RICK @ the RACES
(23 to 27 July 2008)
Wed 23 July Capital City Speedway (Ottawa) RAINED OUT
Sat 26 July Mohawk International Raceway (NY) RAINED OUT
Sun 27 July Cornwall Motor Speedway (Ont)
As you can see Mother Nature is continuing to ruin mine and many other peoples racing plans. Following last Sunday’s cancellation at the Cornwall Motor Speedway I had two more consecutive rain-outs.
Wednesday (23 July) was hot and humid when I arrived in Stittsville close to the Capital City Speedway at around 5-00pm to grab something to eat. As I pulled up outside the ‘Local Heroes’ Bar & Grill, I spotted four of the speedway’s race cars on display so took the opportunity to do a photo shoot.
It was still warm and sunny when I took off for the Speedway , located just a few miles down the road. On arrival, the pits were beginning to fill, as I did my usual ‘walk about’. Within minutes a few drops of rain started to fall which gradually led into a steady drizzle. Things didn’t look good and before long the cancellation announcement was made.
There was no racing for me on Friday night, as I have guests from the UK staying at my place at the moment. My old friend, from my teenage days, Lynn Edwards and her partner Brian are on vacation here for two weeks. Lynn who joined me for SUPER DIRT WEEK at Syracuse last year, had a birthday to celebrate, so Friday night was spent at a Cornwall eatery.
On Saturday (26 July) I had the choice of the Brockville Ontario Speedway or the Mohawk International Raceway. It had been raining in the area since lunch time, so once again there was doubt about the evenings racing.
Brockville made the cancellation early so I crossed the Canada/USA border to Hogansburg NY and the MIR. At the gate I met Jamie Davis ( announcer) and Modified driver Billy Cooke #M70 who passed the bad news on to me. Afternoon rain and more to come, had forced another cancellation.
Now what do I do ? , do I drive on to the Airborne Speedway at Plattsburgh or call it a day and go home ? … Decisions , Decisions !
After looking at the sky in the direction of the Adirondack Mountains and Plattsburgh I chose the latter.
I’m glad I did, as on my return home, one of the first e-mail messages I received was from my buddy Mike Watts (photographer) telling me that Airborne succumbed .
Well, I’m not going to complain to loudly !
Just spare a thought for couple of buddies of mine.
Dave ‘Smithyman’ Smith and Trevor Foskett, both Media/photographer men traveled over last Saturday (19 July) from the UK for a four race agenda in Ontario.
19 July Merrittville Speedway
20 July Humberstone Speedway
22 July Oshweken Speedway WORLD OF OUTLAWS
23 July Oshweken Speedway WORLD OF OUTLAWS
All those dates were lost to rain and they returned to the UK on Thursday (24 July) not seeing a single race. That Sucks !
While mentioning the UK, I had Colin Herridge, another old buddy ‘message me’ at the weekend with the results of the first semi final race for the BriSCA F1 World Final . The first ‘semi’ was held at the Kings Lynn Speedway in Norfolk (Saturday night) , where Paul Harrison # 2 secured a front row spot for the big one at Ipswich I’ll be attending in September. 
On Sunday (27 July) the sun was shining and the forecast looked good for the evenings races at the Cornwall Motor Speedway. 
However , as the day went by , the forecast changed to late evening showers. With this in mind the program was run at a slick manner to avoid another disappointment.
We saw Joey Ladouceur # 92 take the Dirt Pro Stock race after a late challenge from Pete Stefanski # 2.
In the Modified division we had a first time ‘run away ‘ winner with Victoriaville, Quebec’s Alex Fortier # 09.
This wasn’t the first time I’d photographed young Alex in Victory Lane. Back in September 2006 I traveled up to Quebec City with the TRACKCHASER’S Grand Commissioner Will White ( from Quakertown PA) to witness the historic DIRT MODIFIED races at the Hippodrome de Quebec. The big race that day was won by Fortier.
The racing at Cornwall finished just before 10-30, and a short time after the last race was over, the rain descended.