There’s lots of action in the tower between green and checkered flags
The ability to multitask and a thick skin are ideal attributes for race directors
Doug Leonard puts on a white shirt before leaving his home in Caledonia.
It’s the weekend during the racing season and the 44-year-old sales representative at Miska Trailers in Hamilton is heading to a part-time job as an official at the dirt track in the region.
Leonard is race director at three speedways, a juggling act that requires him to keep many balls in the air, all the while keeping his eyes focused on the full-throttle action on the track.
He likens his role at Humberstone Speedway in Port Colborne, Merrittville Speedway in Thorold and Ohsweken Speedway, southeast of Brantford, to being the chief referee or head umpire, as well as being the “conductor of a play.”
Given that race directors can be called on to make split-second decisions following an apparent infraction in a race while making sure a program runs smoothly, they can have a lot on their minds. Should Leonard ever wonder where he’s going when he’s wearing that white shirt on a race night, he doesn’t need to consult a calendar. His daughter Harper, who just turned eight last week, knows exactly where her dad is headed by what he’s wearing.
“My daughter calls it by my shirt colour, she doesn’t call it by the name,” he says with a chuckle. “She knows the names, but as she was growing up it was, ‘Daddy, what track are we going to?’
“I’d put on my shirt and she’d say, ‘Oh, we’re going to the white track,’ or at Humberstone we wear a red shirt. At Ohsweken, it’s an orange shirt.
“Sometimes, I’d have to ask her what shirt I need to put on because she remembers more than I do,” he said.
This season, Leonard is back for a second go-round as race director at Merrittville.
He’s heading into his 21st season at Ohsweken and second at Humberstone.
Leonard, who spent four seasons as a flagman followed by three as a race director in his first stint at Merrittville, accepted an invitation from co-owners Don and Lorraine Spiece to return as race director because he always liked the facility.
“Don and Lorraine have done wonders with this. I loved being here when the Williamsons and the Bicknells owned it,” he says. “Merrittville Speedway is the longestrunning track in Canada on a Saturday night. It’s no different than the wintertime. If you’re sitting at home on a Saturday night, you’re going to turn on the Leafs game.”
He grew up helping out on race programs at the former Cayuga Speedway in Nelles Corners, Ont., just south of Hagersville. His late father, Brock Leonard, was a longtime pit steward at the track.
“He helped line up cars, he helped with tech for a lot of years at Cayuga,” the younger Leonard says. “I got my foot in the door starting on the cleanup crew cleaning up accidents at the age of 12.”
His love for racing did not blossom into a desire to become part of the action.
“I have never been behind the
wheel of a race car and have absolutely no desire to go behind the wheel of a race car,” he says.
“I love just being part of it.” Leonard speaks from experience when he says a race director must be a master of all trades in the tower. “I have to officiate and have the final say on calls on the race track. So, whether it would be an umpire in baseball or a hockey official or a football official, I have to make a judgment call. At the same time, I’m also pulling the strings to make sure the flow of the race goes off and we put on an entertaining show for all of our fans.
“So, from helping out with the officials to making sure that the front gate is closed, that our pace car is out there, that our Turn 1 gate is closed, that our safety vehicles are ready, it’s all just a bunch of moving parts that puts an event on like this,” he said.
Once the program starts, race directors lend a helping hand when called upon.
“You also need to fill in. I need to help timing and scoring, I need to
make sure lineups are proper,” he said.
Keeping the track promoters — the Spieces, in the case of Merrittville — happy is an important part of the job, too.
“If the show doesn’t go off, they’re probably going to be coming after me,” he says with a chuckle.
There is video of every race but it’s not live video. “Unfortunately, we do not have the privilege of instant replay to go by. You’ve got seconds to make that call,” he said.
Because of that, race directors need to have a thick skin in addition to being masters of multitasking. Whether he made the right call in the tower is a “matter of opinion.”
“You and I can sit at a baseball game, watch the Blue Jays and you’re like, ‘Wow, this umpire’s strike zone is really big,’ and I’d be like, ‘No, he’s calling it by the book,’ ” Leonard says. “Everybody’s opinion is going to be different.
“I have to read the rule book and use my opinion as to how it’s written to enforce those rules that we put in play.”
He appreciates that a race team — the driver, especially — might see things differently.
“I am not in the race car. Maybe they zigged and I thought they zagged, but at the end of the day I got to make that call and, like I said, right or wrong, I have to live with it,” Leonard says.
A self-assessment a week later could reveal a blown call.
“Unfortunately, we can’t reverse it,” he said.
Race teams are competitive, regardless of the track.
“In the heat of the battle, some people are going to get upset. We’re going to have different opinions,” Leonard says. “Sometimes, they’re going to voice their opinion. You have to have that thick skin. Water off a duck’s back. You can’t take it personally.”
‘‘ I am not in the race car. Maybe they zigged and I thought they zagged, but at the end of the day I got to make that call and, like I said, right or wrong, I have to live with it.
DOUG LEONARD MERRITTVILLE SPEEDWAY RACE DIRECTOR