PHOTO GALLERY: ACT TOUR event - Bond Labour Day Classic 200

This is a 453 photo gallery of the ACT Tour event "Bond Auto Labour Day Classic 200". This race was held at Thunder Road Speedbowl in Barre, VT on Sunday, September 6, 2009.

Thanks to M.P. Roy & C. Roy for the photos. You can see M.P.'s blog here

Delaware Speedway: Drivers & Crews Prepare for Championship Weekend Featuring the Total APC 300

From John Houghton / Delaware Speedway PR

DELAWARE, ON - With the Total APC 300 this Sunday approaching as part of the Great Canadian Race Weekend, many drivers in the APC Late Model division spent Wednesday afternoon gearing up and practicing for the big event.  The defending winner of the event, Ron Sheridan (#52) of Mt. Brydges on the other hand, left his vehicle at home and spent part of the afternoon in the grandstands with a stop watch keeping an eye on the competition.

“My strategy to go in, worry about the first two races then do the 200,” said Sheridan.  “What I’m doing to do is the same thing I’ve done all year - - I have to try to finish in the top 3 and win as many races as I can.”

Sheridan is also keenly aware of the narrow three-point lead he holds over veteran driver Steve Robblee (#28) of Dorchester.

“We’re very close points, but I’d rather be three points ahead then three points behind, especially when going up against a guy like Steve Robblee.  We’ll run as hard and smart as we can, then we’ll worry about the 200 after that.  Ultimately, we’re trying to win both of those features, let the points fall where they may.  When the 200 comes down it’s just a good ol’ stock car race.  You have to have a good team, be fast and lucky.”

“Pistol” Pete Vanderwyst (#7) of St. Thomas will be making his return to competition this weekend.  Vanderwyst spent the early part of his Wednesday afternoon at the London Children’s Hospital before arriving at the speedway in the late afternoon for his test session.

“We went to visit the kids to bring a little light and a little smile,” said Vanderwyst.  “We took a lot of photos with kids in the cars, and pictures with the families.  We also visited the kids who couldn’t make it down to where we had the car.  We’re raising awareness for the Children’s health foundation.  It’s all awareness, like any foundation they’re looking for help to bring in special equipment and opportunities to create better health programs for the kids.”

As for his strategy for the weekend, Vanderwyst likes to have everything ready to roll before he arrives at the track on race day.

“My motto is never change when I show to the track,” said Vanderwyst.  “We want to finish all 200 laps, be as completive as we can and take our share of the purse on Sunday.  Hopefully we can get the $10,000 and share some of that with the hospital.”

Vanderwyst struggled in the early part of the session.  The vehicle he will be piloting is a brand new APC Late Model, and had some shakedown problems before his session.

“We’ve got a trailing arm bolt that’s a bit messed up, it’s a brand new car, first time we’ve had the chance to shake it down and get dialed in,” he added.  “Delaware is a track where the car needs rotation in the middle of the turn and bite coming off.  It’s second to none of any track I’ve visited and you have to be on your game here.”

The Total Oil Products / APC team of Jamie Ramsay (#22) of St. Thomas was also in attendance.  The crew was testing out both the #22 and #22x.  Matt Pritico will be the driver of the 22x.  Ramsay practiced simulated pit stops in the early evening hours.

Dion Verhoeven driver of the #77 car from Kerwood was also in attendance.

“Our plan is to stay out of trouble be there at the end,” said Verhoeven.  “We just put new brakes in the whole car, we were having some brake trouble before.  The 200-lap race is a more challenging race then a regular Friday night.  We’re looking forward to going out and winning it!  There will be lots of cars, as long as it’s a clean race it’ll be a lot of fun.”

A driver with plenty of history at Delaware Speedway and a current NASCAR Canadian Tire Series regular, Jason Hathaway is excited to make his debut in a brand new car at the APC 300.

“We’ll need to win the $10,000 to pay for the car.  It is a brand new car, Bryan Watts my boss and sponsor at Vortex brake pads wants to get in and drive it in a few weeks,” said Hathaway.  “We’re developing a race pad and we’re using this car for R&D.  It’s my first trip to Delaware in Late Model since the end of 2006,  it’ll be hard but there’s great competition here.  I came a few weeks back to watch, the same regular faces up front.  Some new guys area fast, Watson’s fast, Matthews is fast.  Lots of good guys - - over ten of them could win on a given night.  This weekend with a bunch of invaders the competition level just gets that much higher.”

Mark Watson (#02) of St. Thomas was also out getting ready for the big race.  Watson only turned nine laps before calling it a day.

“The car worked good, we’re very happy with it.  There’s going to be real good car count and real good dozen or so guys who have a good shot at winning this,” said Watson.  “We feel we have a real good shot at it after today.”

Watson has faced his share of challenges in the division, a broken rear end and engine difficulties in recent weeks have added to those challenges.

“I’m the new guy on the block and you take as the new guy you take it as it is.  It’s not easy going anywhere as the new guy.”

The Great Canadian Race Weekend (September 4-6, 2009) features all of Delaware Speedway’s racing classes throughout the weekend including a King of the Hill Spectator's race with $2000 in prizing on Friday and the Lucas Oil Sportsman Cup on Saturday evening.

Southern Ontario Sprints: Brighton to host finale this weekend

SOUTHERN ONTARIO SPRINTS CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE GOES DOWN TO THE WIRE IN LABOUR DAY CLASSIC

By Tommy Goudge (September 1, 2009) – One of the closest title fights in the fourteen year history of the Southern Ontario Sprints will be decided this weekend when the tour caps off the 2009 season with the seventh annual Labour Day Classic weekend at Brighton Speedway.

Adam West took over the points lead from Justin Martin in the last round at South Buxton Raceway on the strength of a fourth place finish, while Martin came back from a heat race accident to salvage seventh in the feature. The gap between the top two contenders is just four points as the series heads to Brighton for the last two tour events of the season, while Warren Mahoney is still in the hunt, thirty markers out of the lead.

