My last Report, which covered the beginning of April ended up, with me returning from a North Carolina racing trip, with some up and coming visits to the medics on my agenda.
On Wednesday (13 April) morning I had an appointment with the diabetes doctor. When I was first diagnosed with MYASTHENIA GRAVIS last year, I was told that some of the medication needed to control it , could possibly cause side effects. Well, they were right, one of drugs has pushed my blood/sugar over the limit, to the point where I am now labeled as diabetic.
The morning consultation went well, and I got myself in gear for my second medical appointment of the day.
Another side effect of my MYASTHENIA GRAVIS medication is the effect it has on bones and teeth. While I was away on my Carolina trip , parts of my teeth broke away, so I’d booked an emergency dentist visit for my return. He did some temporary repairs and booked me in, a week later for the completion.
The following day, Thursday 14 April , both my local Speedways were combining forces for a promotion event. For many years the Cornwall Motor Speedway has taken space in the cities Cornwall Square Mall to display race cars and publicize the forthcoming season. This year they were joined by the Mohawk International Raceway, from across the International Bridge in Hogansburg , NY.
I went along to take a look. Claudette Lavergne was taking care of things for Cornwall,
while Brian Mulligan was manning the desk for the M.I.R.
The Dirt Sportsman cars of Ryan Stabler and Brianna Ladouceur were on display and attracting plenty of interest.
I stayed chatting for a while, and agreed to return later that evening (7-00 pm) for a media presentation. Many of my friends from the local media were in attendance.
The promoters , John Lazore (M.I.R) and Raymond Lavergne (C.M.S) were on hand to answer questions, along with a number of drivers.
On Saturday 16 April, my other local track, the Brockville Ontario Speedway had a publicity event taking place, so in the morning I went along to that.
Each year the B.O.S put on a fund raiser for C.H.E.O ( Childrens Hospital of Eastern Ontario) with race cars on display outside the cities WALMART store. 
As well as the race cars, there is also live music and refreshments.
There were plenty of friends there to chat with, including my photographer buddy Don Simpson. 
Tom Roy was there with his daughter Suzi and Coby the dog.
I also had a good chat with Jeremy Lasalle , who told me the ‘hot’ news about Dale Planck joining their team for 2016.
Before leaving for home, Don and I wandered across road to Starbucks where we were joined by my good friend Rosie Estevez, the former Victory Lane Hostess at the B.O.S.
After a long chat over a good cup of tea we all went our separate ways.
I was soon back on Highway 401 and heading for home. I was back in the house by 2-00 pm , for an hour or two of relaxation before my next function.
That night it was the turn of the Mohawk International Raceway to have their awards night across the International Bridge at the Akwesasne Casino , New York.
The U.S.A / CANADA border is only a five minute drive from my house, and the Casino is only about another 5 minutes, once you’ve crossed . So it didn’t take me long to get there. 
Everyone was seated by 6-30 pm for the speeches and food to begin. 
I was seated on one of the top tables along with my photographer and media friend Hilary Jacobs.
Track Photographer Andy Watts, and Jayne his mum, were also there . I’ve know these good people for many years , when I took pics alongside the late Mike Watts, (Andy’s dad).
While chatting with Andy, he relayed the surprising news that the Watts Family would be ‘calling it a day’ and no longer be at the track with their souvenir and photo booth in 2016.
After all these years , the place just wont be the same.
As expected , there were many friends in attendance to chat with.
All the various divisions picked up their championship trophy’s, with Laurent Ladoucer (Car Owner) collecting the Modified award on behalf of Billy Dunn, who was absent due to a conflicting race at the Canandaigua Speedway. 
My buddy, Gage Morin was there to pick up a number of trophy’s including the Mitchell Jock Memorial Sportsmanship Award
The presentations were all over by 10-30 pm so I was soon heading back over the bridge to home.
I had a full day ahead of me on Sunday, so instead of staying up late to watch the live coverage on TV of the Chinese Grand Prix from the Shanghai International Circuit, I chose to have an early night. Later in the day I found out the results.
1st Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) , 2nd Sebastian Vettal (Ferrari) , and 3rd Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull)
By 9-30 am on Sunday morning (17 April) I was driving back over the International Bridge for a relaxing journey to my next event.
My first stop was Watertown , New York , where I dropped into one of my favorite fast food eateries, the Panera Bread Shop for a mid morning Mac and Cheese.
It was a beautiful warm and sunny day as I continued down I81 in the direction of Syracuse, where on route, I was joined by my friends Dawn Kamff and Dean Reynolds. Our destination was the opening night at the Utica-Rome Speedway at Vernon.
We were there in good time , and while Dawn and Dean took there seats in the grandstands, I wandered around the pits, and then took my place on the middle with my photographer buddies. Being opening night, and very few other tracks yet to start , there were plenty of them there. So many, I wont attempt to name them all.
While I was in the pits I had good chat with my friends Claude and Claude Jnr Hutchings # 84.
The sun was giving us photographers ‘birthday’ conditions , where we were able to get plenty of good shots right up until intermission, without the use of a ‘flash’. 
It was at this point I realized the ‘shoe attachment’ on my external flash was broken. I still had the cameras built in flash, but this would be no good for night-time action pics, so I became a ‘race fan’ for the rest of the night and watched from the stands.
There were two 25 lap Features for the headlining Modifieds which were won by Larry Wight and Matt Shepard respectively.
