Scratching a 16- year itch
Merrittville Speedway Wall of Famer Davey Moore racing for fi rst time since 1999
No driver points were awarded Saturday when Merrittville Speedway hosted its fi rst public event of the year, and that was entirely the point.
A test and tune session – essentially, pre- season and spring training rolled into one and held on a single day – gave drivers the chance to race their cars for the first time since rolling them out of storage without the pedal- tothemetal pressure of worrying whether anyone was gaining on them.
Th ey could test the responsiveness of their steering, the degree of give in their shocks and the air pressure in their tires at their own pace, all while getting their first opportunity to try out the resurfaced track.
During the off- season more than 400 truckloads of blue, gumbo- like clay were worked into the D- shaped dirt track, and Pete Bicknell, the track’s co- owner and a champion driver when he isn’t being the boss of the race track, said the test and tune was the next step to getting the surface ready for the season opener next weekend.
“Th is is just what we need. Get some laps and some use,” said Bicknell, a 23- time points champion in the modified 358 class at the Th orold track.
“It was rough last week, but it’s coming along. We should be in good shape.”
Between getting their cars inspected by officials and taking turns running hot laps, there also was ample opportunity to discuss cars and swap racing stories with old acquaintances.
For Davey Moore, catching up on old times with his many friends and well wishers in the southern Ontario and western New York racing communities took quite some time.
Given the Merrittville Speedway Hall of Famer’s last time behind the wheel was the last race – of the last millennium – that’s understandable. Moore, a fivetime track champion in the 1970s and the winner of a record 12 in a row in 1979, retired from racing in 1999 when stress began taking too much of a toll on his heart.
“I wasn’t feeling well, I wasn’t feeling like myself,” the St. Catharines native said.
Moore got a renewed lease on life and rediscovered his passion for racing two years ago when he underwent a triple bypass at University Hospital in London, Ont.
“I got a new heart, a new lease on life, and I feel like I’m 40 again,” Moore, now 68, said with a laugh.
Yes, speaking of stress, isn’t racing stressful? What did the doctor say, St. Catharines male athlete of the year for 1979 is asked.
“What doctor?” Moore said, feigning surprise before answering the question.
“He told me to keep active, so I am keeping active.”
Moore first caught the bug to return to racing two years ago when he was working on his son Jason’s sportsman pit crew, but a ride didn’t materialize until two weeks ago when he agreed to drive a modified 358 owned by Jeff Jepson of Ransomville, N. Y.
An absence of goose bumps leading up to Saturday’s return to racing at his home track surprised Moore.
“I actually can’t explain why. I feel really relaxed and comfortable.”
And he was barely into a six- lap practice when he began feeling in control, just like the Davey Moore of old.
“Racing all comes down to concentration, and having your brain connected to your right foot. Do that, and you’ll do fi ne.”
Like many drivers at the test and tune, Moore ran hot laps on old tires.
“No use wasting new ones, but we did all right. When the car works this well now, put new tires on and it will be like a rocket ship,” he said.
Merrittville’s pit area was a What’s What in the world as driver- owned race cars as hot-shoes from both sides of the border took advantage of sunny weather. Racers from the track’s five regular classes – 4- cylinder mini stocks, 8- cylinder Hoosier stocks, modifi ed lites, sportsman and 358s – were joined by 4- cylinder trucks, late models and sprint cars.
ere was a ninth class as well – the ATVs used to push start the sprint cars. The winged warriors of the racing circuit can fly around the track, but only after they are pushed as their engines lack starters.
Though Dan Heschke, whose home track is Ransomville, rarely runs at Merrittville, he made the one- hour trek to Th orold to get a jump on the season.
“We don’t practice until next week, but this gives me a chance to shake the car down. Hopefully, nothing leaks,” the sportsman racer said.
Th e father of three didn’t have an off- season away from racing, only from racing on the track. Instead of being behind the wheel, he spent many off- hours behind a wrench.
“When you’re not racing, you work on the car. We rebuilt the whole thing,” Heschke, an auto worker at the General Motors power train plant in North Tonawanda, said.
“Like I said, hopefully nothing leaks.”
Merrittville Speedway’s 64th season gets underway 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.
Racing all comes down to concentration, and having your brain connected to your right foot. Do that, and you’ll do fi ne.”
Merrittville Speedway Wall of Famer Davey Moore