The Riverside Bar and Grill Brighton Speedway miniseries will also come to a conclusion this weekend, and the battle for that title is up for grabs. Justin Martin holds a narrow seven point lead in the standings, while Adam West is second, just three points ahead of both Jamie Collard and Rick Wilson. Wilson was the victor in the last SOS event at Brighton as he claimed a thrilling win over Chris Jones. Collard, meanwhile is enjoying a strong second half, and claimed the feature win in Patriot series action at Humberstone Speedway on Sunday night.

Tyler Rand of Consecon has a strong lead in the 2009 Rookie of the Year award standings over Grimsby’s Travis Cunningham, and will look to claim that crown at his home track this weekend.

For the second year in a row, Brighton Speedway and the Southern Ontario Sprints have come together to make Sunday’s championship race a $1,200 to win affair, while Saturday’s feature pays $800 to win. Both events will be lined up by open draw.

The 2009 SOS Banquet is officially scheduled for Saturday, October 3rd at the Best Western Brant Park Inn in Brantford. Tickets are $40.00 per person and will be on sale this weekend in Brighton.

Don’t miss the season ending events for the Southern Ontario Sprints season on Saturday, September 5, and Sunday, September 6! The SOS races are once again presented by Holiday Inn of Trenton, while Brighton’s popular divisions will also be in action over the course of the weekend, along with a tail gate party and show and shine event on Sunday afternoon!

WHAT: Southern Ontario Sprints 2009 Season, Rounds #8 and #9
www.SouthernOntarioSprints.com

WHERE: Brighton Speedway
775 County Road 64
Brighton, Ontario
K0K 1H0
Phone: (613)-475-1102 or toll free 1-(866)-681-1102
e-mail: info@brightonspeedway.com
On the Web: www.brightonspeedway.com

WHEN: Saturday, September 5 and Sunday, September 6, 2009
SATURDAY: Spectator Gates Open @ 5:30p.m., Racing @ 7:00p.m.
SUNDAY: Show and Shine and Tailgate Party begins @ 1:00, Spectator Gates Open @ 4:30p.m., Racing @ 6:00p.m.

PHOTOS: Capital City Speedway by www.rickattheraces.com - Sept. 2, 2009

By Rick Young / www.rickattheraces.com

Capital City Speedway - September 2, 2009

Sports Car Club of BC: PIT PASS newsletter for September 2009

Peter Weedon of the Sports Car Club of BC has released the latest
edition of the SCCBC's Pit Pass Newsletter (Sept. 2009). Click on the
link below to download a copy.

http://www.sccbc.net/pitpass/2009/Sep09pp.pdf

Carl Edwards breaks foot.... If you bet it happened during a backflip... you'd be wrong

From Sheri Herrmann / Roush Fenway Racing

CARL EDWARDS INJURES FOOT, STILL PLANS TO RACE IN ATLANTA

Concord, N.C. (September 3, 2009) - Roush Fenway Racing confirms today that Carl Edwards fractured his right foot yesterday.  He is working with doctors at the University of Missouri who have cleared him to drive for this weekend’s Sprint Cup and Nationwide events at Atlanta Motor Speedway.  He is currently on crutches to assist with walking but will race the No. 99 Aflac Ford and No. 60 Save-A-Lot Ford in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide races respectively this weekend.

“I know this probably sounds ridiculous to a lot of people and I could hardly believe it myself,” said Edwards from his home in Columbia, Mo.  “I was playing Frisbee with a couple of buddies and we both went for the Frisbee at the same time.  I put my foot on it, my friend dove for it, and the next thing you know…we all heard a pop.  I knew it was broken and we all kind of looked at each other in disbelief that of all things, I would break my foot playing Frisbee.  I immediately went to the doctor and have been working with a great team of people at the University of Missouri who work with all the college teams here.  They have me on crutches to help me walk but said I could race in both races this weekend and shouldn’t have a problem using the accelerator. 

“I guess you never know when something is going to happen.  This is obviously an unforeseen accident and even though I am not going to miss work, my Aflac policy has me covered.  I’ve now seen first hand how Aflac works and it’s clear that no matter how big or small the accident is Aflac is there for their policyholders.”

OHSWEKEN: HRW Automotive presents double features tonight at Ohsweken

By Tommy Goudge (September 4, 2009) – Ohsweken Speedway’s Friday Night Thunder series resumes tonight when HRW Automotive presents a full card of action including the Corr/Pak Merchandising Sprint Cars, ESSO Thunder Stock Season Championship, ESSO Mini Stocks, and Bombers, plus makeup features from last Friday for all classes, and Mechanics races!  The Box Car Races will be on the track as well with some lucky Box Car Girl and Boy going home with a brand new bike sponsored by DISHER Motor Sports and KENETIC Photos.

The last “mulligan night” has come and gone for the Corr/Pak Merchandising Sprint Car competitors, whose lowest single-night point total of the season was thrown out last week. Much is left to be decided, as the drivers will contest three features over the next two weeks, including this Friday’s double features. On the strength of six feature wins, “Fenwick Flyer” Tom Huppunen continues to lead the Corr/Pak point standings, while Glenn Styres, Kevin Job, Dave Dykstra, and Ryan Hunsinger give chase. Defending track champion Keith Dempster won the last feature event on August 21 and now sits seventh in the standings, just one point behind Mikey Kruchka and one point ahead of Jamie Collard. Dain Naida claimed his second feature win of the season on August 22 at South Buxton Raceway and sits ninth in the Corr/Pak standings, while leading rookie of the year contender Travis Cunningham rounds out the top ten. Kevin Loveys and Jim Huppunen are also in the rookie race as the season winds to a close.

