Blog: Border Patrol – A weekly look at racing from both sides of the 1000 Islands
Craig Revelle – October 31, 2011 — The month of October is now over, and we go into November with the racing season now behind me. Sure, some area race teams have one more event remaining as they travel south to Concord, North Carolina for the DIRTcar World Finals on the biggest stage possible this coming week, and other tracks further south have races planned such as Penn Can Speedway, or Hagerstown Speedway but for me, my season is over.
Last year, I was fortunate enough to attend the World Finals at the Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This place isn’t your ordinary dirt track. Located in between the Charlotte Motor Speedway 1.5 mile oval that the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races on, and the new state of the art Charlotte Motor Speedway Drag Strip, the dirt track provides an unbelievable atmosphere for dirt track racing fans. The World Finals hosts all three major DIRTcar season finale events. The World of Outlaw Sprints, the World of Outlaw Late Models, and the DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds will all crown a series champion during this November 3-5 weekend.
While the season just ended at my local tracks, already news has come out regarding Chapman’s Can Am Motorsports Park and their plans for the 2012 season. They have announced that they will switch to Saturday nights next season, keeping all divisions they had last year. The Late Model division will have the biggest change, as they will no longer have the option for the 604 crate motor, and will now have to use the less expensive 602 crate option. While the car counts may hurt temporarily, the less expensive motor option will eventually bring cars back into the class. The Street Stocks have now been opened up to allow the DIRTcar Pro Stock class to compete against them weekly. This should allow some of the Cornwall Speedway/Mohawk Raceway Pro Stocks to come to Can Am weekly, without creating another division. For me personally, it is disappointing that the two tracks closest to me will now be operating on the same night of the week, but the track had to make a decision to better their business, I support them for that.
Coming up in the next few weeks are the annual awards banquets. I plan to attend the Empire Super Sprints banquet on November 12th to present Mike Stelter of Ontario, New York the first ever Finish Line Web Design best appearing car award. Other banquets taking place in November are the annual DIRTcar Awards presentation, where all four of DIRTcar’s premiere divisions will honour their champions. Billy Decker currently leads the Big Block Modified Mr. DIRTcar standings, while Danny Johnson (358 Modified), Tim Sears Jr. (Sportsman), and Joey Ladouceur (Pro Stock), have all earned top honors in their respective divisions. All DIRTcar Track Champions will be honored as well.
The awards banquet for the local tracks will be held later in the off-season. Can Am will honor their champions and top finishers in January, while Brockville, Mohawk and Cornwall Speedway both typically have their awards presentation in March or early April.
To all drivers, race teams, officials and fans making the trip to North Carolina this week…have fun, enjoy your time away, be safe and I will see you all at the track next season.
I hope you continue to enjoy my weekly column, as always, any comments or suggestions can be sent to crevelle@ripnet.com. Please feel free to check out my website, www.finishlinewebdesign.ca. You can also follow my live up to the minute racing coverage via twitter right on the main page of my website, through Facebook at www.facebook.com/crevelle or by following the link on the main page of www.dirttrackdigest.com for full coverage of racing events throughout the DIRTcar racing community. If you would like a website for your race team or small business, send me a message and I will get back to you.
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