RICK @ the RACES (19/20 April 2013)
19 April Mike Watts Memorial Car Show, Plattsburgh NY
Mother Nature put the downers on many people’s plans this past weekend, including mine.
On Friday 19 April, my original intention, if I finished work in time, was to head down to the Brewerton Speedway NY for their season opener. If I finished later, then the Can Am Speedway at Lafargeville NY was my second option . With wet and windy weather throughout the day, it wasn’t a surprise to learn that both my options had been cancelled. This was disappointing, but lucky for me, I had one other possibility that I knew would still be on, regardless of the weather.
For many years I had the pleasure of working alongside ‘My Buddy’ Mike Watts as we took pics together at the Cornwall Motor Speedway and Mohawk International Raceway ( FKA Frogtown Speedway) , until his sad passing, a couple of years ago. As well as a race track photographer, Mike was also a car show promoter , and once a year, he put on the Champlain Valley Car Show in his home town of Plattsburgh NY. I visited the show numerous times.
After Mike passed away, his family and friends made sure that the show would continue, and the renamed event, “The Mike Watts Memorial Car Show” was taking place this past weekend.
It was being held on Friday and Saturday, and so with all the ‘rain outs’ taking place, Friday was a good night to go.
I was finished work at 5-00 pm , and after returning home for a shower and change of clothes, I was on my way from Cornwall, Ontario, and heading to Plattsburgh by 6-00 pm.
Following a terrorist bomb attack at the Boston Marathon (Massachusetts), at the beginning of the week, the world was on alert. On Friday, breaking news told us that one of the two suspects had been shot and killed, but the other had got away, and was at large. As you’d expect, security at the USA/Canadian border had been stepped up, but this was mainly for the travelers exiting the USA. The delay was minimal on my departure from Canada, but later that night, on my return, it would slow me down.
I got to the show at around 8-15 pm and it didn’t take long before I met up with Jane Watts and her sons Andy and Mike Jr. Also there, was their close friend , Modified driver and Airborne Speedway promoter , Mike Perrotte. He’d also had to changed his plans that night, following the cancellation of races at the Albany-Sarratoga Speedway at Malta. That’s a track he regularly races at.
While chatting with Mike, news came through from the media that the second Boston bomb suspect had been apprehended. This was great relief to all.
As usual the show was a good one, and also attracted a visit by a young rock band, ‘Wicked’ that were appearing in town . I took the opportunity of a photo shoot with them .
After about an hour of looking around, I made my exit. A work day that started at 5-00 am in the morning, meant , I didn’t want to be home too late.
Even though the fugitive had been found and caught, the border delays were still long at Lacolle , and many cars were being stopped and searched as they left the USA.
The weather for Saturday was still not good, and two of the first tracks to cancel were the Evans Mills Speedway and Five Mile Point Speedway NY.
My plan was to join , former Pro Stock driver friend, Joey Ladouceur on a trip to the Canandaigua Speedway NY, where he was to make his debut in the Dirt Sportsman division.
As rain and snow started to fall, while I waited to join him at our prearranged meeting point in Cornwall the word got to me that Canandaigua had been cancelled too.
Joey was determined to try and get a race in, and decided to head for the Fonda Speedway, which at this time was still good to go. I didn’t want to risk the possibility of a wasted journey, so declined the offer to join him.
I had another plan for my evening. Last weekend had been the birthday of my good friend Lisa, and at that time, we were unable to get together and celebrate. So this Saturday was an ideal time. Instead of the fumes and dirt of a race track, my evening consisted of a cozy night at a restaurant.