NASCAR TRUCKS: Fitzpatrick easily in the field for Martinsville Race

Following a great qualifying run, JR Fitzpatrick will start on Row 10 in this afternoon's NASCAR Truck Series race at Martinsville. It's the first time the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series racer attempted to qualify for an NCTS race.

NASCAR: JR Fitzpatrick at Martinsville

It's rained all day at Martinsville today (Friday). The plan as of now is to have the Trucks take 30 minutes of practice starting at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, followed by time trials in the early afternoon. The race is slated to start at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. If qualifying is rained out, JR is in the race (by owner points, starting 33rd). If qualifying takes place, Fitzpatrick must beat at least three other trucks to make the field. JR has been posting updates on his Facebook page. Watch here for further updates.

 

Info from Jason Sharpe / Photos courtesy of Diane Dale

NASCAR SPRINT CUP: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Press Conference Transcript

From Martinsville Speedway…. By Chevy

DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD IMPALA SS, met with members of the media at Martinsville Speedway and discussed the economy, racing at Martinsville, crew chief importance at Martinsville and other topics.  Full transcript:

DO YOU THINK THE WEATHER WILL HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE RACE? “I don’t think it will affect the racing too much. I have been lookin’ forward to comin’ here. I like racin’ at Martinsville. I like short track racing. We have run pretty good here. It is probably a wash today, but hopefully we will get a little practice in so everybody will get a good idea on how to get going on Sunday.”

HOW DOES A CREW CHIEF DICTATE THE SUCCESS YOU HAVE HERE AT MARTINSVILLE? “A crew chief has a pretty good amount of influence on giving you an opportunity to win here more so than at other tracks. Because, sometimes at Martinsville, we have seen it quite a few times where guys are doing different things on tires on the last stop to win.  I think Bobby Labonte did it a couple years back and Denny (Hamlin) did it. It is tough to know what call to make but, seems like especially with this car, a two-tire stop at the end might be more common than with the older car. Seemed like the older car used left-side tires a lot more and this car just wears the rights out. I think you will see it even more now. It is definitely a factor all throughout the race to give yourself track position. It is much like Bristol, if you qualify poorly, you can pit early on the first couple of cautions and then stay out on that 60 or 70 lap caution to get that track position and try to maintain it the rest of the day.

“It is difficult for a driver to keep track of who is doing what other than what you can visually see around you. You can’t really see from five or six cars on back the other guys are doing. But you can definitely tell who has beat you off of pit road and how. Hopefully, the crew chiefs really take that in to consideration and are watching how those guys are affected by taking two and whatnot.”

SHOULD THERE BE TWO RACES HERE AT MARTINSVILLE? “A couple years back, they really latched on to something unique when they ground the bottom groove and you had a second groove that was actually more preferable. There was a lot of side-by-side racing from front to back and even the ability to pass on the second groove, make passes.  They currently don’t have that now, once they fixed the surface. It is back to really just getting around the bottom the best you can. So this track lacks some of the characteristics that keeps it from becoming a Bristol or a Richmond, but even with that said, it is still fun to race here. It is a short track and I think it would really be unfortunate for the sport to remove another short track date from the series, because we haven’t added short track races in a long time. We haven’t seen a new facility built yet we still see some of the most exciting racing of the year at Richmond and you don’t have a problem ever selling out Bristol. Where you do at probably 80% of the other track on the circuit.  I think that somebody really needs to kind of wake up a little bit and see what is going on there. Get some more short tracks back on this series.

“There is something about this place, it has a lot of history, but so did Darlington and it didn’t stand the test of time as far as two date. There will be a day where I think this probably will lose a date but it is unfortunate.”

ARE YOU OK THAT NASCAR SAYS THERE AREN’T GOING TO BE ANY CHANGES TO THE CAR NEXT YEAR? “The car is definitely still a work in progress. I think me and Greg (Biffle) both agree that the car isn’t a finished product. Whenever they decide to move forward and evolve and let that car change and become a better race car, we will be ready to do that. But until then, we really don’t have a choice in the matter.”

SHOULD THERE A BETTER WAY TO QUALIFYING THAT IS FAIRER, ESPECIALLY DURING THE CHASE? “I think it is just fine how it is. You can’t do anything about the weather. The current system seems to work perfectly.”

