RICK @ the RACES ( 14/15/16 SEPT 2007)

Fri 14 Sept        Can Am Speedway

Sat 15 Sept    Brockville Ontario Speedway

Sun 16 Sept       Cornwall Motor Speedway.

Instead of my usual drive to Autodrome Edelweiss, this past Friday, my destination, straight from work, was to the Can Am Speedway, at Lafargeville NY for their staging of a 358 SUPER DIRT CAR race. It turned out to be a wet and wild evening , beginning with gusting winds and ending with thunder and lightning.

I arrived early and at the time it was quite sunny, but the stormy clouds on the horizon gave an indication of what was in store.

During my habitual walk around the pits one of the first race cars I noticed was the brand new set of wheels from Steve Paine. This came as quite a surprise, as Steve hasn’t done too many races in the small block series recently. Steve was sitting in the back of the hauler, so I went over for a chat. I quizzed him , and said “I didn’t know you were doing the 358 Series” and he replied by telling me it was a recent decision. I then asked if he’d be racing at the Brockville 358 Series race the following night or going to Lebanon Valley for the rain delayed “Big Block” show. His answer was ‘the Valley’ but would of liked to of done Brockville, as it was one of his favorite tracks… I guess with the crowded end of season schedule, it’s difficult to be in two places at once !

Another car in the pits that was new to me, was the white # 1T car of Danny Johnson.

Friday was the 14th September, just a few days after the notorious 11th, a date that’s embossed into every-ones memory . The anniversary of a day when an act of terrorism changed the world we live in. As a mark of respect for those that perished in 2001 , the # 11 DIRT SPORTSMAN of Mike Mandigo had some remarkable paintwork. It featured the Twin Towers ( as the # 11) with a ‘yellow ribbon’ on the rear panel saying “Dedicated to the men an women fighting to preserve our freedom”. On the sides of his car he had the Statue of Liberty and a view of Manhatten , a 911 Pentagon symbol , and a banner heading of “Never Forget” over a back-drop of the ‘Stars and Sripes’. I thought it was a very moving gesture.
The track was in great shape and the Sportsman Feature was the first of the nights big races. It got off to a really hectic start with two cars doing a set of wild rollovers on the back straight bringing out the red flag.

After the restart another first lap rollover occurred on turn three resulting in the second red. This meant another restart, and it wasn’t long before more incidents requiring cautions started happening. The guys on the track were putting the ‘hammer down’ too soon on a fast and crowded track. I have to commend the decision of race director Chip Burdick , of restarting them in single file in an attempt to remedy their over-enthusiasm.

It worked well and from then on it developed into a good race which was won by Joe Williams.
Twenty five 358 Mods contested the feature, which surprisingly included the # 66w  of Wallace Stacey who’s car had gone up in flames during a scary looking fire during the heats. Early leader was the local track expert , Frankie Caprara but after 19 laps Gary Tomkins edged past. Tomkins was being chased by Danny O’Brien, and his lead only lasted for two laps before the Kingston (Ont) man got past. The two were locked in battle and trading positions for a while, before O’Brien started to pull away. Danny Johnson and Pat O’Brien also got in on the act , after passing Tomkins at around the half distance. With 40 laps completed, thunder and lightning could be seen in the distance and the first few drops of rain started to fall. At this stage it wasn’t enough to halt the race, and the action continued until lap 52 of the 75 lapper when the heavens opened. With the race having past the halfway stage, Danny O’Brien was declared the winner.

On Saturday night it was the turn of the Brockville Ontario Speedway to host the 358 SUPER DIRTCAR SERIES, and as you’d expect, I was there to see it. On a chilly but dry night a good crowd turned out to watch North America’s premier Series for small block DIRT Modifieds.On my pre-race pit walk-about I chatted to Wallace Stacey and asked him about his scary looking fire the previous night at Can Am. He told me it was caused by a fuel line letting go. He’d had a rough week, as he informed me he’d ‘rolled it’ at the last Granby race. Wallace who has supplied a car for Alan Johnson for most of this years Big Block tour comes from Khanawake, Quebec. He runs “Bully’s Truck Stop on the Mowhawk reserve located within Montreal, and if I’m passing there at lunch time I quite often drop in.

Another acquaintance I spoke to was Joey Ladouceur, the former SDS Pro Stocks champion. He was making his debut in Modifieds in brother Lee’s # 12 car. He was giving it a try to see if he liked it.
The 100 lap series race was dogged by an abundance of cautions but once it got going a good race developed. Even though Danny O’Brien led from start to finish there were some great battles taking place directly behind him, and the end-result could of gone to any one of five drivers. Behind O’Brien as the checkers fell , it was brother Pat, Danny Johnson, Mark Hitchcock and Series leader Mario Clair in that order.

The support divisions for the night were the 4 cyls ( won by Josh Cane) 8 cyls ( won by Dominic Gauvreau) and the DIRT SPORTSMAN where once again Jason Riddell was the victor.

Before I move on to my Sunday races at Cornwall, I must mention a message I got from my old buddy Colin Herridge in the UK .

He was at the races this weekend at the Rockingham Circuit near to Corby in Northamptonshire UK. Rockingham was built in the mid 90’s shortly after I moved to Canada, and it was intended to be a ‘Super Speedway’ on the lines of what we see in North America. I have yet to visit the place, but from what I gather, and photos I’ve seen , the grandstands are rarely full unless ‘teeny bopper’  musical acts are added to the racing program to attract the kids. I may be totally wrong, as I’m only going by what I hear from friends, and the photos that appear in the media. To attract more people on a domestic basis they have diversified and added a small oval which has been quite successful.More recently a dirt oval on land adjacent to the big oval has appeared. One division racing on the dirt this weekend were the “Plastic Pigs’ better known as Reliant Robins. For my North American readers who may be unfamiliar with them let me explain. Reliant Robins ( which are no longer made) were glass fiber  three wheeler cars which you were allowed to drive on a motorcycle license. They were the butt of many jokes and one was used in a famous ‘Mr Bean’ sketch , as well as the comedy TV series ‘Only Fools and Horses’. It’s now quite common for these funny looking little cars to end their days on the track in the Reliant Robin Banger races.

Now back to Canada, and the final race date of the year at the Cornwall Motor Speedway. After an absence of over ten years the SPORTSMAN division made a return to Ron Morin’s oval in Eastern Ontario. More than 30 SPORTSMAN cars turned up to join the Semi-Pro’s and Rookies on a beautiful warm and sunny afternoon.
The 40 lap Sportsman feature came under red flag conditions on lap 18 after a bad crash on the back straight involving a whole gaggle of cars with Yan Larrivee ending up on his roof. After the restart Jean Francois Corriveau had an unchallenged drive to the checkers.The Semi Pro feature was probably the best race of the day where Brighton Speedway regular, Brandon Gregory got past long time leader Jocelyn Roy on the very last turn in a manner that would have gone down well in UK style contact oval racing. After a slight nudge half way round the bend, causing Roy’s car to twitch, Gregory powered around on the outside as they raced to the flag. Everyone loved it ! , apart from Roy ! , who showed his displeasure by doing some wild do-nuts in front of the grand-stand while Gregory was basking in his Victory Lane glory .

The 2007 season was then brought to a close with a destruction derby on the front stretch.