FW: Jim's Journeys - by Jim Clarke

People who are familiar with my weekly writings know that racing is a big part of my life – but sometimes, there’s a nice reminder that there are other things that are more important. The people in my life will always mean more to me than racing ever will...no matter how much I might enjoy my visits to the track.

Thursday, June 4^th: Toronto Blue Jays and the LA Angels at The Rogers Centre

My kids are easily the most important thing in my life. They always have been and always will be. I enjoy the time I get to spend with my son and daughter and I’m thrilled with the young people they’ve become. My son Travis travelled to Europe with his high school friends earlier this year and when he told his mother and me that he had the opportunity to make the trip, his next comment was that he was going to pay for it himself through his part-time job at Harvey’s. I’ve been lucky enough to join my daughter Allisen on several school trips and was happy to book a day off work this past Thursday and be part of a journey to The Rogers Centre for a Blue Jays game.

The Jays made the game close in the late going, but ended-up losing the 6 to 5. The score wasn’t the important part. It was the quality time with my daughter that mattered most to me. Both kids are graduating this summer. Allisen will finish grade 8 on the 22^nd of June and move on to high school in September. 2 days later, Travis will finish his grade 12...but will go back for another year before deciding on where he’d like to attend college or university. I’ll be as close to front-row-centre as possible at each event, with my camera in hand. I have to have some new photos to post in the ‘kids and me’ albums on my Facebook page. Sometimes, they fight like crazy but they’re very good friends and I love them dearly. I’m extremely proud of each of my kids and cherish things we do together.

Friday, June 5^th: Kawartha Speedway

The opening night of the 2009 season – Friday, May 29^th – at Kawartha Speedway was cut short by weather. The OSCAAR Super Late Model feature was postponed and will be made-up later in the year. Keep an eye on http://www.kawarthaspeedway.com/ or http://www.oscaar.ca/ for details. The Late Models were scheduled to run a 40 lap main event and when that portion of the show was delayed, track officials decided to make it up with a pair of 25 lappers.

The line-up for the first of the features was determined from the opening night’s qualifying. From the drop of the green flag, it seemed like the Late Model guys missed racing for the big bucks. A number of yellow flags slowed the pace, with some valuable racing equipment being loaded onto the haulers with significant damage. Norm Mayhew’s #60 and Ryan Downer’s #73 each made solid contact with the wall in different incidents. When the checkered flags fell, 2008 champion Dan McHattie and Brandon Watson had picked-up the Late Model feature wins.

By contrast, the Mini Stock and Thunder Car features treated the fans to some excellent, side-by-side racing. 2008 Mini Stock champ Jason Juriga parked his #1 machine in victory lane, with former Limited Late Model champion Kyle Donaldson finding his way to the winner’s circle over John Baker Jr. and last year’s Thunder Car champion Willie Reyns. Tim Norris claimed the visiting Ontario Pro Challenge series main event.

Kawartha Speedway will take Friday, June 12^th off before returning to action with a 100 lap Late Model invitational special event Friday, June 19^th. Some of the Kawartha drivers will also head to Capital City Speedway at Stittsville, Ontario for a 100 lapper Saturday, June 13^th.

Saturday, June 6^th: Brockville Ontario Speedway

After being washed-out on their first attempt of getting the ’09 campaign underway, Brockville Speedway has been perfect. So, in fact, had been Danny O’Brien. The 8 time track champion had claimed the first 2 DIRTcar 358 modified feature events. The 1st came from an outside front-row starting spot. The 2nd from a little deeper in the starting field. Saturday night, O’Brien would face some stiff competition. Quebec’s David Hebert was in attendance, along with O’Brien’s older brother Pat who was making his first start since suffering a concussion in a big block tour event earlier in the year. Having all 3 O’Brien brothers in attendance gave photographers a new challenge, as my friend Rick Young, Brockville Speedway staff photo guy Henry Hannewyk and I all tried – and failed – to capture all 3 of the brothers in the same shot.

His return to action didn’t go exactly the way Pat O’Brien had planned. On the first lap of the small block modified feature, the veteran runner was collected in a turn 3 incident that also involved David Hebert, Steve Bilow, Chris King and Gage Morin. O’Brien, King and Morin were finished for the night, while Hebert and Bilow were able to continue. From the early going, Todd Stewart was on a strong run. When we had a chance to chat before the feature, he told me that he thought the track had sealed-over, with just a little bit of moisture on the bottom and the extreme outside lane. When the green was displayed on the restart, the driver of the #72 TEO Pro Car took to the bottom of the track and began picking-off spots.

After settling for 2^nd to O’Brien last week – and scoring the same finish in the DIRTcar 358 modified feature Friday night at Mohawk International Raceway – Stewart was hungry for a win. He grabbed 2 spots on lap 5, then became the night’s 3^rd leader with a pass on the 6^th circuit. Steve Bilow spun on lap 27 to bring out a late race yellow flag, but Todd Stewart wasn’t to be denied and earned his first win of 2009. Even with his car sitting in victory lane, the highlight of Stewart’s night was posing for photos with his wife Janet and daughters Abby and Annie by his side. Danny O’Brien was 2^nd, with Kyle Dingwall, Tim O’Brien and Bill Gill completing the top 5.

This weekend: Friday, June 12^th - ?? Saturday, June 13^th – The 3^rd Annual Kingston Speedway Reunion in Odessa. ACT Late Models at Capital City Speedway and a regular night of action at Brockville Ontario Speedway (can I be 3 different places in 1 day??). Sunday, June 14^th – Cornwall Motor Speedway.

Note: After watching Saturday night’s NASCAR Nationwide Series event, I’ll be sending a copy of John Hiatt’s ‘Greatest Hits’ CD to Kyle Busch. “It breaks my heart to see those stars, smashing a perfectly good guitar.”

Photo attachments: (Jim Clarke – Clarke Motorsports Communications)

#1). With my daughter Allisen (a/k/a ‘Lucy’) at the Toronto Blue Jays’ game.

#2). Kyle ‘Wheely’ Donaldson on the way to his Kawartha Speedway Thunder Car feature win.

#3). The #99 of Ken Nicholson picked-up one of Kawartha’s Ontario Pro Challenge heat race wins.

#4). After suffering a concussion in a big block DIRTcar tour event in April, Pat O’Brien made his return to action at Brockville. The 4 time Mr. DIRTcar champion was collected in a lap 1 wreck and was finished for the night.

#5). There was no stopping Todd Stewart as the Bath, Ontario DIRTcar small block modified runner picked-up his first win of the 2009 season at Brockville Ontario Speedway.