DO YOU SEE SHORT TRACK RACING MIGHT BE THE SAVING GRACE OF THE SPORT AS THE ECONOMY CONTINUES TO DECLINE? “The economy is in a dire situation. It is pretty severe and there is a good chance it is going to continue to get worse, I don’t see how it can not affect every corner and every piece of the puzzle. Everyone who drags a race car to the track knows you don’t do it to make money and you do it if you are lucky, you break even doing it. It is a severe issue for all of us as drivers, owners, every person walking in the garage needs to have a greater understanding of what their position is and a plan of action, I guess should we see the situation get even worse, which I think it possibly could.  It doesn’t look like there is any relief any time soon. It is difficult to say that the short tracks affected any less or any differently than any other part of the sport.”

Karter Nathan Blok succeeds in open wheel test at ICAR

MONTREAL - On Sunday, Nathan Blok had a successful test at the International Club Academy Racing (ICAR), an ultramodern complex for motorsports located at the site of Mirabel Airport.

The test was held on the same day that the International Club Academy Racing (ICAR), along with its partner Formules Hitech unveiled to the North American market the new Signatech formula car. The new Signatech formula car was developed by the French society Signature in collaboration with Auto Sport Academy Europe and the Federation Francaise du Sport Automobile.

 
As part of the test, Blok who is only 14 (the youngest of seven drivers who took part in the test) first drove a Ford Mustang GT in the morning and qualified for an afternoon session to drive the new Signatech formula car.

 
With advice from Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame inductee Richard Spenard, Blok adapted well and consistently improved his lap times over the 10 laps completed earning an invitation for the 2009 European Auto Sport Academy open wheel program. The series includes races in Le Mans, Spa-Francorchamps and Magny-Cours.

Blok will now attempt to secure sponsors for the 94,500 euros ($150,000 Canadian dollars) required to take part in the series.

 
In the event that the large amount of funding cannot be secured in time, Blok will choose to follow Richard Spenard’s advice and acquire more seat time in open wheel cars.

 
In preparation for Sunday’s test, the Calabogie Motorsports Park made track time available during which driving instructor Paul Swinwood coached him through his first time in a car on loan from Matt Fraser of Westend Trailer Sales as Blok being only 14 is not yet eligible for a driver’s license.

From Steve Blok

 
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Can Am Sprint Challenge headed to Brockville

By Dean Reynolds

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – A little bit of sprint car history will be taken place just north of the border this Saturday in the beautiful town of Brockville, Ontario.  It’s billed as the first ever Can-Am Challenge pitting the best sprint car drivers from two nations on the fast quarter-mile known as the Brockville Ontario Speedway.

Sanctioned by the Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints (ESS), the Southern Ontario Sprints (SOS) along with an invite to all ASCS Patriot Region competitors, the 25 lap, $2,000 to win event will bring down the 360 sprint season.  The unique event is a first joint venture between ESS and SOS and also a first for Paul Kirkland’s oval.

The afternoon starting time will provide an unique twist with track conditions but come the 18th, now two-time ESS champion Steve Poirier has to be considered the favorite.  The Quebec driver won two of the three events held at the “BOS”; he captured the lone SOS visit in May and split the ESS appearances with Justin Barger.

Many of the top Canadian drivers will be in the field such as Alain Bergeron, Michael Parent, Brian McDonald, Lee Ladouceur, the entire Wilson family, Normand Beaudreault, Chris Jones and more

Coming across the St. Lawrence Seaway expecting to take up the challenge will be Jeff Cook, Barger, Doug Emery, Anthony Cain, Jason Barney along with several surprises.  It will be Border Wars I.

An open draw format will be used for heats so any driver regardless of where they race have a shot at the pole for the heats and then the feature with a re-draw.  A special $300 purse dash sponsored by Rust Check will also be run for the fans.

The Can-Am Challenge at Brockville, the best from the United States and the best from Canada.  This Saturday at 2PM sprints fans from all over will see some of the best 360 sprint car drivers from two Nations and it will be excitement guaranteed!!  Brockville Ontario Speedway's Sportsman, Street Stock and Rookie classes will also be in action on Sunday afternoon with many outside invaders expected in all classes hoping to get one more race under their belt before the snow starts flying.

