RICK @ the RACES (EARLY 2015 REPORT)
Now that the first two months of 2015 have come to an end, it’s time that I put a report together. In past years, I’ve continued with weekly reports throughout the winter even when there was little activity, but while my web site is undergoing reconstruction, the reports will be limited . www.rickattheraces.com is still up and running, with all the past reports and photo galleries still in opperation, but in the mean time, the new additions will be posted to the RICK at the RACES Face Book page.
My 2015 racing campaign got underway on Jan 10 with a visit to the ice oval on the Mohawk Reserve at Kahnawake close to Montreal. It’s located on a frozen part of the St Lawrence at the Kahnawake Marina.
One of my local DIRT Sportsman drivers, Mike Stacey was taking part in the four cylinder division and ended up taking the checkers.
On Jan 17, I was invited to the Brockville Ontario Speedway’s annual staff party, which was held at promoters Paul and Cheryl Kirkland’s place at Maitland, On. It was a great night, socializing with many good friends.
A week later, on Sunday Jan 25 , I attended a very special hockey game at the Ed Lumley Arena in my home city of Cornwall. Two teams had been made up of my local Dirt Sportsman and Modified drivers for a hockey challenge.
Many familiar names were out on the ice and it turned out to be a lot of fun. I’m hoping it will be an annual event.
The following weekend was a busy one, with the Cornwall Motor Speedway putting on it’s first ever three day event of Ice Racing.
Much work had gone on, in preparing an oval of thick ice, for the inaugural show, that ran from Friday 30 Jan until Sunday 1 Feb. I was there each day taking pics of the snowmobiles, ATV’s and Motor-Cycles. February was very cold with temperatures that hovered around minus 20 centigrade for most of the month.
It was so uncomfortable that I decided to stay at home in the warm on a couple of occasions, rather than venture off to various ice races scheduled in Quebec.
I really wish I could of headed south , like many other race fans for the Florida Speed Weeks, but for various reasons, I had to give it a miss. The traditional DIRT TRACK Nationals were taking place at the Volusia Speedway at Barberville, not far from Daytona, where the NASCAR season was about to kick off.
Coming to the rescue of local race fans, who were suffering from cabin fever and winter blues, was my good friend Jenay Morin , of the Deke and Squeaks bar and grill in Cornwall. She arranged for two nights of racing on their big screens. ( 21/22 Feb) .
On Saturday night, I was there to watch the DIRT VISION live broadcast from Volusia, featuring the Big Block Modifieds and the World of Outlaw Late Models. What better way to spend a cold snowy night, than in a bar with friends watching Dirt racing on TV !
Although I’m no big fan of NASCAR , I was back there, the following afternoon for the Deke and Squeaks Daytona 500 Party.
Luckily there were many friends there to chat with, and I was able to get through the whole race without nodding off to sleep.
🙂
As February came to and end, and no sign of it getting warmer, by Sunday 1 March, the snow had let off, and the sun was shining. I figured this was a good day to get in another ice race, and make my first visit of the year to the Maple Grove/Beauharnois track.
It was at this track, on the St Lawrence Seaway, near Montreal, that I witnessed my first ever ice racing many years ago.
I like to get there at least once a year, and with the extreme cold over recent weeks, I had no worries about driving my HHR out on the ice to watch from the warmth of my car.
Looking ahead.. With the month of March now in full swing, my agenda is starting to get busy, with the Motor Sport Expo in Syracuse NY , and the Cornwall Motor Speedway Banquet coming up to keep me occupied.