Racing tension in the hot, July air
Even without spectators in the stands, Flamboro Downs hosted exciting event
The experience of attending a race today is one of noise, colour and masks.
In past seasons, talking with people at a race track could be difficult. With cars roaring around the track, one had to literally get in another’s face to be heard. But, with the masks and social distancing in our new world, this is not acceptable. Using giant selfie sticks with microphones on their ends, television reporters have an easy time with their interviews compared to the pen and notepad I have used throughout my career.
So I found myself quite handicapped when attending the Operation Green Flag Pure Stock 40 at Flamboro Speedway on Saturday afternoon.
Sure, just about everyone in the pits was masked, some with custom-made ones sporting their team’s logo and car number, but there was a tension in the hot July air mixed in with the racing fuel fumes.
The teams prepared their mounts in the pits, and lined up for their races as usual, and took to the track as usual.
Then the colour and excitement of competition took over as the cars vied for positions on the third-mile oval, but the roped-off grandstands in the background brought things back into perspective in our COVID-19 world. When watching IndyCar or NASCAR on television, you only get a glimpse of the empty stands, but to watch auto racing today in person is a very unusual experience. It’s not normal.
Then again, maybe this will be the new normal. Track owners, sponsors, officials and race teams must be applauded for providing a return of the sport. As with other tracks in the area, Flamboro is planning to host another event, this time July 25 featuring Canadian Vintage Modifieds, MiniStocks, Pure Stocks and the Can-Am Midgets.
Winning the 50-lap Super Stock feature Saturday was Ken Grubb of Walkerton, while Dundas’s Karl Sault won the 40-lap Mini Stock main and the 40-lap Pure Stock feature went to Kris Kahn.
Auto racing in this area has been fortunate to be able to operate, as the return of other sports at the local level is still in question. Imagine sitting in a football stadium or hockey arena with just the teams and officials participating. You would not have to worry about the person sitting next to you spilling their beer on you when the home team scores, but that’s part of the ambience of attending a sporting event.
Here are a couple of interesting quotes from racing over the past weekend.
Formula 1 ran its first race of the season, the Austrian Grand Prix.
Winning was Valtteri Bottas in his Mercedes-Benz and, while Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc placed second, F1 managing director Ross Brawn said after the race the Italian team has work to do.
“It was clear Ferrari were in a difficult position after qualifying, their performance by their own admission was disappointing,” he noted.
“Charles showed what a talented driver he is, to take second place. But Ferrari have got to quickly improve the situation otherwise they face a very difficult season.”
IndyCar driver Rinus VeeKay was quite excited when he placed fifth in the GMR Grand Prix, held on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course Saturday.
“I drove the best race of my whole career,” said the Ed Carpenter Chevrolet team driver. “The team just gave me a great car, great strategy to go from P18 to P5. I drove my butt off. I have never been this tired after a race, but that’s what you get when you give 110 per cent. I’m the happiest guy on earth right now.”