Nascar Reggata...err Racing
The August long weekend is time for the summer road trip to take in some auto racing on Ile St. Helene. The island is quite a little oasis in the heart of Montreal and is likely a very relaxing spot on all but 2 weekends a year. On this weekend the Nascar Nationwide series had brought their traveling road show to town and brought along the Grand Am and Canadian Tire series racers as companion races for the weekend. It makes for a great couple of days at the track watching practice and qualifying sessions, strolling through the paddock areas before the green flag drops on some great racing. This year I drove down with a friend from work and we met up with some colleagues from Montreal to take in the show.
Friday was mostly practice and qualifying on the track with the Grand Am series race to close the day. The weather was mostly overcast but still pretty warm so we appreciated the lack of sun that would have barbequed us in the grandstands. Time at the track on Friday is always a little more relaxing - a few less fans and more of an opportunity to walk around and check out some of the other parts of the course. Time in the paddocks gives you a great chance to see the cars up close before they head out to the track for their races and with a bunch of Canadian drivers qualifying for the races there was a good buzz in the crowd. Post race we spent a very civilized evening at a local brasserie preparing ourselves for Saturdays action.
Saturday dawned sunny but the forecast looked grim. The morning race went off with out a hitch and some exciting racing led local racer Andrew Ranger to victory lane, much to the delight of the fans. As the big show drew near so did dark threatening clouds. The drivers introductions were punctuated with lightening flashes on the south shore and as the cars raced a handful of laps the skies suddenly opened up. It was like someone turned a bucket of water on our heads! The race took an enforced break and drivers put on rain tires while the track crews tried to sweep away the flooded sections of the course. Soon enough the racing was back on – the first Nascar race ever using rain tires. A rear brake light was mounted and some cars had a windshield wiper while others opted for a heavy coat of Rain-X to clear the windshield. To my surprise the fans hung tough, donning their ponchos and raingear and waiting for the race to restart. And when it did the racing was brilliant as the rain tires worked well under occasional light showers. Finally another deluge hit and didn’t look like it would let up. With night falling and steady rain the race was called (short of the full distance but long enough to be official) but no one left disappointed – a good show all around.
Close battles on the slick track
Sunday morning I headed to Maniwaki to visit with a few friends who had congregated at the cottage for the long weekend. The weather was a little better with short passing showers mixed with patches of sunshine. Lots of chores got accomplished with many hands available - chopping firewood, cabin renovations, making beer runs (hey! who got that easy task?!) There was of course plenty of time for a little swimming and waterskiing – the cottage is not all work afterall. Nice quiet spot after a weekend of noise at the track.
Time for a swim...wait a minute have these kids been swimming while we worked?
The August long weekend is time for the summer road trip to take in some auto racing on Ile St. Helene. The island is quite a little oasis in the heart of Montreal and is likely a very relaxing spot on all but 2 weekends a year. On this weekend the Nascar Nationwide series had brought their traveling road show to town and brought along the Grand Am and Canadian Tire series racers as companion races for the weekend. It makes for a great couple of days at the track watching practice and qualifying sessions, strolling through the paddock areas before the green flag drops on some great racing. This year I drove down with a friend from work and we met up with some colleagues from Montreal to take in the show. 
Friday was mostly practice and qualifying on the track with the Grand Am series race to close the day. The weather was mostly overcast but still pretty warm so we appreciated the lack of sun that would have barbequed us in the grandstands. Time at the track on Friday is always a little more relaxing - a few less fans and more of an opportunity to walk around and check out some of the other parts of the course. Time in the paddocks gives you a great chance to see the cars up close before they head out to the track for their races and with a bunch of Canadian drivers qualifying for the races there was a good buzz in the crowd. Post race we spent a very civilized evening at a local brasserie preparing ourselves for Saturdays action.
Saturday dawned sunny but the forecast looked grim. The morning race went off with out a hitch and some exciting racing led local racer Andrew Ranger to victory lane, much to the delight of the fans. As the big show drew near so did dark threatening clouds. The drivers introductions were punctuated with lightening flashes on the south shore and as the cars raced a handful of laps the skies suddenly opened up. It was like someone turned a bucket of water on our heads! The race took an enforced break and drivers put on rain tires while the track crews tried to sweep away the flooded sections of the course. Soon enough the racing was back on – the first Nascar race ever using rain tires. A rear brake light was mounted and some cars had a windshield wiper while others opted for a heavy coat of Rain-X to clear the windshield. To my surprise the fans hung tough, donning their ponchos and raingear and waiting for the race to restart. And when it did the racing was brilliant as the rain tires worked well under occasional light showers. Finally another deluge hit and didn’t look like it would let up. With night falling and steady rain the race was called (short of the full distance but long enough to be official) but no one left disappointed – a good show all around. 
Sunday morning I headed to Maniwaki to visit with a few friends who had congregated at the cottage for the long weekend. The weather was a little better with short passing showers mixed with patches of sunshine. Lots of chores got accomplished with many hands available - chopping firewood, cabin renovations, making beer runs (hey! who got that easy task?!) There was of course plenty of time for a little swimming and waterskiing – the cottage is not all work afterall. Nice quiet spot after a weekend of noise at the track. 
2 comments:
Saturday was a much better day to be at the waterpark in St Sauveur!
Saturday afternoon was a great day to be at the waterpark on Ile St. Helene... all the water you could handle - no extra charge!
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