Flat Track Canada getting national traction
Working over the winter, Flat Track Canada has expanded its horizons, taking regional series and amalgamating them into one big national group.
While the Southern Ontariobased FTC had ties with riders across Canada, it will now encompass more clubs at the promotion and competition levels to help the sport grow.
Flat-track racing organizations from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec will become part of this organization with delegates from each region having input.
“With FTC sanctioned tracks working together to create and implement standard rules and track practices, we are essentially creating a larger race community with shared knowledge and aligned goals, providing riders with an even more enjoyable and consistent experience from one track to the next,” said Nikki Kendall of the Vancouver Flat Track Club.
Also in the same release, Aaron Hesmer of Flat Track Canada, who has been the main thrust behind this, said “this committee has been really putting forth a lot of effort and making great changes for Flat Track in Canada. The enthusiasm is second to none and I’m excited to see where the sport will be in future years to come.”
Now in its sixth year of operation, Flat Track Canada has an Eastern Canada division, a Western Canada division, and the National Championship Series. The Nationals consist of a 12event card starting May 19 at Trois-Rivieres. This will continue at Welland County June 2, along with stops at Ohsweken Speedway and Flamboro Downs in July and August before heading west.
Paton Racing Team
Last week, I wrote about the hopes of the Paton Racing Team, Canada’s only competing Top Fuel Dragster, at the NHRA Gatornats in Florida.
Well, the Paris-based team, which had never made it past the first round of eliminations in previous years, went right to the final. Unfortunately, a mechanical issue forced them to shut the car off before the last race, giving Richie Crampton the victory.
“We struggled in qualifying on both days,” said Paton crew member Yvonne Potter, “never getting a three-second run, then in the first round we ran a 3.83 (seconds) at 322 (m.p.h.). We really needed that and the day just got better and better.”
With Shawn Reed driving the TF, the team qualified 12th in the 16-car field and, in elimination rounds, took out Pat Daikin, reigning Gatornats champ Tony Schumacher, and No. 1 qualifier Clay Millican to meet Crampton in the final. Reed did his burnout for the deciding run, and things weren’t right with the engine so the car was shut down.
But for the first of 10 events for the team this year, it is off to an encouraging start. Not since the days of Terry Capp and Gary Beck over 30 years ago has a Canadian team been so successful.
Bits and pieces
Riding his Yamaha, Danny Eslick of Tulsa, Okla., won the 77th running of the Daytona 200, his fourth victory in five years. Although he blew an engine in qualifying, a replacement engine enabled him to win the 57-lap event. Top-finishing Canadian was Darren James of North Vancouver, B.C., who finished seventh in the 53-rider field ... The World of Outlaws is launching electronic versions of its Craftsman Sprint Car and Late Model series in conjunction with iRacing, offering online racers a chance to race against each other on digital replications of some of the most iconic dirt tracks ... The Tequila Patron ESM Nissan DPi driven by Pipo Derani, Johannes van Overbeek and Nicolas Lapierre won the 66th running of the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring endurance event in southern Florida over the weekend. Taking second in the Prototype division in this race, the second of 10 for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, was the Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R team driven by Jordan Taylor, Renger van der Zande and Ryan Hunter-Reay.