RICK @ the RACES (16th/17th SEPT 2006)

Sat 16 Sept      BROCKVILLE ONTARIO SPEEDWAY  (358 SDS Series)
Sun 17 Sept      KAWARTHA SPEEDWAY , Ont (CASCAR Super Series)

For a few years now, I`ve been a regular contributor to SHORT CIRCUIT MAGAZINE , one of  Europes leading oval racing publications, where I`ve been taking care of the SHORT TRACK AMERICA pages.

In 2004 the magazine organized a CANADIAN TOUR for test driver Malcolm Foskett, where he appeared at several tracks in loaned cars.

Among the staff who accompanied him on the tour, was ace photographer Dave ‘Smiffyman’ Smith, who was on hand to record the event , and since that meeting we’ve remained good buddies. Dave enjoyed the Canadian racing scene so much , he returned last year to attend the 2005 Sprint Car Nationals held at Oshweken Speedway, Ont, where we met up again.

As a result of that event, his work has appeared not only in SHORT CIRCUIT but top Canadian publication , INSIDE TRACK too, with a full color front-cover action shot.

This past weekend  was time for this years Nationals and once again Dave was at Oshweken. Originally I`d planned on going there too, but with a 358 SUPER DIRT SERIES race taking place at Brockville on the same night, , there was ‘no contest’ , so I had to miss it. We had discussed meeting up the next day at the Kawartha Speedway for the CASCAR SUPER SERIES, but in the end, Dave stayed closer to his weekend home,  at Mini Stock driver Jim Swings place at Hagersville, and visited the nearby Humberstone Speedway instead.

He flew back to the UK on Monday and forwarded the attached photo of Canadian Nationals winner Steve Poirier. It was great to hear the news about Steve, a former DIRT Modified drivers victory,  from my neck of the woods.

While all this was going on , I was at Brockville to see the third round of this years 358 Modified SUPER DIRT SERIES ( I witnessed the first two events at the Lebanon Valley and Can Am Speedway last weekend)

The nights program, not only had the 358 Mods contesting their series, the DIRT Sportsman were there having theirs also, as well as a regular night for rookies and 8 cylinder Streetstocks. A large crowd in attendance , a nice mild evening, and a pits full of cars guaranteed a good night of action.

The fastest in time trials was Pete Bicknell from St Catherines Ont, who went on to pick pole position in the lucky frisbee draw. Just as the race got underway, and before some drivers even crossed the line, there was a big pile-up involving four cars , local driver John Mulder , and superstars Tim Fuller, Alan ‘AJ Slideways’ Johnson and Brett ‘ the Jet’ Hearn.

When the race got restarted, the early running was done by Bicknell, Danny Johnson and Pierre Dagenais, with either of them looking good as potential winners, but as Dagenais slipped back , the St Catherines man took charge, going on to victory with hard charging track champion Danny  O`Brien getting up to third.

It was good to see Pete Bicknell doing well and back on the campaign trail, as I`d feared he may have been taking time off this year , after his absence at Lebanon Valley and Can Am.
Pete , of course, who is the owner and promoter of the Merrittville Speedway , Ont,  (near to Niagaara Falls) was one of the kind hosts for our 2004 SHORT CIRCUIT CANADIAN TOUR.

Steve Barber won the Rookiesand Steve Billings took the Street Stock Feature

The DIRT SPORTMAN feature at Brockville, was won by Shawn Donath.

With Brockville finishing  respectably around 11-00am , I concluded that my Chevy , with the seats folded down, would be favorite , for my bed for the night , as opposed to a three hour round trip home. If I went home , I would have to pass Brockville on the way to Kawartha the next day, so figured that six hours of  uncomfortable  sleeping in the car would be better than two or three hours in my own bed.

The Kawartha Speedway located near to Peterborough , Ont was due to start mid day so I was back on the road at 7-00 am . My first stop was at Tim Hortons for a ‘wake up’ coffee, before driving on to the Flying J Truck Stop at Napanee on HWY 401,

( let me digress, to give you some useful information !  Napanee is the home town of  pop star Avril Lavigne…. something you really wanted know.. right ? )

After an ‘eat as much as you like’  buffet breakfast and a shower to make myself look lovely again , I was on my way , and reached Kawartha soon after 11-00am , just in time for CASCAR hot laps.

Not only was this the final round of the 2006 CASCAR SUPER SERIES, it will most likely be the last ever SUPER SERIES under the CASCAR banner, now that the Canadian organization has been taken over by NASCAR of the USA. For next year it will be known as the NASCAR CANADIAN TIRE SERIES, with backing from the nation-wide department store of the same name.

Kawartha Speedway , which is promoted by CASCAR driver, Derek Lynch is one of the tidiest racing facilities in Canada and also boasts a casino type slot-machine complex and a horse racing track.

I visited the place for the first time last year when DJ Kennington won the event, and it was him who dominated the first part of this years race. I must admit , I didn’t stay to the end, as 250 laps of roundy-roundy pavement racing is not my racing preference, especially with the four hours and more,  drive home I had ahead of me.

I guess, after watching BriSCA Formula 1 stock cars in England for forty years, my demand for on-track action is greater than most race fans over here. That`s probably why I`m hooked to the DIRT Modifieds, which are probably the nearest thing you`ll see in North America to the BriSCA F1`s.  Don`t get me wrong I`m not knocking it, paved NASCAR/CASCAR type of racing appeals to thousands of people and everyone has different tastes in what they like, but it`s not for me I`m afraid.

I enjoyed watching them at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve a few weeks ago, but maybe that was because of the tricky layout of the track, with the subsequent spectacle as they negotiated the hairpin .

Even so, I`m glad I went to Kawartha and will no doubt return on future occasions, as it`s a well run place where I met and chatted to several drivers, which included Montreal race winner Kerry Micks. Although I`d departed before the finish , I can report that it was Mark Dilley # 9 at the end in Victory Lane.