PHOTO GALLERY: Peterborough Autumn Colours Classic #1

This is an extensive photo gallery from Peterborough Speedway's Autumn Colours Classic on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008. Thanks to Dave Franks for the photos. I will create another gallery with Dave's other shots from the event. You can see Dave's website here.

F1: French surrender their GP for 2009. Organizers pull the plug on money losing event

I'm sure Bernie Ecclestone will have no problem peddling this race in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE or another place that is apparently the future of Formula 1.

Yesterday, the organizers of the French Grand Prix decided they don't want the race in 2009 because it won't make money. The full story is here.

Below is the 2009 schedule as recently announced. The demise of the French race leaves a significant hole (June 21 to July 12) in the series' new 17-race calendar.

France has been on the F1 schedule for every year but one since 1950.

2009 Formula One calendar:

Australia 29 March
Malaysia 5 April
Bahrain 19 April
Spain 10 May
Monaco 24 May
Turkey 7 June
Great Britain 21 June
** France 28 June ** Cancelled

Germany 12 July
Hungary 26 July
Europe (Valencia) 23 August
Belgium 30 August
Italy 13 September
Singapore 27 September
Japan 11 October
China 18 October
Brazil 1 November
Abu Dhabi 15 November

Martinsville Speedway Names Todd Palin Honorary Race Official For TUMS QuikPak 500

MARTINSVILLE, VA (October 15, 2008) – Martinsville Speedway today named Todd Palin, husband of Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, an honorary race official for the TUMS QuikPak 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Sunday afternoon.

As an honorary race official, Palin will be introduced in the drivers meeting early in the day, visit with drivers and other race officials in the pits and appear in prerace activities.

       
While new to stock car racing, Palin is a world champion snow machine racer who is a lifelong Alaskan. He is a commercial fisherman, a production operator on Alaska’s North Slope, and a member of the United Steelworkers Union.

He and Governor Palin, who have five children, recently celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary.

The TUMS QuikPak 500 is set to take the green flag at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.

From Mike Smith / Martinsville Speedway

Haldex Trailer Roll Stability Adds Diagnostics and Communication Tools

We can't garantee you won't roll your racecar, but the Haldex TRS system will help avoid rolling your tow rig.

Guelph, ON (September, 2008) – The Haldex Trailer Roll Stability (TRS) System helps control speed at the trailer by constantly monitoring the trailer’s movements. FleetPlus is a PC based program used as an Operations Management tool that allows the fleet to compile and evaluate braking information that can be used to reduce maintenance cost and promote safety with drivers.

FleetPlus records all trailer brake actuations including ABS and roll stability events. The program allows the fleet to read the EC inputs and display the data in histograms, graphs and other formats.
The data report includes: number of brake applications, peak brake demand pressure, duration of brake applications, speed at starts of brake application, reservoir pressure change, load change ‘profile’, number of ABS events and a complete vehicle profile for the last 32 rollover events avoided. This information is displayed in easy to read histograms and can be saved to external files.

For more information contact your local distributor or call 1-800-267-9247 for Customer Service.

About Haldex

Haldex Commercial Vehicle Systems (www.haldex.com) is a leading manufacturer and distributor of heavy-duty air brake and suspension control system components. It operates globally with headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri; manufacturing and engineering facilities in the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, Brazil and India; and sales organizations for main geographic markets headquartered in Kansas City, Weyersheim, France, Sao Paulo, Brazil and Seoul, Korea.Haldex Commercial Vehicle Systems is a part of Haldex Group, an innovator in vehicle technology and supplier of proprietary products for trucks, cars and industrial vehicles on a global basis. Haldex Group is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange and has annual sales of $950 million with 4,606 employees.

Erik Tomas' Raceline Radio Network Newsletter... Oct. 15, 2008

From Erik Tomas, Raceline Radio (www.raceline.ca)

Wow.

Last time I spoke with Helio Castroneves, he had just had his IRL win at Belle Isles Detroit taken away and handed to Justin Wilson because Helio was charged with blocking.

