Wins for Lucas Fuller at the B.O.S and Kalen Draper at Cornwall (29th July 2026 BLOG
This BLOG begins on Saturday the 25th of July with a trip down the 401 to the Brockville Ontario Speedway.
The weather was looking good and I arrived just before the 7-00 pm start time .
The program consisted of the usual diet of Modifieds, Sportsman , Limited Sportsman, and Street Stocks , with the addition of the Action Sprint Car Tour.
Once I’d taken up my usual position on the middle , I bumped into Heather Verhoeve who I met for the first time at the Pabst Shoot Out at the Can Am Speedway a few weeks ago .
She does media work at her local Ohsweken Speedway and follows the Sprint Cars.
It was her first time visiting the B. O.S , and she’s fairly new to trackside photography . She’d asked management about safe shooting positions and was directed to talk to the likes of me. So I found my self doing a bit of mentoring . Like all newcomers to the game, a bit of guidance is needed.
Don Simpson took this candid shot of me helping her out.
As mentioned in my last BLOG, Daniel Mailhot my ‘Tog’ buddy , in Quebec was doing the same thing , mentoring newcomer, Anna-Eve Tasse at the Autodrome Drummond SDS show the previous week. ..
I think it’s fair to say , I’m one of the most senior dirt track photographers around the north east , and over the past 20 or so years , I’ve seen quite a few faces come and go.
In recent years at some of the tracks where I shoot , I’ve seen a lot of newby’s turn up, armed with all the fancy camera gear , thinking it’s so cool to stroll in and start shooting . They give themselves a fancy media name hoping to impresses and gain credential acceptance .
I’ve seen many wander out to the infield without a clue or regard to safety. In my opinion, when a new photographer is accepted by a promotion , they should be directed to one of the senior guys for assessment and guidance .
That’s how it went with Heather, and it worked well , She was a perfect candidate and I was happy to help her out and give her my advice . She was a good listener , and I’m sure she will get on fine.
This kind of protocol would be a good to implement at all tracks for anyone who’s not a bonafide and regular photographer .
The feature race order for the night began with the Street Stocks.
This was won by Bruno Boivin
The Sprint Car feature that had nearly 30 cars, was up next .
I thought to myself , oh boy that’s asking for trouble !
Sure enough there were a lot of cautions . It was quite painful to watch, and would of preferred undergoing a ‘root canal’ LOL , but eventually we got a winner when B.O.S regular , Josh Verne JR took the checkers .
The Modified feature was up next , and what a comparison . It was a nice quick race , plenty of dueling and over without any delays.
Early leader was Shane Stearns , as Lucas Fuller began gaining as he used the top. As Fuller pulled level, the they dueled for a few laps , before the pass was made .
Fuller took the checkers , it wasn’t his first win at the B.O.S , but the first one that I have witnessed .
The Sportsman feature followed , and was another quickly run race. It was won by Shane Pecore .
At this point I made my exit , choosing to get on my way , while the Novice Sportsman feature was taking place.
In my absence Landon Ryan was the winner.
The next day , Sunday the 26th of July, it was my local Cornwall Motor Speedway .
It was a regular show with the addition of an ‘Autograph Night’ during intermission. That always means at least an hour added to the show but the kids love it .
Luckily the heat races were in the books early.
With the preliminary races over, the cars and drivers entered the track for the Autograph session. Once safely parked , the fans were allowed to come down and get up and close to their favorite drivers.
After nearly an hour was taken for the autographs , the front stretch was cleared and track prep began.
First of the feature races was for the Pro Stocks and they were led off by Hugh Primeau in his Chev Camaro
There weren’t too many cautions, and they settled down to a good race
Fresh from his Friday night victory at the Mohawk International Raceway, Sid Harmer Jr made it a double win weekend .
The Modified feature then followed
Kalen Draper dominated this one . He was soon at the front and seemed to be uncatchable .
Next up, it was the Sportsman feature .
I must admit , I was expecting it to be a Tristan Ladouceur win, but once again it was Jacob Nadeau getting a Cornwall victory .
He’s won a few times this year and seems to have mastered the track quite well. .
The final race of the night was for the Mini Stock feature .
There were a lot of wrecks in this one , and the eventual winner was Carl Gorry
Even with the Autographs and track prep , the show was all over by around 10-30 , so things all worked out well.
The Cornwall Motor Speedway chose this week to make a big announcement .
The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Tour would be making a return in 2027.
FLASHBACK to 2012 .
The last time they appeared at the track was on the 29th of July 2012, when Donny Schatz got his second consecutive win.
The legendary Steve Kinser was second .
Craig Dollansky completed the podium in 3rd.
Monday the 27th of July I had a rest day as I awaited news from Quebec.
On Tuesday the 28th and Wednesday the 29th , a couple of back to back Short Track Super Series races were on my agenda.
The weather forecast was for rain on both days , so it was no surprise to hear that both races, Autodrome Granby and Le R.P.M Speedway had been cancelled .
They have been postponed to the 7th/8th September.
Monday the 28th of July was also a memorable day for me.
It was the 30 year anniversary of my first ever visit to the Cornwall Motor Speedway .
I emigrated to Combermere, Ontario , Canada in the fall of 1994 , after a lifetime of following auto racing in my native England.
I arrived in Canada on the Labor Day weekend of 1994 and before the year was out, I’d seen dirt racing at the now defunct Golden Lake Speedway.
In early 1995 I was at the Capital City Speedway in Ottawa for their season opener, and in the summer , I made my first visits to the Brockville Ontario Speedway and the Can Am Speedway NY .
My job at that time involved a shift system where I had to work every other weekend , so my racing opps were limited.
In 1996 I relocated to Maxville , Ontario , thats close to Cornwall, and as soon as the race season opened , I attended the Frogtown Speedway NY (now known as The Mohawk International Raceway) and Autodrome Granby in Quebec.
My work shifts still made it difficult to attend the Sunday night races at my local Cornwall Motor Speedway, but that all changed on the 28th of July of that year .
I can’t remember too much about that first night, but my racing historian buddy Marc Roy, did some research. He sent me the results and a picture.
The Modified winner that night was ‘Pistol’ Pete Bissonnette #7 , pictured beside # 9 Roger Lalonde.
I was back again at Cornwall on the 11th of August , and this one I do remember. It was won by the legendary # 00 Buzzie Reutimann from Zephre Hills in Florida .
Once settled in Maxville, I managed to get there more often, and soon got to know Ron Morin who was the Promoter at that time.
In 2004 Ron asked me to become the official track photographer , and I’ve been there ever since.
So Sundays at the Cornwall Motor Speedway have become my home for the past 30 years.