RICK @ the RACES ( 19 to 23 Aug 2009)
19 Aug Capital City Speedway (Ottawa , Ont)
21 Aug Can Am Speedway (Lafargeville, NY)
22 Aug Brockville Ontario Speedway
23 Aug Cornwall Motor Speedway , (Ont)
I spent last Wednesday night ( 19 Aug) at the regular midweek show at the Capital City Speedway in Ottawa. As well as the normal program there was a cruise night and car show for fans of classic and customized cars.
There were over 70 exhibits on display and most of them entered the arena for the intermission parade. My particular favorites were a 1950’s Ford Thames van and a vintage Midget racer being towed by an HHR Chevy.
After taking a week off , the Late Models were back in town, and one welcome addition to the ranks was the # 08 of former ‘4 for Fun’ driver Chris Ferguson.
This weeks show was sponsored by ‘Local Heroes’ the Ottawa area bar and grill chain. I always enjoy it when they pay a visit, as they always bring along some pretty girls to assist me in my Victory Lane duties. This time I had the pleasure of Madison and Catherine.
The winners were Brian Sehl ( 4 for Fun) Kyle Baker (Ministock) Greg Ogilvie (Thunder Cars) Kevin Foisey (Legends) and Sean Kennedy (Late Models)
On Friday, a prearranged early finish at work, saw me heading to the Can Am Speedway at Lafargeville NY for their staging of the Big Block Modified SUPER DIRT SERIES race. I try not to ask too many favors to finish work early but a race of this stature is a definite exception.
The weather forecast in my area did not look good, and the Autodrome Edelweiss had already canceled close to lunch time. The Can Am web site had the green light and phone calls to friends living near to the speedway also confirmed it was good to go .
I met up with my buddy Roger Aubin at Cornwall’s Irving Truck Stop and we traveled down together in my car. It was pouring with rain when we left and were wondering if we were doing the right thing. Thankfully , after crossing the border at Johnstown/ Ogdensburg the sun was shining and that’s how it stayed until we reached Can Am.
For most of the night I joined my friend track photographer Rebecca Eisele on the center. At the start of the big race one of the cars failed to ‘go’ causing a massive pile up on the front straight. Scott Webb rolled over and top runners Billy Decker, Brett Hearn, Michael Storms and Larry Wight were also involved.
The cars of Webb, Storms and Wight were so badly damaged they took no further part in the race.
This incident brought out the red flag and when racing resumed front row starter Matt Sheppard took the lead.
That’s where he stayed until the checkers with only Dale Planck looking capable of offering a challenge. I’d chatted to Dale earlier in the night, and he’d told me the car was new and he’d only picked it up earlier that day. He didn’t have time to get it numbered or lettered so the # 77X on the side was done in duct tape.
Next day (Saturday 22 Aug ) I was off to the Brockville Ontario Speedway for a regular weekly show that included the Patriot Sprints.
Jessica Zemken was there driving the loaned #1K sprintcar, but only took part in her heat race.
The Feature was won by St Pie , Quebec driver Alain Bergeron .
Both the Modified and Sportsman races provided some excellent entertainment. Gage Morin led most of the Modified feature until he encountered a back marker.
The lap down car hugged the bottom groove, the preferred line of our leader, and while he waited to make his move, Bill Gill shot by on the top to grab the victory.
The Sportsman race was one of the best I’ve seen this year with a great battle for the lead between Dylan Evoy and Shane Pecore. They traded positions, back and forth, with Evoy taking the checkers by half a car length as they crossed the line.
We had a mammoth show at the Cornwall Motor Speedway on Sunday (23 Aug) where the pits and center green were packed solid with race cars. Not only was it the ‘rain-delayed’ SUPER DIRT SERIES for Big Block Modifieds, it was also the DIRTCAR SERIES for Pro Stocks too.
Also in addition to the domestic divisions of Rookies and Semi Pro’s we had the visiting Tobias Speedsters.
In the 100 lap Modified epic it was New Yorker Jimmy Phelps who took the honors after early leader Brett Hearn was forced to make a pit stop.
In the Pro Stock big race, favorite Joey Ladouceur was also forced to make an early pit stop, but managed to claw his way back into contention. In the closing laps he homed in on long time leader, Ghislain Valade to grab the checkers.
Finally, I must mention something amusing that happened in one of the Semi Pro heats. Leader Alex Gagnon was on his last lap approaching the final turn, when his enthusiasm got the better of him. He overcooked it, and quickly corrected, which took him spinning wildly on the center grass. The back end then swung around taking out one of the advertising boards. Gagnon then put his foot to the floor to grab the checkers complete with a ‘MINIMAX TRANSPORTATION’ sign attached to the trunk.
The crowd loved it ! Gagnon who had also won the Street Stock feature at Brockville the night before then went on to take the Semi Pro Feature.