The likeable Brazilian, with a bright and enthusiastic personality, has been charged again… with something a LOT more serious.

And if he’s found guilty, he could serve jail time. He might even be deported!

Castroneves has been charged with 6 counts of tax evasion on 5.5 million dollars in income the Internal Revenue Service claims went unreported between 1999 and 2004.

Helio was led into a Miami Florida court room crying. They had him in handcuffs and leg chains. Seems a little severe considering that’s the same way murderers are fettered, and Helio is not a flight risk.

He entered a plea of not guilty to these very serious allegations. How serious? Bail was set at 10 million dollars, 10 million! It was posted and Castroneves was released after he surrendered his passport and was ordered not to leave the United States.

He told reporters he will “win this race too!”. He then left for Road Atlanta where he and his Penske IRL team mate Ryan Briscoe won the LMP-2 division in the 10 hour endurance race, so this tax mess obviously didn’t mount a huge distraction.

For now.

Helio’s sister Katiucia, his business manager has also been cited in the indictment, as has his lawyer/agent Alan R. Miller. They did not enter pleas and were released on bail.

The Miller angle presents a potential opener of a huge can of worms, as the attorney also represents other drivers including NASCAR Sprint Cup star and 2-time defending champ Jimmie Johnson. J.J says he’s shocked at the charges, saying Miller’s been his lawyer since he was 15 years old, and will sit tight to see how it all plays out.

You have to think “IF” Miller’s in trouble in connection with Castroneves, might his other clients be under IRS scrutiny? It’s logical thought, but not every client employs the same services. I know of one Canadian driver who has Miller do some of his contract work, but nothing to do with his tax prep.

Miller says he’s done nothing wrong.

The tax evasion case is just the tip of the iceberg for Castroneves, even thought it’s an iceberg big enough to sink a dozen Titanic’s!

He can’t leave the States since his passport’s been seized. That means he can’t race for Team Penske at the non-points IRL show in Australia later this month, unless he’s given special consideration.

It will mean Penske will likely have to find a replacement. Roger could look to swing Sam Hornish from his NASCAR arm back to the IRL for now, but a better choice would be our own Paul Tracy. He’s a former Penske pilot and he’s won Oz before.

That may be a permanent adjustment, since Castroneves’ future with Penske is certainly in question, even though the team officially has taken an “innocent until proven guilty” stance. It’s a known fact Roger Penske likes a squeaky-clean image for his charges.

I wondered about this “innocent until proven guilty” stuff. My Dad worked for Revenue Canada for 25 years. He did farm audits. He would often remind us that in tax evasion cases, unlike most legal cases, the government is right until proven wrong. In other words when you are charged, you are guilty until YOU prove the government’s wrong.

Helio catches a break here because the U.S Constitution guarantees a man is innocent until proven guilty, but most lawyers will tell you once The IRS brings charges, it’s pretty much a done deal.

It means Helio Castroneves, who was on top of the world when he won those back-to-back Indy 500’s and that “Dancing with the Stars” thing on TV, is in for the fight of his life to not only stay out of jail, but to remain in the United States to continue his IndyCar career.

I like Helio a great deal. He’s a great guy, and a wonderful personality.

I only hope he’s innocent of these charges, and perhaps was the victim of bad advice.

But the IRS won’t care if you got bad advice. All they know is millions of dollars were made and they charge there are millions of dollars in tax still owing on the income.

If found guilty, Castroneves will have to pay the tax plus interest, pay a huge fine, and very possibly, serve jail time.

No, you’re right…..it doesn’t look good.

And it might not stop with Castroneves.

Wow.

Next week, the FIA power play that threatens to cancel the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix, after the story has a week to simmer.

ET

NASCAR TRUCKS: Martinsville marks Truck Series debut for TRG development driver Ben Stancill (plus JR Fitzpatrick mention)

Mooresville, N.C. (October 15, 2008) -   TRG Motorsports development driver Ben Stancill will add another chapter to his developing career when he makes his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut on Saturday at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.  The 19 year-old driver will be making his first career NCTS start in the No. 71 Zero Seconds / “Get Well Grace” Chevrolet, after two previous and successful starts for TRG Motorsports in the ARCA RE/MAX Series which resulted in seventh and 12th place finishes.

