RICK @ the RACES (13/14/15 June 2014)
15 June Cornwall Motor Speedway, Ont
During the lead up to this past weekend, things looked really good for an extra special few days around the race tracks. I’d been given a day off from work on Friday 13, and with my regular Thursday mid week day off , I had four full days at my disposal.
I finished work on Wednesday night in the pouring rain, but was pretty confident, by race night on Friday the weather would be a lot better. I had a relaxing day on Thursday, spending much of my time lazing on the front porch as I watched the rain , that still kept coming down.
With no work scheduled for Friday, I planned on something a little different. Instead of my usual dash straight across the bridge, from work to my local Mohawk International Raceway, I fancied taking a slow drive down to the Brewerton Speedway NY.
Well, come Friday morning it was still raining, and things started looking a bit dodgy. Around lunch time, the M.I.R and Can Am Speedway were some of the first to cancel. With the rain coming to an end earlier in the day, a bit further south, things were still ‘on’ at Brewerton, provided they didn’t suffer another dowsing. So, at about 1-30 pm I decided to take the gamble, and left home in Cornwall, Ontario heading in the direction of Brewerton.
By the time I got to the border at Ogdensburg, the rain had stopped and a bit further down at Watertown, the sun was even shining. Things looked good !
Just south of Watertown, I stopped at the Adams NY , McDonalds for a cup of tea and a Face Book check, and as I got out of the car I happened to notice the stormy looking clouds in the distance. Not so good !
A short time after sitting down, I got a phone call from www.rickattheraces.com webmaster Craig Revelle, who’d progressed further down I81 than me, and heading for the same track . He’d just heard that thunderstorms had arrived at Brewerton, and the races were off.
This meant a turn around, and a drive back home to Cornwall.
I was back in good time to sit out on the porch and relax with a few beers before heading to bed.
Just after midnight, I decided to call it a day, and after climbing the stairs to my bed room, imagine the surprise I got when I saw water dripping through the ceiling. A bucket was quickly put down on the floor to catch the drips, while I got a ladder out of the garage to investigate.
Shock horror ! All the high wind and rain we’d been subjected to over the past few days had lifted the shingles from my roof and rain was coming through.
Saturday, morning was spent trying to sort out the problem , and at the time of doing this report, I have the insurance company dealing with it.
Brockville had been my intended destination that night, but with all the roof leak problems it , meant I was still at home, when I got some news from Craig at Brockville. Earlier, things had looked good for the B.O.S , but rain had returned just before 5-00 pm and the show was called off. Well at least that was one less wasted journey !
Every cloud has a silver lining, so they say, and the B.O.S rain out meant I could sit and watch all of the England V Italy World Cup Football game.
I may be race fan, but like many other people , I like to support my home land, in arguably, the worlds most popular single sporting event. Prior to the game I spoke to my daughter Carla in Austin , Texas and she’d dressed my grandson Benji in some traditional attire for the match. Even though England lost 2-1 it was an enjoyable game to watch, and can’t say that ‘my team’ played too badly.
After, not getting much sleep on Friday night, I was early to bed and woke up about 9-00 am on Sunday to a glorious sunny day. Sunday means the Cornwall Motor Speedway, and things looked all set for the fifth straight ‘rain free’ night for new owners , the Lavergne Family.
I was there early as usual and based myself up in the tower, busying myself on line, until other staff arrived.
As the pit gates opened I took a wander round the pits and chatted to many. It was a nice surprise to see my friends Lesley and Dale Planck paying us a visit. Dale, a past track champion and big favorite of the fans, was driving the loaned Dexter Stacey # 3 D car.
I also chatted with former assistant starter, Jenay Morin, grand daughter of Ron, and sister of Gage, the driver of the # 16 car. Jenay agreed for a photo shoot besides her brothers car.

Once the racing got under way, it wasn’t long before one of the Modified heats had to be red flagged after Bruno Lepage did a spectacular rollover. (See the photo sequence in the photo gallery elsewhere on the site). Luckily Bruno walked away un scathed.
For the second week running, the Semi Pro division, as well as the Mini Stocks completed their Feature races before the intermission. The Mini Stocks required another red flag , when Natasha Lebrun rolled her # 6 car for the second week running.
On the restart Marc Dagenais inherited the checkers, after the first car over the line got disqualified for rough riding and losing a certain race win for Chris James.
The Semi Pro race was also quite lively, after a last lap kamikasi attempt by the the second placed car ( sorry I didn’t catch the number) to pass the leader and eventual winner Derek Cryderman.
I was kept busy during intermission time, taking pics on track of the Kids Tire race.
The third Feature of the night was for the Mods, and provided the first 2014 Victory for Chris Raabe, with Dale getting runner up spot.
Next up was the Pro Stock Feature, where Stephane Lebrun, scored his second consecutive win.
To finish, another ‘nice and early’ night, it was the Sportsman , where local driver Shane Pecore was the victor.
For the second week running, the show was over by 10-30 pm, and very welcome by me, and others too , who have work to go to on Monday morning.