Shayne Pierce again finished one spot ahead of Billy Bleich, Jr. In the last feature event to slightly extend his points lead in the ESSO Thunder Stocks division heading into their season championship race this Friday. Pierce finished fourth and Bleich fifth, while Lee Winger became the seventh different feature winner in 2009 for the very competitive full-fendered division. Winger snapped Jamie Cox’s three race win streak, holding him off in a spirited battle in the last event while Brad Herron claimed the third spot just a few car lengths behind. Pierce’s points lead stands at just twenty-one heading into Friday’s double features, while Cox’s excellent finishes as of late have helped him to move into third in the standings, fifty-four markers out of the lead. Herron sits fourth in the standings, while Jeremy Bean rounds out the top five.

Mitchell Brown finished second on the track in the last event, but tech inspection issues handed him the feature win, his tenth of the season. The young driver from Brantford has a healthy lead in the ESSO Mini-Stocks point standings, while Kevin Hilborn, Mike Evers, Rick Emberson, and Dave Goodacre give chase. 2008 track champion Abel Castelein is still looking for his first feature win this season, and got a fourth place finish in his last time out, behind Brown, Chase Hess, and Steve Hess. Steve Hess and Rick Robinson have also claimed feature wins this season.

Karl Sault came out the victor in the last Bomber event, extending his points lead in the process. Kacey Huffman, Jesse/Mike McDonald, Team 113, and Team 13c round out the top five in the standings!

Tickets are on sale now for the Fifth Annual Arrow Express Canadian Sprint Car Nationals, coming up September 17, 18, and 19! Please visit www.OhswekenSpeedway.com and call 1-888-720-RACE to order yours today!

Are you a Facebook or Twitter user?  Search “Ohsweken Speedway” and interact with other Ohsweken Speedway fans, receive important updates, and check out photos and videos from the track.

Friday Night Thunder at Ohsweken Speedway offers affordable family entertainment just a short drive away from most mid-western Ontario locations. Friday Night Thunder resumes on Friday, September 4 when HRW Automotive presents the Corr/Pak Merchandising Sprint Cars, ESSO Thunder Stocks Season Championship, ESSO Mini-Stocks, Bombers, plus double features for all divisions, and mechanics races!

Friday Night Thunder Adult General Admission is just $10, while Seniors and Students are $8, and kids 12 and under are FREE! Please visit www.OhswekenSpeedway.com for more information. On Friday night, gates open at 6:00p.m., with the first race at 7:45p.m.

CASTROL TOURING CHAMPIONSHIP COMES DOWN TO THE WIRE

SEPT 3, 2009, Mirabel, Quebec - The final round of the Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship presented by Toyo Tires will be held this weekend at the Le Circuit ICAR just north of Montreal on the Mirabel Airport facilitys technical 3km tarmac road course. Currently 35+ drivers are slated to be on hand this weekend racing in two extremely competitive car classes. The excitement has been building all season long, and now the overall championship points battles will be decided this weekend.

Canada's Best Racers Racing Today's Hottest Touring Cars such as Acura, BMW, Saab, Nissan, Honda, Hyundai, Chevrolet, Mazda, Toyota and Subaru will be going door to door in what fans can expect to be some of the season hottest action. Fierce rivalries between the top 5 drivers in both classes are coming to a head, as the top spot on the podium is up for grabs.

Lombardi Honda driver, Nick Wittmer will be pulling out all the stops to defend his lead atop the Super Touring Class and attempt to hold off GT Racings Greg Pootmans & Etienne Borgeat at bay in their extremely competitive BMWs. Alain Lauziere in his extremely quick and agile Octane Motorsports MINI Cooper will also be looking in his rear view mirror as the Thornhill driver, Anthony Rapone & Verdun native Nigel Heron in his Acura Integra will attempt to unseat Lauziere from the top spot in the Touring Class.

The action will be intense as the top 8 drivers in both classes have a chance to finish within the top 5 of the championship. The points race has never been so tight at such a late time in the season. BMW drivers, Eric Hochgeschurz, David Bensadoun and rookie star Alex Healy in his Acura RSX will be vying for the top 5 spots in Super Touring class. Also be sure to watch for Jocelyn Fecteau (Toyota), Ryan Blanchet (Nissan) & Roger Bowes (Acura) fight their way into the top 5 in Touring Class.

The CCTCC will be the feature race series this weekend with a full 20-minute practice session, a 20-minute qualifying session and a thrilling 40-minute race on Saturday as well as a 20 minute warm up and capping off the weekend with a 40 minute feature race on Sunday.
Tickets for this exciting event are available at http://www.circuiticar.com.

The Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship Presented By Toyo Tires is Canada's Premiere Touring Car Series and features Canada's Best Drivers Racing Today's Hottest Touring Cars. The Championship is showcased at eight event weekends in Quebec and Ontario will marquee events at Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres and Honda Indy Toronto.

For further information check out www.touringcar.ca for the latest championship news.
For more information on Toyo Tires, please visit www.toyotires.ca. Toyo manufactures and distributes a complete line of replacement tires for high performance cars, luxury vehicles, light trucks and SUVs as well as tires for commercial trucks, buses andoff-road and construction applications.

ARCA: Canadian Steve Arpin heads to Toledo for Friday ARCA battle

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA (September 3, 2009) - Canadian Steve Arpin is ready for another big weekend of ARCA RE/MAX Series competition starting with Friday night's visit to Toledo Speedway in Ohio.  The talented stock car ace will again be aboard the Venturini Motorsports Toyota in search of his first career ARCA tour win.  Following the Friday night stop in northern Ohio, the series moves on to the Southern Illinois Fairgrounds with a round of dirt track action for the ARCA drivers in a special Labor Day run on the one mile oval at DuQuoin, Illinois.  Arpin will take the Pinewood Sports & Marine sponsored rides into battle for the Venturini team attempting to move back toward the top-five in the national drivers championship on the tour.

