ANOTHER NEW FACE IN THE SUPER DIRTCAR SERIES VICTORY LANE (24th April 2025 BLOG)
This weeks BLOG starts on Thursday the 17th of April with a trip in to Ottawa.
The main reason for my trip was to watch the final game of the regular season for the Ottawa Senators.
The Sen’s are ‘my team’ but like most people, I have a second favorite, and they are the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes were in town.
It was an exciting game with the ‘Sens’ winning 7 to 5.
The hockey game wasn’t the only reason I was in the city, as I had a diecast to pick up. I spotted a quality Corgi, of an ERF in the Ken Thomas livery that was up for sale on ‘Market Place’ .
I remember that haulage company from my days of trucking in England .
My racing agenda for Easter Weekend included two show’s in New York.
On Good Friday the Albany-Saratoga Speedway , in Malta was having their season opener , and staging the SUPER DIRTCAR SERIES. Then on Sunday the Airborne Park Speedway in Plattsburgh were putting on their second show of the year.
I travelled down to these races with my ‘tog’ buddy Don Simpson. He picked me up at 9-00 am on Friday morning in his Chevy Cruz, and by 1-30 pm we were checking into the Roosevelt Inn , beside the Malta exit of the I87. It’s about five minutes from the track.
The season opener is renowned for being well supported by fans and drivers, so when adding the SDS factor, it made sense to arrive early to make sure we got a good parking spot.
There was a good possibility of rain, and while waiting for the start, we got a bit worried as a batch of dark clouds passed by.
All went well and for the hot laps I stationed myself in my usual spot on the outside of turn four.
There was a great turn out of over 50 Modifieds, plus the Sportsman and Pro Stock support divisions.
I then moved to the middle to resume my picture taking.
Once the heat races were done, it was time for the intermission and the re-draw.
LJ Lombardo drew pole .
After the last chance qualifiers the Sportsman Feature was up first.
The winner was Chris Jakubiak #49. I was unable to get a Victory Lane shot , as the presentations were done ‘off track’.
The big event of the night followed. The 60 lap SUPER DIRTCAR RACE
Lombardo took advantage of his front row spot and shot straight into the lead with Alex Yankowski in the # 66 hot on his tail.
Yankowski stayed with him and as the laps wound down that’s how it stayed.
Tim Sears joined Lombardo and Yankowski to Complete the podium .
This was the sixth consecutive different winner in this years SUPER DIRTCAR SERIES
The final race of the night was the Pro Stock feature.
After getting the Victory Lane shots of Beau Ballard. Don and I headed back to the Roosevelt Inn.
I’m glad we had chosen not to stay in the area for Saturday , as the two nearby events taking place at Fonda and Lebanon had to be canceled due to rain.
We had already decided on attending the Airborne Park Speedway at Plattsburgh, which we consider ‘local’ and on our way home. The weather forecast wasn’t perfect but a lot better than the Albany area. They’d already had a bit of rain when we arrived, but it had ended and the pits were full.
The program was minus the Modifieds , but the DirtCar Sportsman and Dirtcar Pro Stocks were on the program . They were joined by the New England Sprint Cars, 500 Sprints and the domestic Renegade and Mini Stock divisions.
Of Course , my main interest was centered on the two DirtCar classes. Due to the earlier rain, the track required quite a bit of packing and the show didn’t get under way until after the scheduled start time. I shot pictures from my regular spot on turn one and two.
The first feature was for the 5oo Sprints.
The winner was Chris Pierce.
The next Feature was for the Sportsman.
Early leader was Travis Bruno who was chased by Bucko Branham, Fire Swamp and Corey Castell. Meanwhile Donovan Lussier who had to qualify via the Consi, was working his way through from the back.
Lap by lap he was getting nearer to the front .
As the laps wound down he was soon battling with Bruno for the lead.
Once he got passed , Swamp and Castel followed. By the time the checkers came down, Lussier had built up a good lead to get the win..
Then it was the Mini Stock Feature
This was won by Ryan Senecal
Next up was the feature for the New England Sprint Cars .
A car fell over on the first lap , then following the restart Jordan Poirier made easy work to take the win.
The DIRTCAR Pro-Stocks were up next.
Denis Gauvreau started on the front and after a number of restarts and challenges, he stayed there until the end.
By now it was after 10-00pm , and things were running later than expected, so we passed on the Renegade feature and made our exit.
We were back across the Canadian border at mid night.
It was now Easter Sunday, and as I’ve mentioned many times before , its difficult to find any racing this side of the pond on that particular day (It’s a different matter for race fans in Europe)
It turned out to be a nice and sunny day , so I took the Thunder Bird out for a spin.
In the evening I settled down behind my TV for the ‘Battle of Ontario’ in the first round of Stanley Cup Playoffs. It was game one for ‘my Sens’ against the Leafs.
The first and second games were scheduled in Toronto . The ‘Sens’ didn’t play well on that Sunday night or the following Tuesday, so recorded back to back losses.
The next two games were scheduled for Ottawa on Thursday 24th and Sat 26th.
On Wednesday the 23rd , Don and I were invited by the Roy Family to do a photo shoot at their King Motor Sports Race Shop in Longueuil (Montreal) .
We arrived at 1-00 am and spent a couple of hours chatting and taking pics.
We met race drivers Felix and Jeremy Roy, their father Martin, and both grandfathers Normand Roy and Jean-Claude Fortin.
I first started taking pics of Martin and his successful racing career when he was in dirt and pavement modifieds.
He later switched to the full fendered pavement cars of the NASCAR Canadian Tire and ARCA Series .
With sons growing up quickly, he took a back seat to encourage , Jeremey (the oldest) and Felix (the youngest) in their racing careers.
Also present at the photo shoot were crew members Steve Morin and Eric Laperle .
Eric is the twin brother of Patrick Laperle , a highly rated pavement racer on the ACT Late Model circuits.
We took plenty of pictures before saying farewell.
It was a very enjoyable afternoon and many thanks to them for the hospitality.
On Thursday night I went through the agony again of watching the ‘Sens’ get beaten by the Leafs. It’s the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and we are now down 3-0 .
Next game on Saturday night . It will be a miracle if they can turn things around. The Leafs are playing so good..