Greg MacPherson's Inside Line Commentary
Outside the box

By: Greg MacPherson

www.insidetracknews.com 


One of the joys of being the editor of a motorsports magazine is that I have the opportunity to be exposed to a lot of different forms of racing. While some give their heart to a specific type of motorsports (e.g. stocks, road racing, drags), when you oversee a magazine like Inside Track, having an open mind to see the attraction of the entire spectrum of disciplines that make up our sport is a necessity.

Needless to say, we rely on an army of staff writers, freelancers and photographers to fill the pages of the magazine. But it’s still critical, in my opinion, to get out to different tracks when time permits to keep a finger on the pulse of the racing community.

Ohsweken Speedway has been around for several seasons. And despite the great ‘buzz’ about the track and the many kind invitations to participate in the Southern Ontario Sprints’ Media Day at the Brantford-area oval, I’m almost embarrassed to say that May 14 was a night of two personal ‘firsts’.

It was my inaugural visit to Ohsweken, as well as my first time seeing the amazing SOS machines in action. Wow!

I’m not an expert on dirt tracks and dirt cars, but I know a great facility and exciting racing when I see them. It started a few minutes after I hit the parking lot. At some tracks, you get a blank stare when you inform the person at the gate that you talked to the manager and had arranged for a media credential for the evening.

I’ve even seen television news cameras from major stations turned away at the gate of Ontario stock car tracks, but that’s another story. This was not the case at Ohsweken, where we were welcomed with smiles.

Walking through the ‘back gate’ toward the track, we found an extensive pit area. Closer to the dirt oval, there were new (or very well-maintained) tech buildings, with big doors and expansive, well-lit poured concrete floors. All very nice.

But that was just the warm-up. The spectator area was peppered with familiar faces – familiar from asphalt ovals – that is. Apparently they were onto Ohsweken’s secret long before I was. Looking back, I can’t help but wonder why they didn’t tell me about the fun they were having at Ohsweken. But in all honesty, I had heard rave reviews about the track before, I just hadn’t made the effort to get there.

In addition to the SOS sprints, the show included a few of the track’s regular Friday night divisions. Granted, I was preoccupied chatting with friends like track announcer Adam Ross and photographers Ken and Cheryl Pelkie (Kenetic Photos) – whom I’d only ever known through e-mail – but it’s my perception that the entire heat race part of the program – across all of the divisions – was completed without a single caution flag. Wow again.

My only previous personal exposure to top-notch winged sprints was watching the World of Outlaws at Ransomville, Rolling Wheels and the Syracuse Fairgrounds, during Super DIRT Week. One of the greatest crimes in racing is that Dave Blaney is no longer racing sprint cars, because he was so darn fun to watch.

But now I know that I don’t have to head State-side to see incredible machines and great drivers like these in action. Young Cody Geldart carved his way through the pack, almost lapping the field in his heat. Mike Lauterborn did the same in the feature and appeared destined for victory before losing his motor. Capitalizing on Lauterborn’s misfortune, track owner and defending SOS champ Glenn Styres picked up the ball from there, and won.

I really enjoy most forms of racing, but for sheer fun and entertainment, there hasn’t been much – in my opinion – that beats an evening watching the SOS cars in action at Ohsweken Speedway. Sure, you end up a little dusty and are pelted with clods of clay if you stand in the wrong place, but it becomes part of the fun when you take in the great racing and the entire Ohsweken ‘experience’.

In fact, if the weather holds on June 4, by the time you read this I’ll probably have made my second visit to Ohsweken to see the SOS series. It’s that magnetic.

Turning to another ‘feel good’ story, on May 28, I had the pleasure of attending the Lucas Oil ISMA Supermodified / Late Model / Legends show at the newly re-opened Kawartha Speedway. It just wasn’t right that this fabulous track sat silent throughout 2003, which makes it all the more satisfying that the Peterborough-area oval is back in action.

At a time when some forms of racing are all about sponsorship and dollars – things that tend to sap the fun out of the sport – it’s heartening to see racers, teams and fans having fun concentrating on what’s happening on the track, rather than focusing on the boardroom dealings. The fun has clearly returned to Kawartha, and I only wish I’d known about finding it at Ohsweken a few years earlier.