RICK @ the RACES . EASTERN
STATES WEEKEND (21 / 22 Oct 2006)
ORANGE COUNTY FAIR SPEEDWAY,
Middletown, NY
About this time of year, just
after I`ve attended SUPER DIRT WEEK, and a whole bunch of the other end of
season specials, I tend to get "raced out", which is my way of
saying, that even `race chasin` me , needs a break.. and so, on the weekend
of the 14/15 Oct, I did just that. The big event scheduled that weekend , in
Dirt racing circles, was the SUPER DIRT SERIES race at Williams Grove PA (
won by Jimmy Phelps) , but instead of making the ten hour driving trip, I
decided to stay at home and relax. I took it easy around the house, until I
got involved in rescuing a couple of kittens (as well as the mother)
that had made their home under my car port. ( good homes required ??? ) My
break from racing-chasin for a week , did me some good, as it made me
look forward to my next excursion to the EASTERN STATES WEEKEND (SUPER DIRT
SERIES) at the Orange County Fair Speedway , Middletown , NY. Although this
is one of my favourite annual events, I had intended to miss it this year in
favour of the Foxhall Stadium , Ipswich back in the UK. I was born in
Ipswich, and saw my very first stock car race there as a toddler in the late
1950`s .My Mum and Dad were followers of the "Witches" Motor Cycle
Speedway team, and when stock cars were first introduced in the mid 50`s,
they went along to see them too. One of the countries top drivers,
Doug Wardropper, lived localy, and my father bought his first ever car , a
1931Standard Nine, ( for 60 quid) from his car sales in the town. After my
family moved to Bedfordshire , about ten years later, I became a regular
race-goer at the Brafield Stadium (Northants) , and as a school kid ,
when returning to Ipswich for visits to my grandparents (who still lived in
the town, just off the Foxhall Rd) , I would walk to the races. So, as you
see the Foxhall and Brafield Stadiums both have a big place in my heart.
This past weekend ( the 21 / 22 Oct) both tracks were scheduled for back to
back races for the BriSCA F1`s, the original and premier division of UK
stock car racing , so I wanted to be there. My original plans were to fly
over to the UK for a few days and take in both... but to make a long story
short, my lottery numbers , just failed to come up ! , so instead of East
Anglia, it was the Eastern States for me . My sources in the UK tell
me that Frankie Wainman Jnr won the British Championship race at Ipswich,
with the Superstox "World" Final (which was also taking place)
being taken by Steven Jackson. Rob Cowley, who started his F1 career
in the mid 70`s, at about the same time as me won at Brafield.
Once decided, that I`d be
heading for Middletown, I made arrangements at work to be finished early on
Friday , which all went to plan and I finshed shortly after 4-00pm. It was
then that things got challenging ! . It had been raining most of the day,
and just as I pulled on to HWY 401 from my work place in Cornwall, the rain
turned to snow. Within half an hour there was about an inch of the stuff
laying on the shoulder and most of the traffic was down to 90 kliks. To
avoid long delays at the border , I chose the Ogdensburg crossing and this
is where my next bit of frustration came. Since 911 , and the increased
security that followed, driving between Canada and the USA has become a
nightmare for citizens of both countries, never knowing when it`s going to
be your turn to get extra scrutiny.. Well guess what ? it was my turn to
day, so the Chevy got treated to the "full works" of the X
RAY machine, which of course, added more time to the journey. ( Let`s just
digress for a moment, while I get up on my soap box ! .. Why, Oh , Why
can`t our two friendly countries, follow the example of modern day Europe,
and do away with the frontier crossings ? ) It`s about a six
hour drive to the OCFS , and once I`d driven out of the storm I made pretty
good time , arriving around 11-00 pm to face my next hiccup. It had been two
years since my last visit, and things had changed quite a bit. "Frankie`s
Diner" which sat opposite the track, was
now a ladies tanning salon, and the adjacent parking lot where the friends
I`d arranged to meet, and usually parked their motorhome , now had
industrial units built on it. While I was "dilly dallying" in the
road , trying to figure out where I was, I must have cought the attention of
the "Old Bill" ( the Cops , to my north american friends ) ....
and before long I had a cruiser come up behind me , with his
"cherries" flashing , urging me to pullover. I explained to the
officer, I was lost and I`d just driven six hours down from Canada, so after
a lecture about stopping on the road, he let me go. It had rained there
earlier in the day, so the planned Friday night 358 Modified heats never
took place, which was good news for me, as it meant I never missed anything.
After eventually finding my friends Motorhome amongst the 100`s of other
campers, I parked the car for the night, and wandered down to the
"31st" Lap ( the speedway bar) where I let myself `un-wind`.
