RICK @ the RACES ( 18/19/20 March 2011)
At the beginning of each year when the track schedules start to appear, the excitement builds as I jot down all my wanna do’s . Inevitably some of my expectations don’t materialize and one such occasion occurred this past weekend . As the event roster of the SUPER DIRT SERIES has become diluted (compared to previous years) more and more race fans are looking at alternative tours to follow, such as the ROC Series. Once again this years ROC season got under way at the Selinsgrove Speedway in Pennsylvania and it was one show I’d marked down to attend. As the weekend approached , various reasons prevented me from being there, and in my absence it was ‘the Doctor’ Danny Johnson who took the spoils.
Instead of a road trip south I decided to stay local and have a relaxing weekend close to my home in the Cornwall, Ontario.
On Friday night I crossed the International Bridge to attend the annual banquet of the Mohawk International Raceway. ‘As the crow flies’ the MIR is probably the nearest track to my house. I live very close to the waterfront in Cornwall and the track is located just across the St Lawrence Seaway in Hogansburg , New York.
The banquet was being held at the Brass Horse Grill and I found the place packed with people on my arrival.
During the night the 2010 Track Champions were given their awards, which went as follows .
(358 Modified) Carey Terrance, Akwesasne NY,
( Sportsman) Chris Raabe, Napanee, Ontario,
(Pro Stocks) Ricky Thompson, Akwesasne ,NY
(Bandits) Joey Foster , West Stockholm NY.
Todd Stone of Middlebury Vermont collected the award for winning the Frenchie’s Chevrolet American Revolution Series.
The Rookie awards went to Claudia Tarbell, Melvyn Rush and Brent Kelsey
As well as this, a new annual award was introduced to honor Mitchell Jock , the young local Modified driver who sadly passed away last year. The Mitchell Jock Memorial Sportsmanship Award will go out to the driver who shows the most sportsmanship during the year. The first recipient and worthy winner was Tom Jock Jnr.
With no races to attend over the weekend, I put my feet up and watched some good TV . Early on Saturday night the Ottawa Senators were playing the Tampa Bay Lightening in the NHL. It gave me great pleasure to watch this one as the ‘Sens’ took the win after being 2-0 down going into the last period. After the great overtime win , I switched stations for even more excitement.
One of my favorite movies was on the Showcase Channel . Clint Eastwood has made some good ones during his acting career and I was a big fan of his ‘Dirty Harry’ classics …. “Make my day , Punk” ! . Grand Torino is one of his more recent films (2008) which I’m pleased to say , is up to the same good standard. He plays an ageing ex Korean war vet and owner of a classic Ford Gran Torino who lives in a part of the city plagued by gang warfare. In true ‘Eastwood fashion’ he stands for no B/S from the ‘punks’ ,as he sorts out the bad guys. Great Stuff on TV and my way of relaxing away from racing.
The TV was switched back on for Sunday afternoon’s NASCAR race from Bristol Tennessee where Kyle Busch took the honors.