Yankowski Wins the 2026 Summer Fast Series
The last BLOG ended at 2-00 am on Tuesday the 18th of August , following five consecutive nights of racing.
I’d just returned home from the Brewerton Speedway NY, where I was attending the second night of the DIRTCAR ‘Summer Fast’ for the SUPER DIRTCAR SERIES Big Block Modifieds.
That was the fifth consecutive night of racing for me , and I had another six nights ahead on my agenda.
I had to visit the dentist in Cornwall on Tuesday, so I missed out on day three of Summer Fast at the Land of Legends Raceway , Canandaigua NY.
I also had other things to attend to at home , but I had intentions of heading back down to the Thursday show at the Utica-Rome Speedway NY.
Seeing as I was at home in Cornwall on Tuesday night , I decided to drive across town to Cornwall Motor Speedway where it’s the weekly Karting night on the small track.
I like to get along there once in a while, when the time is right.
While I was at the Cornwall Karts, Alex Payne got the win at the Land of Legends Summer Fast show.
Wednesday the 19th of August
Around lunch time I left home and was heading south once again for the final night of Summer Fest at the Utica-Rome Speedway at Vernon, NY
I got there at around 4-30 pm so had plenty of time to socialize and listen to the Pre Race drivers meeting.
Joining the Big Block Modifieds on this occasion, were the DirtCAR Sportsman contesting a Sportsman Series round.
A few of my locals were there with their Sportsman, including Tristan Ladouceur and Jessica Power
The Sportsman were first on track for the heat races
They were followed by the Big Block Mods
Once all the Last Chance Qualifiers were out of the way , it was the Big Block main event .
In comparison to the first two nights of Summer Fast that I’d witnessed , this was a pretty mediocre kind of race, where once Stewart Friesen got passed Williamson, no one was going to catch him.
Darren Smith looked good up front in the early stages but he succumbed to the might of Friesen and Williamson.
As the checkers came out , it was Stewart Friesen to take his second victory in the Summer Fast Series .
The top three were , 1st Stewart Friesen , 2nd Mat Williamson, and 3rd Darren Smith
This being the last race of the four day Summer Fast , Alex Yankowski was declared this years series champion.
Once the presentations were over , I skipped the Sportsman feature , in preference to getting home a bit earlier.
In my absence , Tony Finch II , who I’d seen get the Sportsman victory at Brewerton, got another win.
I got back home in Cornwall about 1-45 am.
Thursday 20th August .
After a good lay in , I was out of bed by mid morning , and getting my gear ready for the next little sortie.
At about 3-15pm my Tog Buddy , Don Simpson picked me up for the leisurely drive to the Airborne Park Speedway at Plattsburgh. NY .
It was a regular show, of Modifieds, Sportsman, Limited Sportsman , Renegades and Mini Stocks .
The first of the features was for the 358 Modifieds.
Early leader was Preston Forbes who was passed by the fast moving Dany Gagne , who was using the top .
Track champion Mike Mahaney who started from the rear, had worked his way up to challenge , but Gagne managed to hold him off to get the win
The night had been running along quite smoothly with no delays, so we stayed around for the Mini Stock and Sportsman Features
The Mini Stock Feature was won by Speedy Bresette
The Sportsman feature then followed.
The surprise winner of this one was veteran Vermont racer Vince Quenville Jr
That was it , we left before the Limited Sportsman and Renegades and were back in Canada by 11-00 pm.
Friday 21st of August
Friday was a good day to recover from my marathon run of races .
The evening races at the Mohawk International Raceway were just a 15 minute drive from home , so had plenty of time to relax around home before heading there at 4-00pm.
It was regular night of racing for Modifieds , Sportsman , Limited Sportsman, Pro Stocks , and Mini Stocks . It was also a night for the Battle of the Border Series.
The Can Am Speedway at Lafargeville NY , that also run on Fridays , were taking a night off, so there were a good number of non regulars appearing..
The heat races all moved along quickly, and after the break the Battle of the Border features began
The ProStocks were the first to run their feature and it was Sid Harmer Jr who worked his way through the pack to take the checkers .
The Modified feature then followed.
One of the main talking points of the night, was Tristan Ladouceur behind the wheel of the Carey Terrance 66x .
Carey was taking the night off , so his car was put to good use in the hands of the current Sportsman hot shot .
Early leader was Louie Jackson Jr , but Can Am invader Billy Dunn managed to catch and pass him.
Billy of course , was a regular winner at the M.I.R, a few years back, driving Laurent Ladouceur’s car , but these days he prefers to race at Can Am which is nearer to his Watertown NY home .
Lance Willix , another Can Am visitor worked his way up to take the second place behind Dunn .
The Mini Stocks feature was up next and Felix Lavictoire got a win on the second consecutive week.
Tristan Ladouceur was back in the seat of his regular ride for the Sportsman feature
Even with a ‘bounty’ on him, he managed to make it his ninth feature in a row at the M.I.R . The Moore brothers, Brennan and Dylan followed him over the line to get second and third .
The final race of the night was the Limited Sportsman feature .
Young Stephen Bushey got his second M.I.R feature win of the year.
Saturday 22nd August
My Saturday visit to the Brockville Ontario Speedway would bring my continuous stretch of racing to ten events in ten days .
The amount of racing was taking it’s toll, so left it until 5-00pm before leaving home and arrived at the B.O.S just as the Hot Laps were starting.
I went straight to the out side of turn four and started shooting
It was the final round of the B.O.S domestic Ogilvee Series, and the program consisted of Modifieds, Sportsman, Novice Sportsman , Sprint Cars and Mini Stocks
Once the hot laps were done I crossed to the middle for the heats.
Tristan Ladouceur was making the news again , by gaining another Modified ride in the Pierre Dagenais owned # 124 car
It was good to see Dave Watchorn , back out with his old ‘war horse’ in the Mini Stock division. I must have been taking that old car of his for about 20 years.
The first of the features was for the Novice Sportsman
This was won by Rylan Banks .
The Modified feature was up next
Cedric Gauvreau took the early lead and looked set for a win, until Chris Raabe started ‘reeling them in’ and made the pass .
Thats how they stayed to the checkers , with Dany Gagne taking third.
Chris got the win aswell as clinching the Ogilvie Series .
As mentioned earlier the, B.O.S was my 10th race in ten days , so I needed an early night. I made my exit and headed home .
In my absence , Dylan Kirkland got his second consecutive Sportsman win , with Shane Pecore taking the Ogilvee Series .
Josh Verne got the Sprint Car Win and Carl Gorry won in the Mini Stocks 1m
Sunday 23rd August
If things had gone to plan this would have been my eleventh day of racing in a row , but it wasn’t to be.
Another wet Sunday in my area meant a 7th rain out of the year at my local Cornwall Motor Speedway