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Here we go again. The roads are getting longer each week, as the 2010 season gets into full swing. Last week we did stops in Fredericton and Shediac, and a third stop in Halifax was rained out. This week it’s Halifax on Friday, and Fredericton on Saturday. We were also planning on Shediac on Sunday but this event has been postponed.
Last week’s trek to Fredericton was well worth the effort as a large car count in all divisions and some extremely exciting racing were the result. The action was furious from start to finish and the staff at Speedway 660 always make the trip a memorable one.
Centre for Speed is struggling with car counts in the early going and as a result, have cancelled this week’s event to allow drivers time to get their machines ready. This is only a temporary glitch however, and Centre for Speed will be up and running on all cylinders in a week’s time.
This week, at Scotia, two events are scheduled. Friday night, the regular divisions will ply their wares while on Saturday, the Carquest Pro Stock tour will kick off their tenth season. After watching Shawn Tucker run at Speedway 660 last weekend, he is going to give everyone a run for the title in 2010 on the Tour.
As many of you know, my wife Beatrice, and myself, operate the Racing Spectator web site and that Bea interviews interesting people each week. This past week, she interviewed Mike Francis, a Street Stock competitor from Saint John, NB, and the interview is so compelling that I am going to print it here, so that everyone will see the type of competitor running the ovals in the Maritimes in 2010. Here goes:
Mike Francis - Hero In His Own Way
Mike Francis of St. John, New Brunswick, has been around racing since the seventies. “My father used to take me to Hammond River and River Glade back in the seventies. Then in 1988 I decided I’d like to race. I bought my own Sportsman car. I raced at Hammond River and a little bit at River Glade in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Then I took seven or eight years off. A friend of mine, Rick Cashol, came here to race and I sponsored him. Halfway through the season I got the bug again and I’ve been here ever since. That’s eight years now.”
Francis was asked about his car number. “This particular number is special, Yes. Back when I was a small kid, Fearless Frankie Fraser and Teddy Rankin were my heroes. That was their numbers. That’s why I started here with the 23 although I started out with a different number.”
Francis was asked about the funniest moments he has seen around the track. “I’ve seen some wild animals get out on the track. Once at River Glade, a rabbit got out on the track during practice and that caused a few “hairy” moments. But that’s not the funniest thing I’ve seen, though. Actually, my first win was the funniest thing that ever happened to me. In 1990, I went to River Glade. It was my very first time there. It was the weekend that Lowden, NH opened and everyone had gone down there. Being young and not knowing much about what I was doing, and with close to 30 Sportsman cars entered, I was put in the “Little Feature”. After three laps, a couple of the cars got taken out, then another lap and another car got “black flagged”. Then a car quit , leaving only three cars still running. The other two decided to take each other out. I ended up the only car on the track and the race win. I have the trophies sitting home still today.”
There are no sponsors on Francis’ car so I asked him about it, although I already knew the answer. “I’ve always supported the troops on my car. Usually I have the Canadian flag and a “support the troops” decal. This year I decided to do something different and go a step further. Unfortunately, guys are still getting killed over there so I had to step up. I decided to paint the car all black and on the trunk lid are the names of all the soldiers we lost in Afghanistan since 2002.There are 146 names on the trunk lid right now. My sponsors are aware that their names are not on the car this year. Not even my name is on the car. Just those who were killed. I’ll be running like this all year.”
I asked if he had any closing comments. “It’s the first day here. We don’t know who are the villains or who are the heroes quite yet, but we have some suspicions of who the villains are going to be.”
There you have it. Mike Francis is one of the good guys. That’s all for this week folks. Keep your pedal to the metal, and turn left, but remember, racing belongs on the track, not on the street.
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