RICK @ the RACES ( 15/16/17 June 2012)
15 June Mohawk International Raceway , Hogansburg NY
16 June Brockville Ontario Speedway,
17 June Cornwall Motor Speedway, Ont,
Once again I stayed local this past weekend, but it doesn’t mean I wasn’t busy. Even though I’ve now got a three day weekend away from work, I’m still finding it a challenge to logistically plan my agenda. My Friday morning started with a trip to the Canadian Passport office in Montreal, to get some first hand info for my renewal, due in August. If I choose to renew by post it could mean me being without a passport for several weeks. This is unacceptable for someone like me, that crosses the border at least once a week, so I needed to find out how to get a round it. At the Point Claire office in Montreal, I was told that if I took my documents to a regional office ( the nearest for me is on Marcel Laurin, in St Laurent), for an extra charge, I could get it processed within a few days. This is still not very good, but my best option. Therefore , that’s what I plan to do .
From Montreal I drove to my old town of Maxville, to visit my friend Lisa, who was busy preparing for a Yard Sale. Then from Maxville , I headed back home to Cornwall to get ready for my nights racing. Once again I drove over the International Bridge to the Mohawk International Raceway at Hogansburg NY.
The past two weeks at the track had been rained off, and I was looking forward to a good nights racing. On my arrival, I took my customary walk around the pits, and the first thing I noticed were two Laurent Ladouceur cars parked side by side. The obvious question I wanted answering was who was driving the second car ? Laurent’s crew chief Shane Bourgon soon gave me the info, and pointed to the man.
It was none other than Watertown. NY’s Billy Dunn, who I then had a brief chat with. Quite recently he’d been involved in a bad wreck at the Canandaigua Speedway, so Billy filled me in on the damage that he incurred.
Once the racing got under way I joined my friend and track photographer Andy Watts on the middle. We had an interesting night which involved a bit of unplanned excersice as we escaped the Brent Kelsey Sportsman car that bounced high over a marker tire.
The results went as follows, Chris Raabe won the Modified Feature and while Dylan Evoy took the Sportsman.
The Bandit Feature was won by Mathieu Aubin and in the Pro Stocks division it was great to see PJ Peters with the checkers once again.
As usual, my Saturday night destination was the Brockville Ontario Speedway, where we were treated to some great racing from the premier divisions.
In the Modifieds, Dale Planck and Lee Gill were dicing for the lead in the closing laps, and with just a few to go, the back markers became the deciding factor.
With one lap remaining, they both came up behind the Dave Austin Car, and out of the two contenders, it was Dale who chose the right way round.
When Planck took the checkers, he became the first repeat Feature winner of the year.
The Sportsman Feature was a good one too, where Jessica Power held off , division ‘top dogs’ Chris Herbison and Dylon Evoy, to take a very popular win.
Vintage winner was Jason Power, while Steve Kearney took the Street Stock checkers. Quincey Roberts had his second consecutive Mini Stock Victory.
On Sunday it was Fathers Day, and I was filled with mixed emotions. While thinking of my Dad, back in England, who is presently in poor health, I also had happier thoughts, relating to my daughter, Carla, at her home in Ft Lauderdale, Florida. Carla and her partner, Alex had chosen this day to officially announce some big news. I’d been informed about it a few weeks ago, but until I got ‘word’ that all the family had been informed, I’d be asked not to ‘broadcast it’ . Carla said she’d let me know sometime on Sunday evening, which just happened to be the time I’d be working at the Cornwall Motor Speedway.
I arrived at the track at around 3-00 pm and as usual relaxed in the tower prior to action. It was another warm night for a regular program of Mods, Sportsman, Pro Stocks , Semi Pro’s and Mini Stocks.
The Mini Stock feature which traditionally ran just before the intermission gave Mathieu Aubin his second win of the weekend.
During the break, I returned to the Tower , to check my e-mail, and ‘Yippee’ ! I got the news I was waiting for. I could now officially ‘tell the world’ that I’m going to be a Grandfather ! … Best Wishes to Carla and Alex . With my Face Book wall updated, I resumed my duties on the center.
Next up was the Modified Feature which gave Carey Terrance his first victory of the year.
The Sportsman and Pro Stock Features also gave us some new faces to Victory Lane for 2012 . Ryan Arbuthnot of Renfrew (Ont) , on his first visit to the track took the Sportsman win ,
while Akwesasne’s Dion Oakes won in the Pro Stocks.
As normal, the last race of the night was for the Semi Pro’s where
Andrew Giroux got his second consecutive win.