Frogtown, Cornwall, Drummond and Airborne (21 Jul to 24 Jul 2005)

07242007gRICK @ the RACE (21/22/23/24 JULY)

Sat 21 Jul     Frogtown Int Speedway

Sun 22 Jul    Cornwall Motor Speedway

Mon 23 Jul   Autodrome Drummond

Tues 24 Jul    Airborne Speedway

After last weeks racing famine due to bad weather, this report covers four race meetings. It should have been five, but Friday (20 Jul) turned out to be another wet one, so my plans to visit Thunder Alley NY never materialized. We had so much rain here on the Friday, it was a miracle that Saturdays races at my local Frogtown Int Speedway NY took place at all . It was only through the hard work of track staff that it became possible. 07242007aRace fans were treated to double features for the Mods and Semi-Pro’s because we were playing ‘catch up’ following the rain delays from two weeks ago. 07242007bTommy Jock Jnr took a well deserved victory in the first one, with Brian McDonald taking the second.

Next day it was the ‘big one’ , the event race fans in Eastern Ontario and Quebec had been waiting for. The rain-rescheduled SUPER DIRT CAR SERIES race at the Cornwall Motor Speedway.

This time ‘Mother Nature’ co-operated with lots of sunshine and ideal conditions for one of Canada’s most important auto races of the year. Cornwall is noted for good crowd attendances, and with a race of this stature, the place was bursting at the seams.07242007d All the major players were there, Tim Fuller, Brett ‘the Jet’ Hearn, Alan ‘AJ Slideways’ Johnson, his brother Danny ‘the Doctor’, Frank Cozze , Billy Decker, Gary Tompkins, Dale Planck, Steve ‘the Hurricane’ Paine and Matt Shepherd to take on the top locals.

After the preliminary heats, something different was tried. Instead of the grid positions being drawn during intermission, it was left right up until the driver introductions, with the cars out on track. This turned out to be a great success leaving the massive crowd in suspense up until the last minute. 07242007cThe atmosphere was electric. As the drivers came forward for the draw, it wasn’t until Pat O’Brien the last driver out , that the pole position emerged. 07242007eIt was GREAT STUFF, as Shane Andrews the DIRT CAR announcer played to the audience. When it was time to start, he definately knows how to ‘pump everyone up’ and his catch phrase “We’re going racing,” …   “Grand Pa, take a Viagra” always gets a laugh.

After Alain Boisvert and fellow Quebecer Clement Therrien both had turns leading for the first few laps, Ontario’s Pat O’Brien acquired the hot-spot for a while, until Brett Hearn took control. O’Brien fought back , regained the lead and looked uncatchable, until he got mixed up in a wreck involving back markers. Hearn re-inherited the lead and was charging towards what looked like a certain victory , but Billy Decker had other ideas ! He’d been gaining ground gradually and with just two to go of the 100 lapper he edged past , as the ecstatic crowd were on their feet yelling with excitement.07242007g 07242007h

On Monday, it was the turn of Autodrome Drummond for their rain re-scheduled SUPER DIRTCAR SERIES race and because it was a work day, It was a last minute decision for me to attend. I got off work at 5-00pm and managed to get there just after the pre-race time trials. I met up with long distance fellow photographer , Alex Bruce who’d journeyed up from the Niagra Falls area for the Cornwall/Drummond double.

We wandered the pits snapping pictures, and had a chats with top Quebec drivers David Hebert and Kyle Robidoux. Drummond always puts on a good show for the fans, with loud ‘hockey match’ type music, fireworks and lots of hype. 07242007jIt was another night full of excitement, and must have been great if you lived locally or were camping overnight. 07242007k07242007iUnfortunately the late start of the main event, the SDS 100 lapper ( about 10-50pm) was no good for me. With the prospect of almost three hours to drive home and work at 7-00pm in the morning, I had to leave shortly before the start.

When I left, Brett Hearn was leading with Frank Cozze chasing. By the time I got home, Tom Skibinski’s DIRTCAR press release had arrived in my e-mail, with the news confirming Hearn had clinched it.

It was back to work on Tuesday morning, and luckily I had a short day, I finished early and drove straight to the paved Airborne Speedway at Plattsburg NY for their midweek DIRT Mod Special. I was there in time to meet up and chat with another of my photographer buddies , Mike Watts who I found relaxing on the centre green along with DIRT CAR racing’s Cory Reed. 07242007mTwenty-six Mods were there for the first of two 2007 DIRT CAR sorties on to the asphalt tracks. They visit the Oswego Speedway NY next month. 07242007l 07242007nA large crowd turned up for this one, and in contrast to the previous night, the program was concluded by around 9-30pm . Winner of the 40 lapper was local guy, Mike Bruno.07242007o Even though I’m a self confessed DIRT fan I really enjoyed the show. It’s a shame more paved tracks don’t give DIRT style Mods a try, They are definitely popular with the fans.