
RICK @ the RACES ( 7/8/9 Sept 2012)
7 Sept Autodrome Granby , Quebec
8 Sept Autodrome Granby Kart Track , Quebec
9 Sept Capital City Speedway, Ottawa , Ont
Now that the Labor Day Weekend has been and gone, it’s that time of year for the special events to start taking place, as the racing season winds down. This past weekend was no exception and there were numerous big shows to choose from.
It was an easy choice for me on Friday and Saturday as there were SUPER DIRT SERIES races for Big Block Mods, 358’s and Pro Stocks taking place at Autodrome Granby in Quebec. It meant missing the ‘Summer Slam’ at Ottawa’s Capital City Speedway, but local SUPER DIRT SERIES events usually get priority with me.
Sunday was Enduro Day at my local Cornwall Motor Speedway, and as normal I took the day off to attend the more conventional type of racing that I enjoy. My plan was to stay overnight in Granby until Sunday morning, then making the short trip across the border to the Airborne Speedway at Plattsburgh NY for their afternoon show. Things didn’t turn out the way I expected, when Mother Nature stepped in.
On Friday I took a leisurely afternoon drive up to Granby from my home in Cornwall, Ontario and arrived at the track at around 5-30 pm. Friday night was scheduled for the 358 Series race and there was a good showing of cars in the pits. Some of ‘Saturdays’ Big Block guys like Brett Hearn, Danny Johnson and Jimmy Phelps were there, with 358 Mods to add to the field. Joining the Mods on the program were Sportsman, Pro Stocks and the Tobias Speedsters.
It was a hot and dusty night as Dale Planck on pole and Matt Billings beside him, led the pack around as the green flag fell. Billings shot into the lead and stayed there up until lap 14 when Planck edged past.
The one and only caution in the 75 lap race , came on lap 16 , and on the restart, Planck was able to keep his lead. From there on the gap between them increased as David Hebert and Danny Johnson moved in to second and third. With the lack of cautions, which would have closed up the field, the running order remained like this to the checkers. It gave Cortland, New York’s Dale Planck his second consecutive 358 SDS win.
At the end of the night I retired to the parking lot and the luxury of my HHR which I’d parked amongst Fifth Wheel Campers and Motorhomes of the more affluent race fans.
On Saturday I was stuck with a problem of killing time, until the evenings Big Block show got under way.
After an early morning visit to use theTim Hortons free Wi Fi , I wasted more time in town with a long overdue hair cut .
While on line, I received a message from Yvan Lacroix, one of the Granby officials and a Vintage Modified enthusiast.
He invited me to drop by at his work shop in town.
While there, he mentioned something else I could do to occupy my time. The Autodrome Granby Kids Karting was taking place in the afternoon. The Kart track is totally separate from the main track and is located in the bush at the rear of the grounds. Elise Lalancette from the Mario Clair team was there watching “Mario Clair Jr ” in action. I watched for a
while before taking a snooze in the parking lot.
The weather forecast had not been good, but everyone was keeping their fingers crossed, and hoping the meteorologists had got it wrong. Heavy rain was expected in the late afternoon.
At about 4-30 pm I was woken from my nap , by my buddy Pro Stock driver Rob Yetman and his team that had traveled up from Albany NY. By now the gates were open and the haulers were starting to fill the pits, so I wandered in with them.
While in there I chatted to a few more of my New York friends who’d traveled long distances, that included Gary Tomkins and the Billy Dunn team. We were all concerned about the predicted heavy rain and the approaching black clouds on the horizon, alas, seemed to confirm it. The wind started getting up and before long I was making a dash back to the shelter of my car.
By 5-00pm it was pouring with rain and the inevitable cancellation call was made. With this early evening decision , it meant that there was no point in me staying in Granby for another night , so I decided to head back to Cornwall.
The Yetman team did likewise, and soon after 9-00 pm we were all in the ‘Shoeless Joes’ eatery on Brookdale Avenue taking care of our hunger. While in there, we met up with Jenay Morin, ( Cornwall Speedway promoter , Ron’s granddaughter and 358 Modified driver Gage’s sister) She told us of her plans to race in the tracks Enduro on Sunday, and accepted a www.rickattheraces.com decal for her car.
After the late supper, I said good bye to the Yetman team and headed back to my house. Once home, I was back on the internet, and almost straight way spotted something that appealed to me. Capital City Speedway’s ‘Summer Slam’ had also been effected by rain, and race day had been postponed until Sunday. This was a show I’d originally wanted to attend, but it clashed with Granby’s SUPER DIRT SERIES. Now, if I decided to give Airborne a miss , I could go !
So, midway through Sunday morning, I set off for the ‘CCS’ at Stittsville, Ontario.
The rain had stopped by now , and it was a dry but cloudy day when I arrived.
The big attraction for me at this show, was the addition of the Brockville Ontario Speedway based Vintage Mods.
They are really well suited to the pavement of Stittsville, and on their previous visits have always put on a good show.
All the regular divisions were there too, as well as a few ‘gimmicky’ additions, such as Monster Trucks , Drift Cars and a dragster. As a racing purist, I’m not a big fan of these type of ‘gimmicks’ but realize that things like Monster Trucks help swell the attendance.
It had been a long day for me, the weather was turning chilly, so after watching Matt Haufe win the Legend Feature
I took off for home, in preference to hanging around while the Monster Trucks came out for a third time.