'We had an excellent practice session on Wednesday down in Carolina before we headed north today,' Arpin said with an enthusiastic outlook on the weekend. 'I've got a big weekend ahead of me. The team is giving me the equipment to get the job done and we are going to give it our best this weekend in both of the races. I like busy weekends like this one coming up and am hoping to use it to bring a win home for the team.'

Prior to the action getting underway on Friday night, Arpin will join fellow ARCA competitors in a special activity Thursday evening called 'Bowling for Bill - The Focus Motorsports Minister for ARCA. The event will take place tonight beginning at 7:00 pm at New Glass Bowling Lanes located at 5133 Telegraph Road in Toledo. The special fund raising event is open to the public and offers ARCA racers to meet with fans all for the very worthy cause of supporting Bill Krick and his wife Diane in their season-long efforts to provide spiritual support and guidance to all families involved with ARCA Racing.

The weekend ARCA events at both Toledo and DuQuoin will be broadcast with full audio and video via the internet at www.arcaracing.com. Tickets and specific details for Monday's upcoming DuQuoin, IL event info can also be obtained by visiting www.trackenterprises.com or by calling Track Enterprises at (217) 764-3200. This season marks Arpin’s first full year of asphalt racing experience after several stellar seasons on dirt in which the young Canadian talent became a dominant force and earned numerous titles while racking up wins in his open wheel modified against the strongest competition in North America while attracting the attention of some of the sport’s biggest names. Last season Arpin claimed the USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year award and prior to moving into auto racing Arpin earned 7 world championships in snowmobile competition as lead pilot for Team Polaris.

In Arpin’s role with Venturini Motorsports the team has performed with noted strong results. Arpin’s associates and sponsors at Pinewood Sports & Marine, and long-time sponsor and dirt racing partner Jeff Taylor with his Jeff Taylor Chassis for Open Wheel Modified racers continue to help fuel the ARCA program for the Fort Frances, Ontario racer. Arpin's overall racing efforts also continue to involve support from Lo-N-Bro Enterprises and SpeedShop (Rochester, Minnesota) as continuing partners in the team efforts. The official web site for Steve Arpin on the internet is www.stevearpin.net.

From:  Victory Lane Communications

Firestone Firehawk GT Pursuit Takes Top Overall Honors In Police Fleet Manager's Real-World Tire Test

BRIDGESTONE CANADA INC. (NEWS RELEASE)

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario (September 3, 2009) – For emergency, rescue and police vehicles, a tire that delivers top performance, durability and dependability is critical. With lives potentially on the line, there’s no room for error. In recent testing by Police Fleet Manager, the Firestone Firehawk GT Pursuit proved to be the best tire for this demanding job, garnering top overall honors and rating first in wet-oriented performance.

“We knew the Firehawk GT Pursuit was a great tire, and the results of this test further reinforce our belief with solid facts,” said Phil Pacsi, Vice President, Consumer Marketing, U.S. & Canada Consumer Tire Sales division, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO). “We’re excited about the Firehawk’s excellent performance. To rank first overall, when put through the real-world conditions pursuit vehicles face every day, offers real-world data first responders can depend on.”

The experts at Tire Rack partnered with Police Fleet Manager to test original equipment and aftermarket pursuit tires in several categories: ABS braking on dry pavement, ABS braking on wet pavement, vehicle dynamics on a dry road course and vehicle dynamics on a wet road course. For each of these objective, instrument-measured areas of performance, each test driver was asked to complete a subjective impression assessment for each tire.

Overall results, in which the Firehawk GT Pursuit ranked first were based on all four objective measurements plus all four subjective impressions, as well as wet and dry results. Tire rankings were also equally weighed between various sub-categories of performance, including tire response in slalom, tire cornering around static circle, braking distances and total lap times.

All tires were tested on a demanding wet and dry road course at Tire Rack headquarters in South Bend, Ind. Designed with 180- and 90-degree turns, short straights, cone slalom series and static circles, the tires were tested in the real-life conditions which drivers of police and emergency vehicles are often forced to face when on the job.

In addition to leading the competition as Police Fleet Manager’s “clear, stand-alone overall winner of the 2009 test,” the Firestone Firehawk GT Pursuit took top rankings in the objective measurements of wet slalom speeds (transient response) and wet stopping distances. The Firehawk GT Pursuit also placed first in the subjective driver assessment ratings of wet steering response and wet braking traction.

No other tire tested could match the Firehawk GT Pursuit’s overall performance.

The Firestone Firehawk GT Pursuit is specifically designed for law enforcement use and to withstand the demands of high-speed emergency situations. The tire combines wet and dry handling with an emphasis on quick steering response and is available in the following sizes to fit many common emergency vehicles:

55 Series:  P235/55/R17   98W

60 Series:  P225/60/R18   99V

A complete list of available sizes as well as features and benefits of this tire and other Bridgestone- and Firestone-brand tires is available at www.bridgestonetire.com.

About Bridgestone Canada Inc.: Bridgestone Canada Inc. (BSCA) is a member of Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO) and a direct subsidiary of Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (BSAM), whose parent company, Bridgestone Corporation, is the world's largest tire and rubber company. BSCA and BATO develop, manufacture and market Bridgestone, Firestone and associate brand tires. They are focused on retail, wholesale and original equipment markets, supplying passenger, light truck, commercial vehicle, off road, agricultural and other tires to their customers in Canada and the United States, respectively. In addition, through its Bridgestone Bandag Tire Solutions Canada unit, retreading customers have access to industry-leading research and development, manufacturing, marketing and sales expertise, providing them with a total tire solution.

From Mary Moniz // TORCHIA COMMUNICATIONS

Pro Challenge Series National Champion to be Declared at Concord Speedway

Canadians Dennis Thomson and Josh Nicholson are in contention!