The small in-board flash was OK for close range stuff, so this didn’t stop me going down to get my usual Victory Lane shots.
Dawn came down to join the celebrations with her friend Troy Riegler.
Sportsman and Pro Stocks were also on the program , but with the long journey ahead, we chose to miss the feature for the latter, and get on the road.
It was the early hours of Monday morning when I got home, but , not to matter, I had all day to sleep.
In fact I had all week to relax , apart from the dentist follow up on Wednesday, before the weekend approached.
My buddy Don Simpson was heading down to the Fulton Speedway NY for a practice session with the Jessica Power Team on Saturday afternoon, and the evening races at the Canandaigua Speedway , NY, I could of done that, but instead, I went a different direction.
There was an event taking place at the Merrittville Speedway here in Ontario, for Sprint Cars , 358 Modified, Sportsman and Mod Lites, which was more appealing to me. By going there, I could book a Hotel and take it easy over the weekend, by the nearby Niagara Falls.
As things worked out, this plan never happened. After talking about my proposed trip with my Sprint Car racing buddy Lee Ladouceur , he suggested I travel down there with him. He tows his race car with a large Motor Home, and there was only one crew member (his cousin Denis) going with him. There was plenty of room for an ‘old guy with a camera’ .
I arranged to park my HHR outside Ron Morin’s garage beside the Cornwall Motor Speedway, and Lee picked me up from there at 9-30 am on Saturday morning.
I was seated in the back and I’m sure Lee and Denis could hear the zzzz’s by the time we hit the Toronto traffic.
The Merrittville Speedway is located , a short 20 minute drive from the world famous Niagara Falls, and we pulled into the track at about 3-45 pm.
As we drove into the pits , the first car we saw , was the Modified of one of our locals, Chris Raabe # 01. 
Also there , from my part of the world, was the # 47 Longueueil , Quebec driver Simon Perrault.
Once Lee’s car was unloaded , he and Denis , got to work , setting it up, while I wandered the pits with my photographer buddy Alex Bruce.
The hot laps began, and then the heat races got under way at 7-00pm.
There was plenty of carnage in the heat races with various stoppages and cautions.
Lee got caught up with a wayward car, that caused havoc on the back straight. He managed to escape major damage, but the main wing had became badly damaged. 
The car that caused it, ended up on it’s roof. Lee was still running, but with the wing badly bent, it meant a new one needed to be fitted for the Consolation . 
He went out in this and had convincing win.
Merrittville is a great place for photo-ops , with a safety wall that allows close up shots.
Up next with the feature races, which went to
Mike Bowman, (Modifieds)
Jason Barney (Sprint Cars)
Brad Rouse (Sportsman)
and Paul Klager (Mod Lites)
The racing was over by 10-30 pm and we were out of the gate by 11-00 pm.
From then on it was more sleeping for me in the back of the motor home. I was roused from my slumber as Lee pulled into the Flying J Truck Stop , where we would park up for the rest of the night.
When we all woke in the morning , a good breakfast was had at Dennys before continuing back to Cornwall.
I had a quiet week , with just a couple of appointments. The snow tires on my HHR were taken off and the summer ones replaced at Seaway GM on Monday, and I had to make a trip to Ottawa on Wednesday.
On Friday 29 April , I joined my photographer buddy, Don Simpson for a visit to the the Fulton Speedway, NY. for a Sportsman DirtCar Series event and the E.S.S Sprint Cars. It was a weekend event with the Big Block Modifieds having a Super Dirt Series race on Saturday.
We left about 10-00 am and took a slow drive down there, stopping for lunch at the Watertown Panera Bread, before arriving at about 3-30 pm.
It was drizzling at the time, and at about 5-00 pm it turned to heavier rain. I feared the worst, but it blew over quickly and thanks to the smart thinking of the management, of keeping the large packing trucks out on the track, it meant the show was saved. There were about 60 cars for the Sportsman DirtCar Series and it meant a a lot of pre race Tech.
Don and I were joined out on the middle by all our photographer friends, too many to mention. Us old camera guys sure have fun shooting the breeze, when we all get together.
Sportsman action
E.S.S Sprint Car Action
Before the nights features, the Modifieds, ( for Saturdays SDS show) took hot laps.
The first feature of the night was the 40 lap Sportsman race which turned out to be an exciting duel between Canadian, Brad Rouse and local favorite Jeremy Pitcher. Rouse came out tops and collected his second big win of my report.
With a three hour drive home, and racing plans in store for Saturday we decided to miss the E.S.S Feature and head for home.
In our absence , Steve Poirier took the checkers, making it a ‘double double’ for Canada that night.
Our plans for Saturday were to stay local, and to visit Autodrome Granby in Quebec for their practice day.
The reason for not staying down in Fulton for the Big Block , Super Dirt Series will be evident when you read my next report !
We arrived at Autodrome Granby around 2-00 pm and could not believe the amount of race cars present. 
The pits were full and the grandstands had a respectable amount of fans too.
I always enjoy my visits to the Quebec Dirt Tracks, I have a lot of good friends from there, and the people are so friendly .
I was pleased with my tally of pics and we had great day in the sunshine.
Once back home, the results from the Big Block SUPER DIRT SERIES at Fulton started to filter through on social media, and it wasn’t long before I found out that it was Billy Decker who took the honors.