RICK @ the RACES (23 Sept 2006)

WHITE CITY STADIUM , MANCHESTER, UK ( 1976 to 1979)
BRIGHTON SPEEDWAY PARK, ONT, (23rd Sept 2006)

As I’ve  mentioned before, Friday`s are always busy at work for me, and difficult to get away for racing. Last weekend was no exception, so had to miss the 358 SUPER DIRT SERIES race at Rolling Wheels NY.

Even so, I was home early enough to play around on the computer and able to add another track to my TRACKCHASING totals.

I was checking out fellow ‘Brit Chasers’ , Colin Herridge and Colin Casserleys lists on www.trackchaser.com and spotted the long defunct White City Stadium in Manchester marked down twice, once for shale and once for tarmac.

In TRACKCHASING rules,  a track can be counted twice if the surface changes from dirt (shale) to paved (tarmac), and when I submitted my original list I`d forgotten about White City`s change , so only had it marked down once, as paved.

The track , which got demolished for re-development was located in the Trafford Park area of the City, near to the Manchester United, football ground , hosted two BriSCA F1 World Finals under the Mike Parker Promotions banner during the 1970`s.

I attended both of them, in 1976, when Stu Bamforth won the ‘gold to’ it was shale, and in 1979 when Frankie Wainman took the honors it was tarmac.

At the 1976 event, Dick Zimmerman was representing the USA , was apparently the 1971 Californian Sprint Car Champion.

In 1979  , there were two Americans in the race , Larry Burton and Gene Welch, also Californians, and according to the program notes, Burton also operated the All American Speedway in his hometown of Roseville, about 20 miles east of Sacramento.

After realizing this omission to my list, a quick e-mail to Will White, the TRACKCHASING Grand Commissioner in Pennsylvania gave me a new addition, without leaving my house !

While mentioning the late Stu Bamforth, who was not only a great driver, but also a great promoter, I notice on the BriSCA website that the F1 stock cars are racing for The Stu Bamforth Memorial this weekend (1st Oct) at the Belle Vue Stadium , Manchester.

I could be adding one more retro-active  track to my list, just , as soon as I can verify the facts…. I`m pretty sure, that in 1977 at the Long Eaton Stadium when I was racing BriSCA F2`s  at the end of the evening, the Bombers ( that’s what they called Bangers in that area) did a figure of  eight  race…. I can vaguely remember watching them after we`d finished loading up the stock car.
I shall have to check out my old programs, but if anyone can help me verify the fact, please let me know.

Back to the present day, and this past weekends racing revolved around an event I`d been looking forward to all year, the return of 358 Dirt Modifieds to the Brighton Speedway Park in Ontario. Brighton, which is situated in a ‘wilderness’ as far as Dirt racing is concerned, it’s neither close to the Golden Horseshoe tracks of South-Western Ontario or those in my area of Eastern Ontario or Quebec .

Being out on a limb, and between those two areas, it`s been running it`s own brand of Modifieds, known as Canadian Modifieds, which are similar to the grass-roots type IMCA Mods.

Last year promoter Mark Rinaldi staged a special invitation event for 358 DIRT Modifieds, coinciding with the towns annual Apple Fest. It turned out to be very successful and the same was planned for this year (23rd Sept),  as well as a LUCAS OILS CLASH for CASH , featuring the top guys from the LUCAS OILS SERIES that took place in the two previously mentioned areas.

I arrived in Brighton early enough to take a stroll of down town to take a look at Apple Fest activities that were going on. Some of the streets were closed for the festivities which included live music . I must mention, a group of singers that grabbed my attention, who were performing in the old

‘do wop’ style,  and did a great rendition of “Run Around Sue” , the old Dion and the Belmonts hit from way back.  Great Stuff  ! , I wish I`d got their name.

The Speedway is located just a short drive out of town, and the pits were overflowing with 26 Dirt Modifieds , plus a full compliment of Canadian Modifieds, Rookies, and Street Stocks who were also there for a big inter-track Series against the Merrittville Speedway.

The Dirt Modified`s included drivers that had traveled far a wide, with Mario Clair and Yan Bussierre from Quebec and Rick Richner from Niagra Falls NY.

The main talking point was the appearance of former Modified driver, and now Sprint Car racer , Rick Wilson, who was out making a return in the loaned 358 Mod of Ottawa`s Skip McKenzie. There were four heats for the Mods, with the LUCAS OILS CLASH FOR CASH scheduled before the Feature. The fifteen lap dash was dominated by Pete Bicknell but the remaining places provided some excellent clashes, with Scott Wood ( the winner of the South-Western Lucas Series) coming home second followed by Apple Fest defending champion Kyle Dingwall in third. The Street Stox feature followed this,  with Rob Murray, a Merrittville driver from St Catherines, sliding to victory.

He was sliding because for the last few laps, the had rain started . Unfortunately it didn’t ease off , and with the track getting wetter and wetter it forced a premature ending , to what had been a great night.

So once again it was Pete Bicknell grabbing the headlines on “RICK @ the RACES”.