From Matt Kentfield, 51 Sports

CONCORD, NC (September 3, 2009) – Pro Challenge Series and Professional Association of Scale Car Auto Racing (PASCAR) officials have announced that the championship event for the series’ 2009 season will be held at the half-mile Concord Speedway in North Carolina on Saturday, October 31st.  The event will be a double-points event, with bonus points for qualifying, leading a lap and leading the most laps during the final race.  Following the drop of the checkered flag, the 2009 Pro Challenge National Champion will be declared and honored at Concord.

“Concord Speedway should make for an interesting end to the 2009 racing season,” said John Litzinger, Owner of Pro Challenge Race Cars, Inc. and President of PASCAR.  “The track layout is certainly unique and will test the drivers and teams en route to the championship.  We have raced our series at Concord several times in the past and as recently as earlier this summer, so we know that the Pro Challenge cars can put on a good show at Concord Speedway and we’re excited to see the final battle of the season there to declare our National Champion.”

The October 31st National Championship event will feature stars from all four Pro Challenge Regional series - North, South, Sunshine (Florida) and Canada.  Four events in each region count as National Point races and a driver’s results in those four races in their declared region went towards their National Point total.  With double points on the line in the series’ finale on October 31st at Concord, any number of drivers in the National Point standings have a shot at the series’ National Championship.

At the conclusion of the regular-season National Point events in three of the four regions, Canada Region standout Dennis Thomson led the National standings by 10 markers over a pair of North Region stars tied for second, Meghan Dillner and Kyle Benjamin.  Another Canada Region racer, Josh Nicholson, follows in fourth, while multiple-time North Region winner Stephen Bergh, Jr. sits fifth.  The Sunshine Region is the only region which has not completed its Regular Season National Point events, but will do so at Florida’s Orlando SpeedWorld on October 2nd. 

In addition to the double points available in the race, drivers will jockey for bonus points in qualifying, as well.  Bonus points will be awarded for the pole winner, as well as for second and third in time trials.

The October 31st Pro Challenge National Championship event will be held in conjunction with the UARA-Stars Late Model Stock Car tour’s event at the Concord, NC, half-mile.

“We have had a great working relationship with Kerry and Wink (Bodenhamer) and the rest of the UARA organization for several seasons now, and we’re looking forward to sharing the card with them at Concord,” added Litzinger.  “We’re excited not only for this event, but for the possibilities of holding even more Pro Challenge Series events with UARA in 2010 and beyond.”

Concord Speedway will be available for testing for Pro Challenge teams on Friday, October 30th, from 2pm to 5pm at $150 per car.  There will be additional practice for teams on Saturday, October 31st, prior to qualifying and the feature National Championship race.

For more media information on the Pro Challenge oval track and road course series and racecars, contact Matt Kentfield at (704) 788-2134 x 2, and visit www.prochallengeseries.com.

Lucas Oil ESS: Andrew Ranger to race at Autodrome Granby on Friday night

By Dean Reynolds

International Star Andrew Ranger to Debut with the Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints at Granby.

SYRACUSE, NY – In one of the most anticipated appearances in the 26 year history of the Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints, Quebec’s own Andrew Ranger will pilot a Parent family owned sprint this Friday night at Autodrome Granby.  Hailing from Roxton Pond, Quebec, the 22 year old star has been regarded as one of Quebec’s top international motorsports stars.

Ranger is the son of Quebec DIRT Modified legend Robert Ranger and has been making headlines since 2002 when he was crowned Canadian Formula A Karting Champion.  Ranger competed with the Champ Car World Series in 2005 where he was the youngest driver in history to earn a podium finish of second.  Most recently he took home a solid third place finish behind Carl Edwards and Mark Ambrose in the Nationwide Series race held this past Sunday at Circuit Gilles Villenueve.

While the young phenom might be new to world of winged sprint cars, he has logged many laps around the Granby half-mile in a modified.  The Parent family will be fielding another Les Constructions Ultra #25 sprint to be a teammate to Michael Parent who currently is sitting fourth in the overall Lucas Oil ESS point standings.

“This is a real thrill to have Andrew racing with ESS at Granby.” noted ESS President Chuck Miller.  “He is one of the best motorsports talents to ever come from the province of Quebec, he’s known all around the globe and he will be in an ESS winged sprinter this Friday.  We just can’t thank the Parent family enough for putting this together.”

Gates open at 5:00 with racing scheduled to get underway at 7:30.  Andrew Ranger will be alongside ESS stars such as Steve Poirier, Justin Barger, Lance Yonge, Parent, Tommy Wickham, Jeff Cook, Brian McDonald, Lee Ladouceur, Alain Bergeron, Chuck Hebing, Anthony Cain and many, many more.  Not that $2,000 to win for the Northwood 2 Construction/LaSalle Motorsports Canadian Sprint Car Series, Fondations 4 Saisons A-Main will be excitement enough!  Having Andrew Ranger in the field will keep the French-Canadian fans on their feet.

KAWARTHA DURHAM KART CLUB: Race #9 Report and new track photo gallery

FRASERVILLE, ON - A huge thank you to our race day sponsor, Mike Adams of MG Tires for providing sets of 4-stroke tires to 6 lucky KDKC members. Marlie Owens, Andre Fiorini, Bailey Brown, Dennis Woods, Quinn Dewsbury and Nic Lauzon will have no excuses for keeping it on the track at the next race on September 13. Also, many thanks to Shirley Cornacchia of Dundee Private Investments, Bradford for providing prizes that will be given out during the remainder of the season.

The new paving at Kawartha Speedway provided the drivers with fast corners before and after the start/ finish straight and many racers expressed their enjoyment once they figured out the best braking zones and turn-in points. With reducing radius corners and blind apex points, the new sections will challenge all racers and will help to increase the racing ability of the club’s members and visitors alike.

Those that attended the race in preparation for the upcoming BSRKC event will have a definite advantage. Teams came from as far away as Point Pelee and there was a large group from WKC in attendance. According to Pro-Shifter Giles Gallie, who did a fantastic job “drifting” around the high banks of Kawartha, the new length of the KDKC track is over 1km long.

