Racing finally on track
Drivers get fi rst opportunity to try out Merrittville’s resurfaced track at Test and Tune Session
When it rains, the track’s not the problem, everything around it is.”
Merrittville Speedway assistant general manager Jim Irvine
After a long, long winter finetuning their engines while waiting in anticipation, drivers on the racing circuit can fi nally get some dirt on the resurfaced track at Merrittville Speedway.
Weather permitting — always the caveat for racing in Niagara this time of year — the green fl ag for practice laps on the D- shaped main track drops at 5 p. m. today.
That’s when the “test” part of the annual Test and Tune Session gets underway, though only for drivers whose cars pass the inspection.
Inspectors at the test and tune are especially concerned 4- and 8- cylinder vehicles that have been modified to run in the stock car classes meet safety requirements.
“We’re making sure the welds are good and strong, that the floorboards are intact,” Jim Irvine, Merrittville’s assistant general manager, said Friday. “It’s just a second set of eyes to make sure everything is on the up and up.”
An event that’s free to the public and begins at noon is as much a warmup for track officials as it for drivers and their pit crews.
“Th is is practice, spring training and the pre- season all in one. It’s a practice day for us, too.”
During the off- season more than 400 truckloads of clay were worked into main and go kart racing surfaces at the Th orold track.
A work in progress that has already taken “countless man hours” will be ongoing throughout the speedway’s 64th season.
“The track is never the same, from one week to the next, even from one race to the next. It’s a real science,” Irvine said of what’s involved in maintaining for safe and optimum racing.
“Wind and sun can dry a track out, and rain can make it tacky.”
Perhaps surprisingly, given the number of rained- out Saturday night programs over the past few years, Merrittville’s main track is good handling wet weather.
“The drainage is pretty good. When it rains, the track’s not the problem, everything around it is,” Irvine said with a laugh.
Today’s test and tune is actually the second opportunity for some drivers to try out the track. Last weekend 18 racers, most of whom either new to racing or moving to a different division, took part in the speedway’s annual driving school.
That total bodes well for the sport locally as it represents an increase from the 12 to 14 drivers the school has attracted in the past.
“I actually cut it off at 18. We could have had probably five more, but I like to keep to a number that ensures lots of attention,” the speedway’s general manager, Erica Bicknell- Jones, said.
Not to mention, lots of seat time behind the wheel. She pointed out most of the drivers got in at least 100 laps after completing the classroom portion of the school.
Merrittville’s driving school is mandatory for the modified lite division if the driver is under the age of the club rules.
Among the drivers at last weekend’s school who have graduated from the speedway’s Tuesday night go kart program is Steven Beckett, a Pelham resident and Grade 10 French immersion student at Welland Centennial Secondary School.
“He was at the school and he did real well on the track,” Irvine said of Beckett who this season will be making his debut in mod lites after eight seasons racing go karts.
Merrittville’s 2015 program gets underway next Saturday with the Spring Sizzler sponsored by Seaway Mall. Pits open at 5 p. m., the grandstand at 5: 30 p. m. with showtime set for 7 p. m.
HUMBERSTONE ON HOLD
After- eff ects of a snowy winter continue to linger for track officials at New Humberstone Speedway offi cials.
Track conditions forced them to postpone Sunday’s first practice run of the season until next weekend.
“Generally, the track absorbs a lot of moisture from the snow and rain from the winter months,” Steven Petty, the Port Colborne speedway’s public relations director said.
“We need a few days of dry and warm temperatures to start working on the track, and get it into what we want it to be and make it a competitive surface for our drivers.”
Next Sunday’s practice at Humberstone begins at 2 p. m.
Th e track’s 56th season opener is Sunday, May 3. Gates open at 4: 30 p. m. with the first race two hours later.