SATURDAY
The weather forecast for the
rest of the weekend was for sunshine, and as Friday dawned, that`s how it
was. After the heats for both Big and Small Block Mods, the big event of the
day, the 150 lap 358 SUPER DIRT SERIES race took place. This was the final
round in the series, had a big Canadian interest to it, with Kingston
Ontario`s , Pat O`Brien # 6 leading the points. He only had to come home in
front of second place man Brett Hearn # 4 of nearby Sussex , NJ. to win it.
The big problem for Pat was, that , this was "Brett`s track" ,
it`s where he started his racing career and has amassed numerous features to
his credit, over the last thirty years. To make things worse, Pat had to
contend with a 13th position starting spot, while Brett was on pole. As
expected, it was the local New Jersey man who led the opening laps , until
O`Briens , Gypsum team mate, Billy Decker took control and held on to it til
the checkers. Hearn followed him home in second place to seize the series,
with the unfortunate Pat O`Brien having to be content with 12th place after
crashing in the early stages. The race was over by 4-00pm and there was a
break of a few hours before the Saturday night DIRT SPORTSMAN events took
place, where Russ Hefti was the feature victor. While this was going on, (
and some time after ! ) the traditional "New Years Eve Party" was
taking place in the "31st Lap", complete with streamers, garlands,
party hats and all the other traditional favours.
SUNDAY
Surprisingly, under the
circumstances, I woke up quite early, without a "sore head" and
was able to drive into town for a "pig out" buffett
breakfast before the scheduled 11-00am "meet the drivers" on-track
Pit Party . This is a great chance for the average race fan, who rarely
enters the pits, to get close up to the cars and their favourite drivers.
Danny "the Doctor" Johnson was out there with his Syracuse winning
Troyer inviting fans to put their names on the car. Of course yours truly
had to oblige ! Also on-track was the beautiful Al Tasnady "Cozee
Coach" vintage modified. The 200 lap EASTERN STATES race provided Brett
Hearn , this time driving the # 20 Wentworth Homes , Big Block Modified with
his third consecutive win in this, the 45th staging of this classic annual
event. Like the 358 race the day before, it was over by 4-00pm and after
taking my Victory Lane photos I was on my way back to Canada.
The Eastern States Weekend is
usually my last race meeting of the year, although last year was an
exception. I celebrated the USA Thanksgiving Holiday with my daughter,
Carla, in Los Angeles where I visited the Irwindale Speedway for the
USAC Midget Turkey Night Grand Prix. This definately wont be happening
this year, as Carla recently moved to Austin, in Texas, so the OCFS will
probably be my last trip of 2006. As for RICK @ the RACES , I`m planning to
do some "retro stuff" with stories of my travels from the early
days, until the ice racing starts up in January.
PHOTO # 1 CAPTION
My first hero as a school kid race fan was # 5 Doug Wardropper from Ipswich.
This 1966 photo show Dougs, Fiat Toppolino bodied, Oldsmobile Rocket powered
state of the art ( at this time) F1 Stock car at the Cadwell Park Circuit .
PETER HUNTER PHOTO
PHOTO # 2 CAPTION
Dads first car, a 1931 Standard
9 bought from Ipswich based, Doug Wardropper , one of the top UK stock car
drivers of the early days
PHOTO BY MUM
PHOTO # 3 CAPTION
Brett Hearn relaxes beside his # 4 Mod on the grid prior to capturing this
years 358 SUPER DIRT SERIES at the OCFS
RICK YOUNG PHOTO
PHOTO # 4 CAPTION
Pat O`Brien`s chances of winning
the 358 SUPER DIRT SERIES slip away , as he drops back into pit lane for
some hasty repairs.
RICK YOUNG PHOTO
PHOTO # 5 CAPTION
BILLY DECKER wins the 150 lap 358 SUPER DIRT SERIES race at the Orange
County Fair Speedway, seen in victory lane with Miss DIRT , Chelsea Miller,
Brett Hearn (left) and Danny Johnson (right)
PHOTO # 6 CAPTION
The Cozze Coach ( vintage modified) on show at the Orange County Fair
Speedway "Pit Party"
RICK YOUNG PHOTO
PHOTO # 7 CAPTION
At the Orange County Fair
Speedway "pit party" race fans are invited to sign the Syracuse
winning, Danny Johnson car.
RICK YOUNG PHOTO
PHOTO # 8 CAPTION
EASTERN STATES Championship winner Brett Hearn accompanied Miss Dirt , Gerry
Higbie (left) and Frank Cozze (centre)
RICK YOUNG PHOTO