The novice class once again was as exciting to watch as any race with passing throughout the field and huge smiles after the finish. Shannonville winner, Andre Fiorini once again dominated the class followed by Cole McFadden in his ProAuto kart and Bailey Brown in third.

Danny Benedict took top spot in Junior Heavy ahead of Jaike Haywood, while Bailey Jacobs came out on top in Junior Light followed by Ayrton Wakfer and new member Gaelen Palleske scoring his first podium in only his second race ever.

The Senior light winner was Kyle Hope and AJ Emms finished first just ahead of Kevin Barry and Dennis Woods in Senior Heavy.

You could throw a blanket over the top three at the line with Carl Thompson winning the Masters race by a nose in front of Quinn Dewsbury and John Beck.

Visiting driver Ethan Livingston won the Jr. Rotax class and Matthew Radaelli won in Senior Rotax. The driver to watch at next weekends BSRKC will be young Mr. Grant Quinlan in Mini-Max who showed everyone how fast, composed and determined he really is.

The next race for the Kawartha Durham Kart Club will be Sunday, September 13.

www.kawarthadurhamkartclub.com.

Below is a photo gallery of action from the new KDKC track in the infield of Kawartha Speedway. Photos by Rob Morton / Inside Track.

Canadian Motor Speedway (Ft. Erie, ON)... notice of public meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009

The group behind the proposed Canadian Motor Speedway in Ft. Erie, Ontario are encouraging racing fans to attend the upcoming public meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 8 in Ft. Erie to voice their support for the project. Click on the image above to see the public notice announcement.

NCATS: Whissell scores first top 10 in Montreal after early race contact dropped him to 30th

MONTREAL, QC - After getting spun in corner 1 on the fourth lap and dropping to the end of the field, Whissell drove a battered #44 SMS Equipment/Komatsu Ford through the field to an unofficial 10th place finish at an event filled Autopro 100 on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal on Sunday. 

Looking to rebound after a disappointing finish in Trois-Rivieres two weeks ago, Whissell started the weekend optimist. Whissell ran as high as 15th in a wet practice session, but fell to 20th after switching to slick tires prematurely as the track conditions improved.  The wet track prevented the team from testing their dry set up.  For Qualifying, Whissell was 17th.  “The car okay in qualifying and I was held up on two of the laps by slower cars. I am still pleased to be starting in the top half of the field,” Whissell commented on his qualifying effort.

While the weather was unsettled all day, the start of the Autopro 100 was clear and it looked like the rain would hold off. The first two laps saw Whissell trade positions back and forth with the 71 of Brisebois and the 49 of Strachan before the first caution of the race was out.  When the race restarted on lap 4 Whissell got the jump on the 71 as the 39 of Whitlock held up the field with a mechanical issue.  Into corner one the 71 car made a move inside Whissell and they had contact sending Whissell spinning. 

“I saw Brisebois on the inside and I gave him room and he hit me hard on the left rear tire as we exited.  I don’t know if he came in too hot,” Whissell questioned.  Whissell re-fired his car and joined the field at the rear.  Whissell communicated with the crew that the car had a vibration but seemed to be handling okay.  Crew Chief Brent Hougestol made the call to keep Whissell on the track. 

Now in 30th position Whissell kept his composure and started to make his way back through the field often passing several cars a lap.  By lap 18 Whissell was up to 14th. “I had driven the car pretty hard and had used up the brakes and it was not handling well,” Whissell recounted.  A late caution brought out a green white checkered finish with Whissell in 13th place.   On the restart, there was trouble corner one with the 17 and 69 cars spinning.  Seeing nowhere to go, Whissell took to the escape road and looked rejoin the track at the exit of corner two. As he got there the 22 car of Steckly was rolling over on the outside. 

The race was red flagged and the checkered flag waved as time constraints prevented another attempted at a finish.  Unofficially Whissell is shown as finishing 10th.  “The end of the race was Mayhem.  NASCAR has us in 10th place and we will take it.  It was a hard fought race I am pleased to have my first top 10 finish in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series.” An excited Whissell said.

Unofficially the race was won by J.R. Fitzpatrick, with Andrew Ranger second and Kerry Micks third.

This was the last event for Whissell Motorsports in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series this year.  Thank-you to all of our sponsors for their support this year.  We are pleased to be associated with great companies like SMS Equipment, Komatsu, Wolseley, Lafarge and Frontier Fabrication. 

Follow Whissell Motorsports on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Whissell-Motorsports/101960126937 <http://www.facebook.com/pages/Whissell-Motorsports/101960126937>

For more information, contact Jarrad Whissell: Office: 403.236.2200 // Cellular: 403.888.9050 // Fax: 403.236.8834 // e-mail: racing@whissell.ca

Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints: Big Weekend on Tap for the Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints

By Dean Reynolds

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – It’s been two weeks since the stars and cars from the Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints (ESS) have roamed at a dirt track in the United States or Canada.  This coming Labor Day Weekend all that will change with three big events, two in Quebec and the finale’ held in Central New York.

It will be the final weekend visit to the Autodromes Granby and Drummond for two more Northwood 2 Construction/LaSalle Motorsports Canadian Sprint Car Series events.  The $2,000 to win Fondations 4 Saisons A-Mains will be a vital part of two point series where over $30,000 will be awaiting the top point teams come November.

At Granby, two-time defending champion Steve Poirier and current overall Lucas Oil point leader Justin Barger picked up victories thus far on the 2009 campaign.  They will lead the strong contingent of sprints which will also include Lance Yonge, Michael Parent, Jessica Zemken, Brian McDonald, Anthony Cain, Doug Emery, Jim Porter and many others.

