CAN-AM,WATKINS GLEN,WOODHULL,and C.M.S (9/10/11 AUG 2013)

RICK @ the RACES ( 9/10/11 Aug 2013)9 Aug Can Am Speedway , Lafargeville NY

10 Aug Watkins Glen, NY

10 Aug Woodhull Raceway NY

11 Aug Cornwall Motor Speedway, Ont

With my local Mohawk International Raceway taking a night off, this week, because of the county fair, I knew in advance that my weekend would be a bit different from normal. Following a busy month at work where I’ve been putting in over 60 hours each week, my best option for Friday night racing was the Autodrome Granby in Quebec, which would still be ‘do able’ straight from work.

As it turned out, Friday ended up being a shorter work day than usual, and I was done by 4-00 pm. Unfortunately, at about 3-30 pm, I got a text from www.rickattheraces.com web master Craig Revelle, telling me Granby had been cancelled, so I had to rethink my racing plans. The only ‘do able’ place I could get to, was the Can Am Speedway at Lafargeville NY, and with that in mind, I had another great idea !

A quick phone call was made to the Holbrooks Motel at Phoenix NY and a room was booked.

After a picking up an item I needed for my car at SEAWAY GM , and a trip to the bank in Cornwall for some US dollars, I was soon heading south. I arrived at Can Am just after the start, and was soon out on turn three and four, taking pics.

There were numerous divisions racing that night, but unfortunately no Modifieds on the program, so the Sportsman became, my priority viewing. While wandering around at intermission, I checked out the T Shirts and have to thank Brandi Davidson Bryant for the complimentary one she gave me.

Things on track seemed to be dragging out a little bit, with more than enough cautions for my liking, so I decided to take off, before the end. By 11-45, I had reached Phoenix and after a late night snack and a few beers , I was off to bed.

My first port of call for Saturday was the Watkins Glen racing circuit for the NASCAR Nationwide race. I’m not a big fan of NASCAR, but I do like the Watkins Glen track, as I find it very ‘European’ in its layout. I just wish the F1 Grand Prix cars still raced there.

I wandered around and took pics from various vantage points, including the Sir Jackie Stewart Grandstand

I watched the qualifying for Sundays Sprint Cup race before settling down to watch the Nationwide cars in the Zippo 200. Brad Keselowski dominated this one, and was out in front with a commanding lead when I made my exit.

I left early to fulfill the main reason of this road trip. For many years the nearby Woodhull Raceway has been on my bucket list , and I was finally going to get there.

It was a tricky place to find, nestling in the hills south of Corning NY close to the PA State Line. I got a bit lost but salvation came my way when I spotted a race car hauler that I could follow.

The Woodhull Raceway, which in the distant past was Dirt Motorsports sanctioned, is very unique. It’s a small high banked ‘paper clip’ type track located in a rural setting. I found all the staff very friendly, and they made me very welcome on the middle where I took my pics. The track has such a small area on the center , it’s easily possible to take shots of both straight always with out moving. As you would expect, there were many divisions racing ,

with the Modifieds and Late Models taking center stage.

I really enjoyed my night, and got plenty of pictures of the heat race action.

THE WOODHULL RACEWAY , NY. became track # 213 on my TRACKCHASER totals

I wish I could have stayed for all the Features but with a long journey home, ahead of me, I made another early exit. I made a few stops for tea and snacks along the way and arrived back home in Cornwall, Ontario at 2-45 am.

A nice lay in bed was taken on Sunday morning, before heading out to my local Cornwall Motor Speedway. It was just a regular show, with the addition of a ‘make up’ Feature for Sportsman, because of an early season rain out. This was held right at the start of the night while the sun was still shining, and gave Jon Mills his first visit to Victory Lane.

The weather was being kind to us for once, and without too many delays, we got the show over and done in super fast time ( before 10.00 pm). I even had time for a wander in the pits during intermission, and got the chance to chat with the visiting Susie Langlois from Yamaska , Quebec.