RICK @ the RACES (20 Feb 2011)
20 February Clarence Creek, Ontario
Even though I was far from impressed by last weeks ‘two car tangos’ at last weeks ARCA and Bud Shoot Out from Daytona, I still eagerly switched on the TV, this past Thursday night for the ‘duels’. I have to admit that I only lasted the first twenty minutes of the first race, before switching channels in favor of ‘the Mentalist’. The racing was that bad ! and I couldn’t see any point in watching it. The ‘mixed doubles’ of two cars in convoy just does not appeal to me as it’s not what I call real racing.
So, with this in mind, I was in no hurry to spend my Sunday afternoon back on the couch watching the ‘500’ . My original plan was to grab another new track for my TRACKCHASER portfolio by attending the final round of the Quebec Ice Racing Championship at Trois Riviers, but this ended up being canceled due to lack of ice.
Plan B was put into action and on Sunday morning I set off for Clarence Creek, Ontario for their annual Winter Races. Clarence Creek is only about an hour away from my home in Cornwall and the racing was due to start at noon. It is an event put on each year by the local Lions Club and takes place on a piece of land at the back of the towns hockey arena.
This was my third visit to these races and in the past I’ve seen them held on a surface of either ice or snow. A couple of days before this years event, we had a rise in temperatures, and the big thaw that followed meant this year the races were held on the dirt ( or mud if you prefer ! ).
Being close to home, there were a few of my friends there too. Two of my media friends , Sylvain Lauwers and Steve Brillant were in attendance, as well as some of my dirt racing buddies.
Taking part in the races were , Anthony,(sorry I never caught his second name) who is a crew man on the # 8 Marc Lalonde Dirt Prostocks team
and Sebastien Chabot, from the Lee Ladoucuer ESS Sprint Car team. Sebastien’s race was late in the program , but I stayed long enough to catch him and his # 51 Honda in action, before heading for home.
Even though the Daytona 500 hadn’t been appealing to me, I still wanted to see the end of the race, and was home in front of my TV in just in time to catch the last 16 laps. From what I learned from friends afterwards, I didn’t ‘miss much’ and probably saw was the best part of the race. They were still doing the ‘two car tango’ when I started watching , when a series of late cautions began to make things interesting.
Two attempts at a ‘green, white checkers’ took place before the remaining field started the final lap. As the white flag fell , young rookie Trevor Bayne was leading the pack with Bobby Labonte as his ‘pusher’. I don’t think anyone expected the youngster to stay there but as Carl Edwards made a late challenge he kept his position, and continued on to a fairy tale trip to Victory Lane. Just one day after his 20th birthday and driving for the legendary Woods Brothers, he made history by becoming the youngest ever Daytona 500 winner. Congrats, young man !