The SUPER DIRTCAR SERIES Canadian Swing (Weekly BLOG 4th Aug 2023)

THE SUPER DIRTCAR CANADIAN SWING .

(Weekly BLOG 4th Aug 2023)

This weeks Blog was a bit rushed, with a full week of racing and little time to do much else.

It  all starts on Friday the 28th of July , with a trip to the Can Am Speedway at Lafargeville NY following a busy mid week schedule. 

Can Am had a regular show, with a Christmas in July theme.

I got to meet the Grinch.

When the racing began I shot my pictures on turn one.

The headline divisions were Modifieds and Sportsman.

The Modifieds were won by Jordan McCreadie

Gavin Eisele took the Sportsman feature.

The show was all over in good time for me to be home around mid-night.

Saturday gave me a bit of a break, as my intended destination of the Brockville Ontario Speedway, got rained out.

Sunday the 30th, was my local Cornwall Motor Speedway.

There was quite a lot of racing taking place , plus an ‘autograph night’  so things got under way a bit earlier.

There were Modifieds, Sportsman, Rookie Sportsman, Pro Stocks and Mini Stocks , so we had a lot to get through.

Marco McCarthy won the Rookie Sportsman feature which took place prior to the Autograph session and intermission.

After the break it was the Mini Stock Feature.

This was won by Brandon McMillan.

The main event of the night followed this,  the Modified feature.

Carey Terrance got the checkers in this one.

The final feature races of the night were for the Sportsman and Pro Stocks .

This gave William Racine another Sportsman victory.

The Victory Lane pictures were delayed until the end of the night, with the fear of rain in the forecast. That’s why Pro Stock winner Marc Lalonde is wearing shorts.

Racing was all over before 10-00 pm,  an early finish, which was just what I needed.

Monday was the beginning of a busy week.

The SUPER DIRTCAR SERIES was making it’s Canadian swing, that kicked off with two back to back races at Autodrome Drummond in Quebec, followed by the Brockville Ontario Speedway on Wednesday

Like most Quebec trips , I was joined by my close friend Chanty.

We set off just before mid day and arrived at the Hotel Blanchette by 2-30 pm.  It’s less than a mile from the track.

There had been a lot of rain over the past 24 hours but promoter Yan Bussiere had worked hard to get the place fit for racing.

Once inside the track, we wandered the pits, and checked out a few friends.

At the DIRTCAR trailer , we found  Dean Reynolds and Denis Moquin.

Chris Raabe had driven up to Drummond by himself , with his race car , and without a crew.

We helped out the best we could until we found a few others to help.

I then joined up with my other ‘tog’ buddies on the middle.

The place was packed, as expected. The Quebecers are some of the most fanatical race fans, you’ll find.

 

I did all my action shots from my usual spot in turn three and four.

All of the main SDS tour guys were there, with the addition of the locals.

As normal at Drummond , the build up to the big race had plenty of raz ma taz, with fireworks and loud music at  the driver intros.

It’s always a great atmosphere.

These were followed by a group photo of the competing drivers.

In the big race Francois Bernier driving the # 57 car, for St So Racing  made the early running with Erick Rudolph and Chris Raabe chasing him.

At the checkers, it was Rudolph in front of Rabbe with David Hebert crossing the line in third.

At the post race  weigh in, Chris was found to be a few pounds light, so got DQ’d  and Steve Bernier took his place on the podium.

So,  race one of the SDS Canadian swing had been decided.

The next day I was back at the track for the second installment.

On arrival, and during my pit walk about, I bumped into Hugh Primeau , one of the Cornwall Motor Speedway announcers.

It was his first ever visit to Autodrome Drummond , Here he is with Cornwall driver, Justin Lalancette who was driving the #  59 car that night.

I returned to my same spot on turn three and four.

Long time friend and official , Francis Potvin was parked behind me with the tracks pace truck.

Once again we had a big build up and fireworks before the big race.

This time Matt Sheppard took the early lead, until David Hebert began to pass him on the inside.

It happened right in front of me and I saw it all unfold.

Hebert was the faster of the two, and it appeared to me , that Sheppard dropped down to block him. There was a bit of touching during this maneuver, so Matt lost a bit of momentum,  which resulted in the quicker Hebert, gently tapping the rear end of his car. This was enough to make the Sheppard car spin out. Not an intentional thing, Dave is not that kind of driver. You just have to put it down to a ‘racing incident’.

As the race progressed Mike Mahaney got behind Hebert and a great battle took place between the two.

Mahaney got passed Hebert and stayed there until the checkers.

Erick Rudolph completed the podium.

Day two of the SDS Canadian swing was over.

Next stop was the following night at the Brockville Ontario Speedway .

After leaving the Hotel Blanchette , at 8-45 am on Wednesday morning , I was back at my place in Cornwall, at 11-30 am . 

It was nice to relax for a few hours before heading down Hwy 401 to the B.O.S.

I was there by 5-00pm.

After a short wander around the pits I settled down in my usual spot on turn one and two.

Support divisions for the SUPER DIRTCAR show, were Sportsman and Late Models.

358 Modified driver, Brian McDonald from Cornwall, was out, driving a Late Model. 

With only three divisions on the schedule,  the night went along quite quickly with no major delays.

The re-draw took place on the center and Chris Hile picked up the Pole. 

 

After the driver introductions the big race got under way with the traditional four-wide salute to the fans.

Not before we took another ‘tog’ shot as the cars started rolling

Tyler Lacelle, Don Simpson and me

It was now time for the green flag.

Tim Sears made the early running but was soon overhauled by Tim Fuller and Matt Sheppard. 

At the checkers it was Fuller from Sheppard with Mat Williamson in third.

It was a pleasant surprise to revert back to the ‘on track’ Victory Lane ceremonies. The regular George Tackerberry  winners circle is just too small to accommodate big events and the additional media.

I didn’t stay to the end of the night, where Adam Turner, won the Late Model feature and Bobby Herrington took the Sportsman one.

I was on my way home when their Victory Lane celebrations were taking place.

Next day, Thursday the 3rd of August , the Mohawk International Raceway, were staging a Big Block / Small Block Challenge.

The weather wasn’t looking good at all, so I left it to the last minute before leaving home.

The track is less than a mile from my house, and a 15 minute drive via the Canadian/USA border.

Racing got underway at the usual time , and the program of Modifieds , Sportsman and Pro-Stocks was hurried along , in anticipation of an expected storm.

All heat races, except the third and final Sportsman one, were in the books, when the rain began.

I quickly gathered my camera equipment together and sheltered in the tech garage, until the inevitable cancelation announcement was made.

I was back home before 9-00 pm and it was time for a rest after five shows in five days.

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