Fulton Speedway SDS Race (25 April 2015)

RICK @ the RACES (25 / 26 April 2015)

25 April      Fulton Speedway NY   (SDS)

This past weekend I originally had two tracks on my agenda, but an early cancellation (due to wet grounds) at the Mohawk International Raceway, brought my tally down to one. The M.I.R had a two day show on the schedule, and I’d planned to be there on Sunday for the 358 Modified Series race.

On Saturday, I’m pleased to say, the Big Block Modified Super Dirt Series event , I’d scheduled, at the Fulton Speedway went ahead as planned with no weather related issues ( a part from the cold temperatures ! )

After being starved of dirt racing action throughout our hard Ontario winter, I was itching to go, and took off from my home in Cornwall at 10-00 pm. Although it was a bit chilly, it was a lovely sunny day, without a raindrop in site as I took a leisurely drive down Interstate 81.

My first stop , after calling in at the Watertown Walmart to buy my favorite cheese, was to  drop in at the McDonalds at Adams, NY where I met up for a bite to eat and a chat with my friend Dawn Kamff (from the E.S.S Sprint Cars). She happens to work, just five   from Mac’s and it was good to catch up with her, while I was passing through.

By 3-30 pm I’d arrived at the Fulton Speedway and already the pits were pretty full. It looked like a good night of racing was in store.

I had my usual pre- race wander around the pits, and the first person I came across was my buddy Joey Ladouceur. As well as it being an SDS race for the Big Blocks, the Sportsman had a series race too. His car was lacking graphics on the sides, as his body wrap was not ready.

In fact quite a few of my local Sportsman drivers were in attendance, and found another buddy of mine, Mike Verbeek helping out with the Jessica Power team.

With plenty of cars in attendance, it meant a long line at ‘Tech’ and it stretched right to the bottom end of the pits. As I walked along the line, it took me right down to the river, a part of the speedway I’d never ventured to before. While I was there I chatted with ‘Lightening Larry’  Wight, who told me this particular part of the grounds, was once Fulton’s Drag Strip, and many years ago, his Dad ( who is John Wight, the present day , track owner) used to race there.

It was also a pleasure (as always) to bump into Leslie Planck (Dale’s wife) who was walking through the pits with a pile of food she had made for the team. Accompanying her was her son Brandon, who she introduced me too. Dale wasn’t racing that day, but was busy in his role as coach and mentor, to Briana Ladouceur, a young driver who comes from my home city of Cornwall. 

Time always seems to go quickly when I’m chatting around the pits, and it wasn’t long before hot laps were called.

It soon became obvious it was going to be  crowded out on the middle, as most of my photographer buddies on the media corps were present. With it being the opening SDS race in our area, everyone wanted to be there. They are all a great bunch of guys and it’s always a blast when we all get together. One of them, Jay Fish, had just returned from a business trip to England, and was eager to tell me, that he’d been to see the Tower of London and the Crown Jewels. He had a great time, and during his trip , he was based in Leicester. I told him that many years ago, we had a great stock car track in that city.

Once the Hot Laps were over, the first race to take place was the Limited Sportsman Feature that had been postponed from the Out-Law weekend back in the fall of last year.

Although the weather was dry and we had the perfect conditions for taking pictures, it was also very cold, and I’m pleased to say, the management got the show moving along quickly.

The 100 lap Super Dirt Race for the Mods was dominated by Billy Decker , with most of the interest focused on Danny Johnson who was carving his way through the pack from lowly starting spot. By the time the checkers fell , Johnson was up to third , and only a short distance behind runner up Matt Sheppard.

It was about 10-45 pm when we’d finished the Victory Lane presentations , and after factoring the chilly weather, and my three hour journey home, I decided to give the Sportsman feature a miss, and get on my way.
My first port of call was to grab a cup of tea ‘to go’ at Central Square then with the minimum of stops, it was ‘pedal to the metal’ all the way back to Canada. I was home in Cornwall at 2-00 am.

After a long lay in bed, my only plans for Sunday , were to watch the vital Stanley Cup Play Off game between the Sens and the Habs. You may remember from my previous report that ‘my team’ The Ottawa Senators had crawled back from the dead to claim the last Play Off spot, and the team they were drawn against were the Montreal Canadiens.

It had been a close series and with the Habs ahead by three games to two, the Sens needed a win to stay alive.

Well it just wasn’t to be, as the battling Sens could not get a puck past goal tender Carey Price ( who is generally excepted as the worlds # 1 goalie) . Actually they did get one past him, but because of , what looked like an unfortunate error of judgement by the ref, it had to be disallowed. The Sens ‘dream trip’ is now over, but it had been a great ride while it lasted, and I have to be proud of ‘my team’ for what they achieved.