February Trip to the South (Part One) 8th February 2026 BLOG .

After spending my January ‘Lying Low’ in recovery mode, and contending with more than the normal amount of snowfall , I was ready to head south.

I needed to escape the snow and bitterly cold temperatures of Eastern Ontario and find some warmth and sunshine.

The only problem was, that even the normally, hotter south was also experiencing colder than normal weather. The usual snow belt area between my place and Syracuse , New York got a real hammering, so I was monitoring the forecasts carefully before deciding when to set off.

On Friday the 3oth of January, I made my move.

The car was packed the night before and at 4-00 am in the morning I set off from my home in Cornwall . Ontario. bound for my daughter Carla’s place in North Carolina.

It was below minus 20 centigrade, and even with the car heater cranked up to max, my breath was still fogging up the windshield.

I got crossed the border at 1000 Islands, and had passed Syracuse by 8-00 am.

I was expecting the snow piles along the road to disappear by then, but to my surprise they were still in evidence all the way to Richmond, Virginia.

By 5-30 pm I was passing the Virginia/North Carolina State Line, and there was no sign of snow.

I then had ‘plain sailing’ for the last two hours to Carla’s place in Willow Springs .

I was there by 8-00pm at night .

My goal was to be there before mid night , as North Carolina were expecting a rare snow storm for Saturday and Sunday.

The occurrence of snow in these parts is a ‘big deal’ for them and the smallest amount can cause panic.

The drivers aren’t used to it and very few vehicles have snow tires.

Willow Springs got a few over night flurries with an accumulation of about 3/4 of an inch, while some parts of NC got a few inches.

This was enough to cancel sporting events, and many businesses were closed on Saturday.

Sunday was my Birthday , and our restaurant of choice was closed , but were lucky to find the Longhorn Steakhouse in Garner was still open , so we went there instead.

The food and service turned out to be excellent so it all worked out good.

On Monday the Local schools were canceled, even though most of the snow had gone.

I spent the rest of the week relaxing and watching the Ottawa Senators in action, both on TV and live.

Yes, on Tuesday the ‘Sens’ were visiting the Carolina Hurricanes at the Len Center in Raleigh .

Carla got hold of two good tickets , just a few rows back from the ‘Sens’ Team bench, and the two of us went went along.

It was a nail-biter of a game , with the Hurricanes just managing to clinch the 4-3 win in the dying seconds.

The rest of my week , I was busy ‘doing nothing’ but managed to watch the recent movie F1, that stars Brad Pitt and centers around F1 Grand Prix racing, the highest level of Motor Racing.

It was a pretty good movie with many famous faces appearing in cameo roles , as the film was shot during actual racing events.

On Saturday morning , I made an early departure from Carla’s place in Willow Springs, as I headed south for some Florida racing.

Once again the north eastern Modifieds were appearing at the All Tech Raceway, near Lake City.

In the past, the events were part of the Short Track Super Series, but this year was being staged as The Showdown in the Sunshine State, Dirt Track Digest, the media outlet..

The three day tour began on Thursday and Friday (5/6th February), but I had chosen to go only for Saturday the 7th, the final night.

In my absence , Larry Wight won at both the first and second nights.

My decision to attend was a late one (a week before) as I was waiting to see how I was feeling , following my sickness over Christmas.

Therefore , I had no hotel booked for Saturday night . While on route, I managed to find a cheap Motel 6 in Starke, which is small town, about 30 mins from the track.

I was at the track by 4-00pm so had plenty of time to wander the pits and chat, before things got going.

I chatted with my fellow Canadians in the Jessica Power Sportsman team based in Kingston, Ontario and those from Quebec, Modified driver , Donovan Lussier.

I also bumped into Mike and Alayne Bruno, the Airborne Park Speedway promotors .

Although it was warm and sunny during the day , it became quite a chilly at night.

It was great to see Stewart Freisen back in action, foll0wing his terrible accident I witnessed at Autodrome Drummond last year.

The program consisted, only of Modifieds and Sportsman, and luckily there were’nt sufficient cars to warrant consi’s (or last chance qualifiers, as people like to call them these days) .

Many of the ‘names’ behind DTD, are long time race fans , so didn’t waste time , and got things done quickly .

With the heat races over, they had a short intermission, before the 40 lap Modified race got under way.

There were very few cautions as Larry Wight made the sweep, to make it a hattrick.

Tanner Van Doran moved through the pack , passing Jimmy Phelps and Matt Sheppard to grab second.

The final race of the night was for the Sportsman where Avery Decker dominated from start to finish.

The show was all over by 9-30 pm and I was soon heading back to the Motel 6 in Starke.

This is where I’ll bring Part One of ‘February Trip to the South’, to a close.

Part Two will continue, as I head towards Ormond Beach and the base for the next dose of racing.