The Ayden, North Carolina native will be competing in one of three Chevrolet’s fielded by TRG Motorsports at the 0.526-mile oval.  Stancill and his teammates - T.J. Bell and J.R. Fitzpatrick - will negotiate the tight half-mile Virginia short-track in a rare three truck effort by TRG.   TRG Motorsports’ Team Principal, Kevin Buckler, commented on bringing Stancill up through the ranks.  “We are truly excited to be a part of Ben’s ascension through the NASCAR ranks,” said Buckler.  “This boy has talent.  This will be his first Truck Series race and we will be working hard to give him a great truck, great team and a strong finish.  This is all part of the bigger picture though, we are trying to prepare him for a full season next year so we need to be a little careful but then again - this is Martinsville and it's going to be a real street fight.  This is going to be good and we have a ton of confidence in his abilities.” 

While Stancill is new to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and Martinsville Speedway, he is very excited about the track because it fits his style of racing.   “I am excited about competing with TRG in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and I think Martinsville is one of the most exciting races on the circuit,” he explained.  “The racing that goes on at Martinsville fits comfortably with my short track experience and is a great place to catch up with many of my fans.   I have a strong fan base in the Virginia area and every time we visit these tracks we see many of the same faces.   It has a great stock car racing heritage, and I owe a lot of gratitude to these fans.   I am sure we will put on a great show.”

This race will also give Stancill the opportunity to send several messages.  The hood of his No. 71 Chevrolet will feature the Zero Seconds campaign and the rear quarter panels will be a tribute to Stancill’s childhood friend Grace who is living with Guillain-Barré Syndrome.  Grace was a classmate of his from kindergarten through high school.   While attending Mt. Olive College in North Carolina, Grace was stricken with this rare disorder which affects the body's immune system, attacking part of the peripheral nervous system.   While there is no known cure for the disease, therapy can lessen the severity of the illness and accelerate the recovery in most patients.   Stancill’s wish is that his simple 700 horse power “Greeting Card on Wheels” can assist in motivating a speedy recovery for Grace.

Stancill will roll out his “Greeting Card on Wheels” when the Series hits Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, October 18th for the Kroger 200.  Live television coverage will be provided by the SPEED Channel at 2:30 p.m. ET with radio coverage coming to you live courtesy of MRN Radio.

From Jamie Maynard / TRG

Tire shopping made easy for Canada’s Nissan and Infiniti owners

LANGLEY, B.C. (October 15, 2008) – Replacing their original equipment tires just got easier for the owners of Nissan and Infiniti cars and SUVs thanks to an agreement between Nissan Canada Inc. and Yokohama Tires (Canada) Inc.

The full line of premium Yokohama tires, including an updated line of state-of-the-art winter tires, will be available through Canada’s 180 Nissan and Infiniti dealers, effective immediately. The agreement gives Nissan and Infiniti owners convenient access to the right tires for their vehicles with the added confidence of dealing with their favourite dealer.

“This agreement not only helps Nissan and Infiniti dealers maintain their good service relationships with their customers, it helps expand Yokohama’s retail presence without compromising our existing tire dealer network,” explained Eric Dedoyard, Director of Sales for Yokohama Canada. The dealerships will work with existing Yokohama dealers to manage product distribution.

The broad Yokohama product range is ideally suited to the extensive line of Nissan and Infiniti models that ranges from efficient sub-compacts to capable family cars and SUVs, and includes premium sedans and high performance sports coupes, said Dedoyard.

Yokohama Tire (Canada) Inc. markets and distributes a full line of tires for high performance, passenger car, light truck, and commercial truck applications, as well as off-the-road tires for mining, forestry and construction applications. It maintains distribution centres across Canada to serve more than 700 independent tire dealers.

1-mile, 65,000 seat speedway announced for Fort Erie, Ontario

PRESS RELEASE

An investment consortium led by Kuwaiti Islamic investment bank Bayt Al Mal Investments will bring a major motor-sport, entertainment and commercial complex to the Niagara region of Ontario and with it, additional foreign direct investment (FDI), jobs and tourists from across the US-Canadian border.

