RICK @ the RACES (15/16/17 May 2015)
15 May Mohawk International Raceway
16 May Brockville Ontario Speedway
17 May Cornwall Motor Speedway
It was the Victoria Day , long weekend here in Canada, and last Friday, I was once again hoping for a nice early finish at work , to get the ball rolling for my latest racing agenda.
I should of known better ! After a couple of early finishing days in the middle of the week, things went berserk once again on Friday. I finally punched out at 6-45 pm but lucky for me, this Friday was the season opener of my Local Mohawk International Raceway, in nearby Hogansburg NY.
By 6-50 pm I was back at my house, and getting rid of work ‘stuff’ from my car, before heading down the road to the U.S.A. border. With no line up at the customs, I was quickly across, and by 7-10 , I was pulling into the Speedway.
Hot Laps had just started, but after a break in traffic , I was taking pics on the middle in my usual spot on turn four. After starting work at 5-30 am in the morning and following another thirteen plus hour shift , I was pretty much burned out, so didn’t stray too far, except for a trip to the concessions for my supper of pizza logs and fries .
One addition to the Modified roster was Tim Fuller, returning to this division after a number of years following the World of Outlaw late Model Series.
The Features winners went like this, Bandits (Matt Zira) , Mod Lites (Jesse Hudson), Sportsman (Shane Pecore) and Modifieds (Tom Conklin)
Racing was over by 10-45pm and by 11-15pm I was back home in Cornwall , Ontario. The winners pictures were quickly up loaded to the social media, before it was time to hit the sack.
The alarm clocks were not set, and I slept until about 11-00 am . I needed that sleep !
I left home a bit later than usual for my regular Saturday afternoon drive down Highway 401 , but I was still in the Brockville pits chatting amongst friends, well before hot laps.
I made my customary visit to Tabatha Murphy’s hauler to chat with her and Ralph her father.
Also with them was her boyfriend Josh, who I met last year. He’s a pretty good hockey player and since we last spoke, he’d been playing over in Sweden. Tabatha couldn’t wait to tell me where he was off to next !
He will leaving Canada soon to play in England. He said he will be playing for a team in Coventry , the city where he will be based. When he was in Sweden ‘Tabs’ paid I him a visit, so I asked if she would be doing likewise for England. Oh yes ! she said , so I quickly informed her that the best place to see UK stock car racing was in Coventry.
The Coventry Stadium has hosted BriSCA F1, Britains premier oval racing division, since the 1950’s. Tab’s got very excited on hearing this news, so I gave her more info, and we agreed to keep in touch on this one.
Once the racing got under way I joined Don Simpson and Henry Hannewyk out on the middle to take our pics.
It was a big night of racing with the Modifieds and Sportsman competing in the first round of the Ogilvie Triple Crown Series.
I had the pleasure of meeting Gordon Ogilvie who at the fine age of 80 years, was celebrating his birthday that day.
The Series means a 40 laps for Sportsman and 50 laps for the Mods.
After the Street Stocks Feature which was won by John Gifford, the Sportsman were up next for theirs.
This was an excellent race between Dylan Evoy and Shane Pecore, where they raced side by side for the duration. I have to credit both of them for keeping it clean throughout, as Shane managed to pip Dylan at the post and get his second big win in two days. The fans loved it !
In the Modified feature, just one man dominated it, with no one able to catch Gage Morin.
I’ve known Gage and the Morin family, since he was a kid in Go Karting, then through his brief Mini Stock career and now with his Modified racing, so during the Victory Lane presentations I made one of my rare crashes into the picture. (I must learn how to smile for the camera )
After this race I made my exit, and by midnight I was rolling into my driveway in Cornwall. Once again, the big win pics were posted to Face Book before getting off to bed.
Busy work weeks and full weekends of racing are beginning to catch up on me, and something I say to myself at the end of each season may actually happen this year. The statement, ‘I will have to cut down next year’ is what I’ve been saying annually, but so far it’s never really happened. I’m really finding it difficult to chase around like I used to , so don’t be surprised if I start to miss a few events.
I made a later than usual exit from home, before setting off for the Sunday show at my local Cornwall Motor Speedway, but I was still there before the pit gates opened !
Once the haulers started coming in, I had my usual wander and chat with drivers. I spotted Stephane Lafrance , and wanted to quiz him about his performance at Brockville the night before. By Steph’s standard , he wasn’t going very well at all, and was interested to find out why. Apparently something had broke on the handling set up, and he cradled the car to get a finish. The crew had worked all morning to put it right and he had high hopes for today.
Another driver, I had a quick chat with, was Billy Dunn who was making a rare 358 Mod appearance.
I also took a look at my buddy, Dave Bissonnette’s Pro Stock that was making it’s debut with a brand new wrap.
Before the show got underway Mike Stacey was awarded a Trophy for his Sportsman team that won the pre season hockey challenge.
There was a lot to cram in on the Sunday of this national holiday weekend, with the headline event being the 100 lap Canadian Nationals race for 358 Modifieds.
The track was in excellent shape, and we were treated to a great nights racing.
The first Feature was for the Mini Stocks and was won by Dudes Thompson, which was followed by the Semi Pro’s which saw Pascal Racette in Victory Lane. Dude’s was the first driver to christian the new Cornwall Motor Speedway Victory Lane
After the intermission, it was time for the Modified 100 lapper, and after a 4 wide , salute to the fans, the green flag dropped.
Steve Bernier who had drawn pole , traded positions early on with fellow quebecer Mario Clair, with Lafrance, Billy Dunn and Danny Johnson in hot pursuit .
Clair slipped off the track and out of contention, and before long the three chasers in convoy, passed Bernier. As the 100 laps expired, Stephane Lafrance had Dunn on his back bumper and Johnson not far behind as they crossed the line. 
A great race for St Albert, Ontario’s Steph, after Saturdays disappointment.
Next up was the Pro Stock Feature which provided a great first time win for Dave Seguin, of Apple Hill, Ontario.
To finish the night, we had the Sportsman feature which gave Mathieu Desjardins another feature to his credit.
We were lucky and had no major wrecks, and the night was over by 11-00 pm. Although a ‘Holiday Monday’ I had to be at work the next day, so after getting the pics of to the media, it was time to grab some sleep.
I would like to see some of my pics #45 semi pro and 45d sportsman