other possibilities and narrowed it down to either the Airborne Speedway at Plattsburgh NY or Autodrome Drummond in Quebec. Soon after 2-00pm I learned that Airborne had suffered the same fate as the BOS , so Drummond became my target. A Pro Stock DIRT SERIES race was taking place up there so I phoned my friend DIRTCAR media man Tom Skibinski, who happened to be up there to find out the weather out look. He said there was no rain, it was dry and just a few clouds. This was good enough for me, so off I went.

I arrived at 5-15 pm which gave me plenty of time to wander the pits. Tom was right, it was a nice and dry there , and even the sun was shining. I chatted to Joey Ladouceur and members of the Dave Bissonette team before bumping into Tom at the drivers briefing. For the heats I joined track photographer Sylvain Buisson on the center to snap some action.

After leaving a wet Ontario , it was unbelievable how sunny it was in Quebec, and perfect for picture taking.

Wallace Stacey gave us some great action in one of the Modified heats when he shot up the wall of turn three and four. Check out my photo section. For the features I decided to watch from the grandstand which made a nice change.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The big Pro Stock race was dominated by local man Jocelyn Roy, who led unchallenged from the start. Special mention must go out to the late charge and great drive of Cornwall driver Cory Wheeler who grabbed second spot on the last lap. The Sportsman featured followed this and was won by Guy Ouellette .

To  finish the evening Steve Bernard won the Modified feature. The racing was done before 10-30 and after a late night stop at Tim Horton’s in St Constant I was home before 1-00 am.

My alarm clock was set for 9-00 am on Sunday morning so I could be ready for a 10-00 am sporting event I didn’t want to miss. My ENGLAND football team were scheduled for a ‘do or die’ game against Germany in the World Cup. The match was being televised live from South Africa and my armchair was ready for action . To cut a long story short, the German team played well, and once again the ENGLAND team were a big disappointment . We lost 4-1 .  The big St George’s flag that adorned the front of my house has now come down and it’s been stored away for another four years. Hopefully we’ll have a better team for the next World Cup , and CANADA will be in it too.

It had been hot and humid during the day and I was looking forward to a good night of racing at the Cornwall Motor Speedway. As normal I was at the track early and around mid afternoon the skies became overcast. The computer I use in the control tower showed late night rain on the weather radar, so things looked worrying. A light sprinkling came down prior to the start but it soon ended. With more rain expected later that night the show was sensibly moved along quickly as the racing commenced.

It was a regular program of Modifieds, Sportsman, Pro Stocks, Semi Pro’s and Rookies. As things turned out we had no new faces in Victory Lane . Each division provided return wins for the respective drivers. Ronnie Tyo set the trend by taking the Mini Stock feature,

followed by Danny O’Brien in the Modifieds. Chris Raabe did likewise in the Sportsman,

Joey Ladouceur in the Pro Stocks and Kevin Fetterly Jr in the Semi Pro. There were no delays and the show was completed before 9-30 pm and the expected rain.

Looking ahead, it’s CANADA DAY this coming Thursday and to celebrate the countries special day Autodrome Edelweiss are holding a round of the 358 Modified SUPER DIRT SERIES. What better way is there to spend July 1 than in the nations capitol area ! Top class racing followed by late the night celebrations in Ottawa !  I wish I could be there, but family commitments will prevent me.