RICK @ the RACES (30 May to 3 June 2012)
30 May Capital City Speedway, Ottawa, Ont
2 June Brockville Ontario Speedway
3 June ICAR Circuit, Mirabel, Que
This weeks report starts on Wednesday ( 30 May) when I visited Ottawa’s Capital City Speedway. I missed the opening night, a week previous , due to a conflicting dirt race , so was eager to make my first visit of the year. Alas, this could also be the last of this year, as my new work shifts come into effect.
I got there in good time to wander the pits and chat with my ‘Wednesday night’ friends. I was really surprised at the number of nice looking new cars, especially from the Thunder Car division. Instead of the familiar ‘boxy’ looking GM’s of 80’s, there was a refreshing array of ‘curvy’ looking Camaro bodies from this century.
The on-track action was good too, with the Feature wins going to Steve Munro ( Late Models) Kevin Foisy (Legends) Greg Ogilvie (Thunder Cars) Chris MacDonald (Mini Stocks) and AJ Dickie (4 For Fun)
On Friday I was finished work in good time to make it easily over to the Mohawk International Raceway, but Mother Nature had other ideas. With an expected rain storm heading towards Hogansburg , track officials made an early cancellation , and by the time I ‘clocked off’ work at 6-45 pm it was pouring down in Cornwall. It was a disappointing start to the weekend, so I consoled myself at the Chinese buffet in the east end of city.
The weather forecast for the whole weekend looked pretty grim and on Saturday morning I focused myself on the internet to see how things would unfold . If my regular Saturday night location at the Brockville Ontario Speedway got rained off, I would need a back up plan.
Out of the other tracks I’d considered , three of them cancelled early ( Autodrome Drummond. Que, Oxford Plains Speedway, Maine, and the Airborne Speedway, Plattsburgh NY)
By lunch time, news started filtering through that things looked good at the Fulton and Can Am Speedways in NY , as well as my intended event at Brockville. This was very uplifting news and at 3-00pm in the afternoon I took my usual trip down Highway 401 from Cornwall to the B.O.S.
It was pouring with rain when I left home but once I got passed Iroquois the sky started getting brighter. By the time I arrived in Brockville , the skies were cloudy with the occasional bit of sunshine. Things looked good for racing !
On my pit walkabout I chatted with Stephane Lafrance who was unveiling a brand new car following his wild flip at Cornwall a week ago. After plenty of success in 2011, ‘Steph’ is still yet to get his first feature win this year.
Victory in the Modified Feature went to Bobby Herrington, making it four different winners in as many weeks at the B.O.S in 2012.
As for the other divisions, it was a case of ‘ditto’ for Chris Herbison (Sportsman) ,
Brian Comeau ( Vintage) and Joe McNicholls Rookie as they took their second consecutive wins. Derek Cryderman was the Street Stock winner.
After a forecast of predicted rain, it was a real bonus to get the show in, and I was hoping for similar luck on Sunday, when the Cornwall Motor Speedway, had a double bill of DirtCar Series races for Sportsman and Pro Stocks.
When I awoke on Sunday morning to see I had a dry drive way and cloudy skies , (just like we’d had a the B.O.S) I was keeping my fingers crossed.
I spent my morning in a patriotic mood watching the live CTV coverage from London of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The floatilla of boats sailing up the River Thames was an awesome sight. I was particularly keen to watch as Tower Bridge opened up, because it’s been many years since I witnessed that sight.
Let me digress …. In my early truck driving days, and long before all the environmental B/S and weight limits that have made things difficult for driving in London , I remember making regular trips across Londons most famous bridge. Back then ( in the early 1970’s) I was engaged in a contract hauling CKD packing cases for General Motors in Dunstable down to the docks at Bull Head Wharf on the rivers south bank. I used to make two trips a day in my Cummins powered ERF with its 40 foot flat bead trailer from our depot in the town. The last time I saw Tower Bridge open up , was while stopped in traffic waiting for a ship to pass by. Check out the Ricks Trucks section of on the website http://www.rickattheraces.com/trucks.htm
At about 11-15 am on Sunday morning (Eastern Time), it opened up for the Royal Barge ( the Spirit of Chartwell) , at the same time as I got a message come through on my computer . The races at the Cornwall Motor Speedway had been cancelled due to extremely wet grounds and with more rain expected for later in the day.
It was time for me to put Plan ‘B’ into action.
A NASCAR Canadian Tire Series race was taking place at the ICAR Circuit at Mirabel, Quebec, and the green flag was scheduled for 1-30 pm. Luckily I had all my stuff ready, and I was out of my house by 11-30 am and heading towards Montreal in my HHR.
At about 1-00pm I pulled into the track located at the Mirabel Airport. It didn’t take me long to sign in at the Media desk,
and within minutes I was track side, beside the starting grid as the cars came under starters orders .
The first person I bumped into was my friend Greg McPherson, editor of Inside Track Motorsport News … He was busy, like me getting pics of the start.
With the track configuration being on the flat concrete of the airport , viewing for the public was limited, as was the picture taking opportunities for photographers. I found a spot close to the first turn, and in front of the race car haulers. It was one of the few places available without high fencing to impede shots.
Although I’m not ‘the number one fan’ of the NCTS, I try to get to at least one race per year. A few drivers taking part have dirt racing connections which keep me interested, as well as the lovely Isabelle Tremblay, who I met last year.
Three of the entrants in the race had Dirt Modified connections . Drivers , Martin Roy, and Dexter Stacey are both well known on the dirt circuits where as Andrew Ranger is the son of former top Modified pilot Rob Ranger.
Another strong connection with dirt racing , is Adam Ross, the NCTS announcer , who runs the website www.dirtrackdigest.com .
I met up with Adam , at the Victory Lane presentations for Andrew Ranger who led a faultless 31 lap race from almost start to finish. I was standing next to his proud father Rob, when the young winner gave him the champagne bottle to look after.
It wasn’t a classic race, but I’m pretty sure the result kept the locals happy with Quebecer in Victory Lane. As for me, I was just glad I got some racing in, on a weekend that looked like it would be toast.