After the Friday night stop at Granby, its off to Quebec’s oldest running dirt track in Drummondville.  The “Cobra” Chuck Hebing, Lee Ladouceur and Barger, who won the first annual Quebec Sprint Car Nationals, have picked up wins so far at the 3/8ths mile oval.  Those top stars along with Tommy Wickham, Jeff Cook, Alain Bergeron, Tim Kelly, Justin Harris, Daniel Lampron, James Hanson, Sylvain Erickson, Kayle Robidoux, Donald Lemire, Dale Gosselin and others will be in the field.

In a special Cobra Coaches Dash for Cash, Normand Beaudreault and his Construction Normand Beaudreault business will be the sponsor of the four lap event.  Normand was seriously injured in an ESS event at Autodrome Edelweiss in June but is on his way to a full recovery and has attended many events since.  Normand always enjoys his friends with ESS and is proud to sponsor the event.

The big holiday weekend will see (ESS) pull off the hat trick with the third and final visit to the Utica-Rome Speedway for a very important SUNY Canton Series event which also pays $2,000 to win.  Zemken and Dan Kaszubinski thrilled the sold out crowds in the other two events with their victories.  Another solid field of winged machines will be on hand with the likes of Jason Barney, George Suprick, Bubby Kerrick, Glenn Styres, Jared Fink, Joe August, Tim Devendorf, Bruce DeWick and others will be on hand looking for the top prize.

Justin Barger currently leads the overall ESS points with Steve Poirier, Lance Yonge, Michael Parent, Tommy Wickham and Jeff Cook still having a shot at the overall Lucas Oil crown.   Poirier leads Barger, Alain Bergeron, Cook and Parent in the Northwood 2 Construction/LaSalle Motorsports Canadian Sprint Car Series with Barger holding a slim advantage over Yonge, Poirier, Tim Kelly and Parent in the SUNY Canton Series.

Autodrome Granby, Autodrome Drummond and the Utica-Rome Speedway.  Three big events, three important point series.  It what has become tradition for over 26 years…it will be excitement guaranteed!

IMSA LITES at MOSPORT: Marcelli Victorious On Canadian Soil

(Bomanville, Ontario) August 31st 2009 – 19-year old up and coming racing driver Kyle Marcelli won the hearts of over 40,000 fans as he raced the #37 Intersport Racing entry to victory lane in round 12 of the IMSA Lites Championship this past weekend at the Mobile 1 Grand Prix of Mosport.

“It was an emotional win” said Marcelli. “My dad and I used to sit each year atop of corner two watching the American LeMans Series cars and Canadian Ron Fellows race by, for me to be apart of the events this weekend in front of my home crowd and win meant a lot.”

Starting third on the inside of row two for round 11, Marcelli quickly overtook for second position. Pressuring for the lead lap after lap Marcelli attempted an outside pass in turn five, however minor contact was made resulting in Marcelli falling to 11th. One lap later the race was under a full course yellow. Under caution for 3 laps the race resumed with Marcelli sitting P11 and only 15 minutes remaining in the race. Marcelli arguably put on the show of the weekend. Overtaking for position in places never even thought of, the young Canadian raced his way from P11 to P2 crossing the stripe only 0.731 behind the leader. “I needed just one more lap” Said Marcelli who set fast lap of the race by over 0.6 tenths of a second.

“The Intersport Racing squad had the car hooked up today. It’s unfortunate that I had to race through the pack because today was our race to win. Nonetheless, it was a good show for the fans and spectators and we will just have to do it tomorrow.” Marcelli said in a post race interview.

It was Sundays feature race, round 12 of the IMSA Lites Championship presented by Hankook, a feeder to the American LeMans Series that Intersport Racings up and coming driver Kyle Marcelli raced to victory lane. “Talk about pressure” Marcelli said. After opening up about a 3 second lead, a caution came out with 7 minutes left in the race and it was nose to tail for a famous green, white checkered. Marcelli got off to a clean start and raced around the 2.5 mile circuit to victory lane.

“Kyle drove outstanding all weekend, to work his way through the field in Saturday’s race on a track so high speed and minimal braking such as Mosport and to win on Sunday it shows a lot. We were clearly the car to beat all week. It was great for Kyle to be victorious in front of his home crowd and all his sponsors. We are really looking forward to taking Kyle to the next level.” Said Intersport Racing’s Team Manager Brian Alder

Kyle would like to thank Lafarge, GP Masonry and Landscaping Supplies, Brown Window Corp, Barrie Trim and Mouldings, Alpinestars, The Robert Simpson Brewing Company, Simplepay.ca and Intersport Racing for there continued support.

For more information visit: www.kylemarcelli.com.

Rick Young's 'Rick at the Races' August 26-30, 2009

PIC 1   MS fundraiser Anna Basile-Mould arrives at the Capital City Speedway on her bike.

PIC  2   Ministock action at the Capital City Speedway

PIC 3   Thunder Car action at the Capital City Speedway

PIC  4   Michelle Schroer wins the Go Kart feature at the Capital City Speedway

PIC  5  Louie Jackson wins the Mohawk Int Raceway Pro Stock Feature

PIC  6  Ryan Helm has his second rollover at the Mohawk Int Raceway

PIC  7  Gage Morin # 16 and Todd Stewart # 72 in combat at the Mohawk Int Raceway

PIC  8  Gage Morin wins the 358 Modified Feature at the Mohawk Int Raceway

PIC  9   Yours Truly at a wet Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

PIC  10  The Rolex Grand Am Sports Cars in action at the CircuitGilles Villeneuve

PIC  11  One of the Grand Am cars slides off the slippery Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

PIC  12  A brace of vintage Citroen 1200K vans spotted in Baie Durfe (Montreal)

Rick Young's 'Rick at the Races' .... www.rickattheraces.com

26     Aug Capital City Speedway , Ottawa, Ont

28     Aug Mohawk International Raceway, Hogansburg NY

29     Aug Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Que

If things had gone to plan , I would have had five events to report on this week, but once again Mother Nature had other ideas. As usual my weekly report begins with the regular weekly show at Ottawa's Capital City Speedway. When I arrived at the sign-in booth the first person I met was my friend Anna Basile - Mould who occasionally helps out on photographic duties when I can't make it . She turned up riding her bike and told me she'd cycled the 30 kms to the track.

