RICK @ the RACES (6/7/8/9/10 November)
Originally I’d planned to use up my remaining vacation days from work this past week and head down to the DIRT TRACK WORLD FINALS in Charlotte, North Carolina, but as the event approached, I had to cancel.
With various medical appointments I had, and some on going work at my house relating to the storm damage sustained to my roof earlier in the year, I thought it best to give it a miss. I still took the days off from work, and had some well needed days of relaxation.
After finishing work on Wednesday (5 Nov) to start my ‘mini holiday at home’ I had a thought ! and posted the following on Facebook:
<< Just wondering ??? If there are any decent bars or eatery’s in the Cornwall (Ontario) area with Big Screen TV’s that can be persuaded to put on the DIRT VISION coverage of the Charlotte DIRT TRACK World Finals on Fri or Saturday night ?? … I was going to watch it at home, but sitting in a bar with a good meal would be a better way of watching it . >>
There was quite a bit of interest , and I put the idea to my good friend Jenay Morin, who is manager at the Deke and Squeaks Bar and Grill in Cornwall, who also sponsor my buddy, and her brother Gage Morin’s 358 Dirt Modified .
Jenay liked the idea and put the wheels in motion to organize it for Saturday nights sector of the show.
I signed up for the pay to view , Friday night sector with DIRT ON DIRT and watched the live feed via my lap top.
Stewart Friesen won the Mod Feature , with fellow Ontario, Canada driver, Matt Billings getting a good sixth place. Daryl Lanigan won an exciting Late Model race where he got passed Madden on the line. The Sprint race was a good one too where Daryn Pitman won from hard chasing Rico Arbreu.
I then got word from Jenay, that things were ‘all go’ for Deke and Queaks on Saturday night, and with the help of social media, we quickly put the word around. NASCAR fans have their ‘Daytona Parties’ so why shouldn’t us DIRT fans have a ‘Charlotte Party’ .
Even though it was arranged at the last minute, it turned out to be a great success with many local race fans and drivers turning up to watch.
Danny Johnson took the big race for the Modifieds after a great challenge by young Tyler Dippel . After trying a bit too hard Dippel went high on the cusion and allowed Brett Hearn, Friesen and Billy Decker to come by.
Deckers fourth place was good enough for him to secure this years SUPER DIRT SERIES championship.
Brian Brown took the big race for the Sprint Cars with Donny Schatz taking the championship.
Final race of the 2014 DIRT TRACK WORLD FINALS was for the Late Models which was won by Jimmy Owens, while the championship went to Daryl Lanigan.
It was an excellent night at Deke and Squeaks and a BIG THANKS to Jenay for putting it on. Charlotte is a long drive from Cornwall, Ontario (14 hours) so it’s a great way for the fans who can’t make the trip to socialize and see the big event.
Sunday, I had another date with my TV, and in the afternoon I was glued to the set for the Brazillian F1 Grand Prix, from the Interlagos Circuit in Sao Paulo. It was another good race for Mercedes , with Nico Rosberg taking the win from Lewis Hamilton, while Brazils Felipe Massa in a Williams was third.
My weekend was not over yet, and after the Grand Prix I was off to the hockey.
The company I work for, had organized a special trip to the Ottawa Senators V Toronto Maple Leafs NHL game , for their “Million Mile Club” group of trick drivers, and the bus was leaving Cornwall for Ottawa at 4:00 pm.
It was a great night out in our executive suite, with all the food provided. The only ‘downer’ was the result of the game, with my ‘Sens’ losing to those nasty ‘Leafs’
Hi Rick. I just found this (Google). It appears that this url applies only to the Charlotte deal. Do you have a new Website yet? Pls bring me utd.
Good story on the Charlotte Dirt races. Great that you found a way to bring them to Cornwall.
Back in FL again. Look fwd to hearing from you.
Cheers……..