"This is an outstanding example of how FDI supports growth in Ontario," Bayt Al Mal did their homework, recognized Ontario's tremendous potential and made a wise decision to invest here. This investment is only the beginning and will help to widen the investment corridor between the Middle East and Ontario," said The Honorable Sandra Pupatello Minister for International Trade and Investment, Ontario, Canada.

Bayt Al Mal has seized a first-mover advantage in Ontario, and we certainly consider them a leader in this respect. On our part we are committed to providing the necessary support to help make this initiative a success," she added.

Peter Partington, Regional Chairman for Niagara, underscored the substantial economic impact of the investment.

"This project will generate over C$34 million per year in new tax revenue alone and create over 1,200 jobs. The region will receive a huge shot-in-the-arm through increased economic development and tourism."

Looking ahead Shams Faiz, Chief Operating Officer at Bayt Al Mal Investments stated, "Our aim is to be a GCC-Canada investment specialist and we will soon be announcing our 'Invest Canada' program that will open a number of well studied investment projects for our regional investors."

Bayt Al Mal has already acquired 623 acres of land in Fort Erie, six kilometers from the US-Canadian border, where this master-planned complex will be built.

"This is a strategic location giving us access to a motor-sport fan base of over 120 million people," said Faiz,

"This is a vanguard project being the first GCC investment of this magnitude in Canada which also gives Bayt Al Mal a market-leading edge. Having successfully secured this transaction, we are now exploring other potential business opportunities in Canada." said Suleiman AlQimlas Chairman Bayt AlMal Investment.

"We have invested significant capital and management resources in Canada and have developed major alliances that will provide our investors with a unique advantage in accessing high quality high return investment opportunities there. We have local presence in Canada through our subsidiary Emirates Consulting, which oversees our investor interest and helps us in developing proprietary transactions and business relationships," added Faiz.

"We have been working closely with Bayt Al Mal for the past 18 months", stated Mayor of Fort Erie, Douglas Martin whose city will host the complex. "This agreement has generated great excitement and anticipation amongst my regional colleagues and my fellow Mayors of Niagara Falls, St. Catherines, Welland, and Port Colborne."

FACT FILE:

Bayt Al Mal has purchased 623 acres of land in Fort Erie, six kms from the U.S. border.

It would hire 1,200 people to construct the facility, and 120 full time employees to run the ongoing operation

Currently, over seven engineering firms with 45 Ontario based engineers and consultants have been engaged by the project.

Initially a 65,000 seat facility, expandable to 100,000, will encompass a 1 mile oval track and 2.5 mile road course essential to the broader economy.

Bayt Al Mal's local partner managing the Fort Erie initiative is Toronto-based Emirates Consulting.

The full release appears here.

UPDATE: The Buffalo News' story is here. Niagara This Week has a piece here.

Rick Young's 'Rick at the Races' Oct. 11/12, 2008

PIC 1     Miss Motorsports poses by Brett Hearn's car
PIC 2     Pete Bicknell makes an exit from the 358 race
PIC 3     Billy Decker wins the 358 race
PIC 4      Jeff Rudalavage at Five Mile Point
PIC 5      Alan Brown and 'yours truly' at Five Mile Point
PIC 6    Five Mile Point Feature winner Mike Colsten
PIC 7     Giles Godard at Syracuse
PIC 8     The # 4 Pro Stock of Roch Aubin at Syracuse
PIC 9    Joey Ladouceur recieves at cheque at Syracuse
PIC 10   Sean Corr wins the Pro Stock race at Syracuse
PIC 11   Stuart Friesen prior to the RITE AID 200
PIC 12   'yours truly' with Dale Planck prior to the RITE AID 200
PIC 13   Frank Cozze wins the big one.

You can see more of Rick Young's work at: www.rickattheraces.com
 
Due to work commitments I had to wait a couple of days before I could return SUPER DIRT WEEK at Syracuse following my visit to the 'Happy Hour' this past Wednesday. That meant I had to miss the two 358 'satellite' events at Brewerton (Thurs) and Rolling Wheels (Fri) , that went ahead free from weather related problems , unlike the Can Am show on Wednesday that got rained out.

