RICK @ the RACES (14 April 2007)

Sat 14 April  Fonda Speedway NY  ROC tour race

The last time I saw competitive auto racing, was at Lake Otisco NY about five or six weeks ago at the beginning of March for a CNYIRA ice racing event.

Since then I’ve undergone, considerable withdrawal symptoms, but eventually I got my ‘fix’ this weekend… but only just !

This past week, my local track, the Cornwall Motor Speedway had it’s annual show in the cities shopping mall with a display of new race cars for the coming season.

I was there on Monday night, taking photos, and on Wednesday helping out on the stand, giving out 2007 schedule cards.

One week ago, the Easter period , racing was obliterated by cold and snowy weather, and as this weekend approached, it was very much ‘de ja vu’ with another bout of rain and snow on its way .

The first cancellations I heard about were for Friday and Saturdays events at the Can Am Speedway (Lafargeville NY) , and the other casualties that followed soon afterwards were Canandaigua and Weedsport.

The only day with a forecast for dry weather, was Saturday, so I made this my target. There were two ‘do-able’ places still running, which involved less than a five hour drive, the Fonda Speedway NY, for the rescheduled ( from last weekend) ROC Big Block Modified Tour race, and the DIRT MODIFIED opener at the Lebanon Valley Speedway NY .

Fonda was an afternoon event and the ‘Valley” an evening show, so because the two tracks are only about sixty miles apart it was quite feasible to do them both. At this stage, the Sunday races at the Five Mile Point Speedway NY were still on, and although I didn’t expect them to survive ( there was a 100% chance of snow predicted), I packed my car early on Saturday morning with overnight gear, just in case.

I left my place in Ontario, shortly before 6-30am and after minimal stops for breakfast, pee’s and coffee, I was in Fonda soon after 11-00am.

Racing was supposed to get started at 1-00pm, but the track surface had taken a beating from the recent wet weather, and a lot of preparation work was required, which delayed things by over an hour.

During my pre-race walk around the pits , aswell as the ROC tour drivers , I came across the familiar DIRT MOTORSPORTS regulars of , Brett Hearn, Pat Ward , and the Johnson brothers, Alan, and Danny. Alan was back driving for Jake Spraker, who he drove for in the 358 SUPER DIRT SERIES a few years back. The Hearn car, was off loaded from the hauler , but it never went out for Hot Laps. Maybe, the condition of the track had something to do with it ? , as the # 20 hauler was seen leaving the track while the heats were taking place, no doubt, heading for the ‘Valley’. Oh yes, the track was pretty bad, especially on the town bend (first and second turn) . The last time I witnessed bumps and ruts anywhere near as a bad as this, was at the Thunder Alley (NY) SDS opener a few years back, and I was surprised nobody bounced into the adjacent Mohawk River. My UK friends, who can remember the Nelson track in the 70’s could easily relate to these type of conditions.

Even so, the Feature turned out to be a pretty good race, with Pat Ward # 42P making the early running. He was being chased by Danny ‘the Doctor’ Johnson # 27J until he ended up embedded in the wall on the town bend. I didn’t see what happened or caused it, but it was obvious that Ward was not happy with Johnson ! Soon after the restart young Matt De Lorenzo # 3d charged past Johnson, and looked set for a win until a late caution, gave us another restart. At the green, Johnson grabbed back the lead and was followed passed De Lorenzo by Ronnie Johnson # 2 ( no relation, but son of Jumpin Jack # 12a ), which is how it stayed until the checkers. It was good to see to two young drivers on the podium, especially Matt De Lorenzo, who I met at the AMEC races at Lake Algonquin, in 2006 when he was driving his ice racing sprint car.

During the afternoon, I heard that the Five Mile Point races for Sunday, like I’d expected, had been canceled and with the later than expected finish at Fonda , I decided to miss Lebanon Valley and get back home before the predicted snow storm arrived. Brett Hearn was the victor at the ‘Valley’

The Storm arrived in Eastern Ontario, Sunday night, and I awoke today (Monday 16 April) to six inches of snow,  a power outage, and a flooded basement. I had to take the day off work to deal with the situation. Power resumed at 7-00pm this evening, and about an hour later my computer was cranked up and ready for action !

Meanwhile , in the UK at the weekend , history was taking place at the Wimbledon Stadium in South London, on Sunday when the BriSCA F2 stock cars made a return to the capital city for the first time in over thirty years. Last time they raced in London was in 1974 when their World Final event was held at the Wembley Stadium. Over the years, inter-promotional politics have prevented them racing at Wimbledon, but now in this new era of common sense and co-operation, everyone concerned, drivers, promoters and fans, should benefit. They shared the bill with BriSCA F1’s and Sallon Stox . My buddy, and ace SHORT CIRCUIT MAGAZINE photographer, Dave ‘Smithyman’ Smith was there to capture the action. Check out his photos.