Anna is no stranger to long distance cycling trips and has recently been involved in a fund raising MS Bike Tour down in the Brampton and Waterloo area of Ontario. Tonight she decided to use pedal power to visit the races.

This week the Late Models were taking a night off and once again Go Karts were taking their place on the program. When I first heard that Go Karts were going to be added, my first notion was to raise my eye brows and in 'internet language' thought OMG. I've never been a great lover of this kind of motor racing, but I have to admit they've always put on a good show. So far I've been pleasantly surprised. The racing has been very competitive and this weeks winner was long distance traveler Michelle Schroer, who's a regular at the Mosport track near Toronto.

 Winners in the regular divisions included, Dave Riopelle (Legends) Greg Ogilvie (Thunder Cars) Mike Oakley (MiniStocks) and Brian Sehl (4 for Fun). Even this late in the season there were two drivers making their 2009 debut this week. Mike Hennick a 2008 Thunder Car feature winner and rookie Pete Bettencourt in the Legends.

Like many other race fans I'm a regular viewer of the SPEED Channel on TV . Most of the stuff on there I find quite compelling but there's one program that makes me cringe. It's called 'Pinks' and consists of pathetically over-hyped drag racing duels. As soon as it comes on I grab the remote and hit the 'off' button.

My Friday night races were at the Mohawk International Raceway at Hogansburg NY and for something different, 'Pinks' style duels were on the program instead of the regular heats. Even though my views of the TV program are far from positive I still went along with an open mind.

I think the race drivers enjoyed it, but some fans I spoke to would have preferred two regular heats . Let's face it, two or three cars racing together is not as exciting as a full field. There were 16 Modifieds in attendance so we could of had two 8 car heats.

The Feature race was ran in the normal way and turned out to be a good one. Ryan Helm rolled over for the second consecutive time at this track and the race was brought under red flag conditions. After the restart two of my friends led the pack. It was Gage Morin out at the front with Todd Stewart chasing. Even after a late caution closed the pack these two continued to dominate with seventeen year old Gage taking the checkers from the more experienced Todd. The Pro Stock Feature was won by local hero Louie Jackson.

The weather forecast for the weekend was for plenty of rain and meteorologists weren't wrong. My plans for Saturday involved an afternoon at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal followed by an evening at the Airborne Speedway at Plattsburgh, New York. Luckily the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a road course and that type of racing rarely cancel because of rain. Airborne is paved, and these type of tracks too, often survive wet weather better than dirt.

It was the NASCAR weekend in Montreal with the headline race on Saturday being for ROLEX Grand Am Sports Cars prior to Sundays Nationwide Series race. I set off Saturday morning accompanied by my buddy Roger Aubin with me driving his Ford Escape.

Just before lunch we arrived at the Longueuil Metro station where we payed an expensive 15 bucks a day to park. To save paying for extortionate track food we had a burger at the station's McDonalds before hopping on the subway to Park Jean Drapeau , which is one stop away.

It wasn't raining at this time but the sky looked full of it so I took along a plastic bag to keep my camera dry. By the time we had entered the circuit it had started drizzling so the first thing I bought was a plastic cape to keep myself dry. No sooner had I put it on, the rain stopped, but I decided prudently to keep it on anyway.

We then took our seats in 'Granstand # 31' which was located on one of the turns just before the hairpin. During the 74 lap Rolex race the rain returned causing the cars to pit stop for wet tires, as many skidded into the barriers.

The winner was the the # 10 Sun Trust Racing Ford/Dallara of Max Angelelli and Brian Frisselle. Following this race it was the qualifying for the Nationwide Series cars, but we didn't bother staying for this. Watching cars going round one by one doesn't appeal to me too much (especially in the rain ! ) and we were still hoping that the Airborne Speedway had survived.

Once back at the car, I made a phone call to Plattsburgh and got the inevitable recorded message saying it was off. Plan B was to make a quick dash down to the Brockville Ontario Speedway, but a phone call to them gave a similar disappointing message.

It meant the days racing was over so we started heading for home, not before calling in to buy some beer in a Baie Durfe grocery store ( beer is cheaper in Quebec and they don't have to put up with the antiquainted alcohol laws that we have in Ontario, where you have to buy it from 'big brother')

While in the shopping plaza parking lot I spotted to lovely old Citroen 1200k vans which must have been at least 45 years old as I remember them well from holidays in France as a kid. I just had to take a picture of them ( check out the photo section). Once Roger had dropped me off at my place, I had a rare Saturday evening at home. The Wok came out, I cooked myself a Chinese meal and washed it down with bottle or two of my recently acquired Grolsch.

It was bright and sunny when I awoke on Sunday and I had high hopes for the evenings races at the Cornwall Motor Speedway. It was the rescheduled finale of the LUCAS OIL CANADIAN DIRT SERIES which had been postponed following an earlier rain out. Things looked good and thought the predicted 40% chance of rain would not happen.

With it being a big event I was there quite early to get all my stuff organized. Around 3-00pm it was still warm and sunny but the sky on the horizon looked very grim. Would it be coming our way, or would it miss us ?

Within 15 minutes or so my question was answered, the heavens opened and it rained heavily for the next half an hour before turning to a light drizzle. By then the damage was done, and at about 3-45pm the cancellation announcement was made. I was soon on my way home for another night in doors.

According to the press release which was issued later that evening, the finale of the LUCAS OIL CANADIAN DIRT SERIES will now be combined as part of the 358 SUPER DIRT SERIES race that takes place next Sunday (Sept 6).