I left my place at Long Sault at 5-15 on Saturday morning and met up with my buddy, Jim Clarke for breakfast at 8-00 am at the Grist Mill , in Parish NY on the I 81. From there we drove down to Syracuse.

By 9-00 am on Saturday morning (Oct 11) we were parked up at the Fairgrounds for the first of the two headline events of the weekend.

With all the diabolical weather we've experienced this year, where rain has caused so many issues, I was fearing the worst for Syracuse, but just like Wednesday, it was warm and sunny. It was a beautiful day and the forecast was good for the rest of the weekend.

It was warm enough for T shirts and I'm sure that Miss Motorsports Tiffany Skias was a 'happy camper' for her traditional Saturday lunchtime bikini 'photo shoot' at the AARN booth.

Everything went well, and it wasn't long before Billy Decker was celebrating his victory in the 358 'Salute to the Troops' 150 lapper (around 5-00pm). Top Canadian, and past winner Pete Bicknell of St Catherines (Ont) was an early casualty after a first lap incident.

I decided to give the Sportsman race and the 'satellite' events at Rolling Wheels ( Sprint Cars) and Weedsport ( the last chance Modified qualifier) a miss and took off in a southerly direction to Binghampton. The non-DIRTCAR sanctioned track of Five Mile Point were running a “Southern Tier' 50 lap Modified race that night and this was a track I hadn't been to before. Most years when based in Syracuse I try to do something 'different from the rest' on the Saturday night.

I arrived at Five Mile Point a bit late as I had difficulty finding a room for the night, but got there in good time for the feature. Prior to the race they had an on-track 'meet the drivers' session where I was able to take some close up photos. While doing this I met up with Jeff Rudalavage # 112. A couple of years ago I was taking photos of Jeff on a regular basis, when he was a team owner and Alan Johnson was driving his car. I remember having a beer and a chat with him in the Lebanon Valley Speedway bar that year.

The next familiar face I bumped into was Allan Brown from Comstock Park , Michigan. Allan is a fellow 'Trackchaser' and publisher of the National Speedway Directory , the 'must have' , book for all race fans. He presented me with a complimentary 2008 copy in recognition for one of my photos used on the cover ( Pat O'Brien and Danny Johnson side by side at Can Am). I sat with Allan and his friend Freddy Pearson to take in the action.

I really enjoyed what I saw, and the racing was first class. There was a great four way battle for most of the race involving Mike Colsten, Joey Grammes ,Tony Kawalchuk and Rudalavage . It was Mike Colsten who was at the front when it mattered. After the races I walked round the pits with Freddy and he introduced me to Joey and Tony.

FIVE MILE POINT became # 172 on my TRACKCHASING Totals

After staying overnight in Binghampton, I drove the one hour and thirty minutes back to Syracuse in the morning. Again the sun was shining and for the second day running I was wearing a T shirt. Today was the big one, the RITE AID 200 ( formerly the Eckerd 200) for Big Block Modifieds and the place was packed with eager DIRT fans.

As always the support race was a 25 lapper for DIRT ProStocks. My buddy Joey Ladouceur who was on the front row told me how he'd blown his engine the day before, during qualifying and an unknown donor had loaned him a replacement motor. There were two other friends of mine from Ontario in the race, Roch Aubin from Alexandria and Giles Godard from Cornwall. Normally the Pro Stock division provide fans with succession of cautions but on this occasion they behaved themselves quite well and the race went reasonably well. Lebanon Valley Speedway regular Sean Corr # 8C won this one.

When the Modifieds took to the track , it was Tim Fuller and Matt Shepherd who led the pack, but in a 200 lapper like this it means nothing, as anything can happen. Once again fuel and pit stop strategy was a key factor and as the laps ticked away many of the main contenders fell by the way side. Frank Cozze # 44 took the lead from Vince Vitale # 56 on lap 124 and with various others in hot pursuit, many people were wondering if he'd got enough fuel. As the white flag came out Cozze , who must have been 'running on fumes' and with Shepherd on his tail managed to power it round the final mile to take the checkers. It was a popular win with the fans, (me included), who've been waiting a long time to see the Wind Gap, Pennsylvania driver get the big one. Both Canadian drivers, David Hebert and Stuart Friesen put up great performances and were never too far from the front.

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