June 15th - Graduates from Juniors - Darrell Lake, Andrew Perkins
Delaware Speedway is a much quieter place on Wednesday nights than during race events on Fridays. Wednesday is the night that the Junior Late Models take to the race track. Half of the size of regular late models, the Juniors are piloted by kids ages 8 to 17 divided by age into divisions and race on a shortened version of the Delaware half mile track.

Now in its 9th year, the Junior Late Model program aims to teach young drivers not only the protocol and skills of driving a race car, but also the proficiencies and attributes necessary to being a successful in the business of racing. Following each race event, there is classroom learning for half and hour with a test the following week. The test results, along with points given for race finishes and for the weekly appearance and upkeep of the cars all count towards the overall points total of the driver.

Andrew Perkins and Darrell Lake were both ten years old when they joined the Junior Late Model division. The two friends ran Juniors for seven years before making the move to the Delaware Street Stock division in 2004.

“I fell in love with racing in the junior program” Andrew explains “so when it came time to graduate, we basically looked around to see what the best next step would be.” And the decision to move to the street stock division was easy. “They had just introduced the crate motor program” says Andrew “and that made it feasible to get into the street stocks at an affordable price”.

The move from a Junior Late Model, with a 9 horsepower Honda engine and no suspension to a full sized race car with 350 horsepower, was not a simple one, but both Andrew and Darrell attribute their experience in the Junior program with making the transition easier. “I knew what to expect; how the race runs and the flags and all that” Andrew tells me. “So I could just concentrate on learning to drive the car”.

The opportunity to race each week with the veteran drivers who populate the street stock division has provided a learning environment for both drivers and was, according to Darrell, another reason for choosing the street stock division as their next place to race. Those same competitors have helped out off the track as well. Dave Lawrence, for example, built Darrell’s car and Darrell had the opportunity to help in the process and ask a lot of questions. There has been much to learn about suspension, springs, tires and set-up.

Darrell, who currently works as a delivery driver and is headed off to study business at MacMaster University this fall, says that the rear view mirror, which is standard on a street stock but not found on a junior, has added a new dimension to racing competition.

Andrew never imagined that he would get a checkered flag in his first year of Street Stock. But that is exactly what happened. Besides being a personal victory for the then eighteen year old rookie, that first heat race win was a victory for the Delaware Junior late Model program as Andrew was the first graduate of the Junior program to get a checkered flag in a regular Friday night division. It was not the only win for them that first season, however, as both Andrew and Darrell chalked up several heat race wins and Andrew added a feature win as well. It was an extraordinary rookie season and they both finished top ten in the points.

The current season has brought some new challenges for Andrew. A broken part during the May 21 race resulted in a crash which bent the frame of his new car and he is currently driving his car from last year until the repairs are complete on the new one.

In the fall, Andrew is headed for the engineering program at the University of Western Ontario this fall. Originally he thought that automotive engineering would be the thing for him, but a placement as a research assistant this past year with the London regional Cancer Center at Victoria Campus opened his eyes to other possibilities for engineering specialties, and now the 19 year old is excited about taking a more general engineering program in his first year so he can better decide what direction to specialize.

Andrew and Darrell have, in one season, become solid competitors in the street stock division and most certainly make the case for the value of the Junior Late Model division. And for these two, the best is no doubt yet to come.

return to top

June 22 - From a Wreck to a Win - Doug Stewart

Doug Stewart still has bruises on both his arms. It has been more than three weeks since the racing accident that totally wrecked his race car, but the 2 inch diameter bruises are still nasty shades of brown and purple. “I don’t know whether I got those from hitting the steering wheel or the part of the seat that wraps around” he says.

What he does remember is seeing the front straightaway wall coming up in front of him in slow motion and knowing that the impact was going to hurt. “Then after it hit, it started on fire” Doug says. “The fuel pump broke off. It wasn’t a bad fire, but I knew it was time to get out of the car”.

It was a serious wreck, one of the hardest hits that Doug has experienced in his 27 years of racing, and although race cars are designed to protect their drivers from harm in such situations, there are often little things such as the bruises, or sore necks and backs that can be a problem. In Doug’s case, after so many years of racing, he sees a chiropractor regularly anyway, so that was taken care. His race car was a different matter.

Driver and crew huddled around the badly damaged car in the pit area after the race, talking through their options. The wrecked car was only 3 years old, but with the new style late models dominating the competition this season, and a new car purchase in the plans for next season, it seemed pointless to spend the thousands of dollars that would be required to fix this one.

On the other hand, having a new car built is more expensive than repairs, and with only three weeks remaining until his car sponsor, CAN-USA Automotive Parts, was to sponsor a race event and bring in hundreds of dealers, customers and product reps from all over Ontario to attend the race, it was doubtful that a new car could be ready in time.

At the beginning of the following week, with input from Doug and the CAN-USA people, and assurances from Mike at McColl Racing that the car would be ready to race in three weeks, the decision to go ahead with the new car was made and fabrication underway. Nights and weekends, when the staff at McColl Racing wasn’t working on the car, Doug transported it back to his shop where he and his crew put in dozens of hours as well.

The engine from the wrecked car, which was to be used in the new car, was taken to the engine builder to be sure it suffered no damage in the crash. His seat was also taken from the old car and installed in the new one.

It was a marathon of sorts and by Thursday, one day before the CAN-USA event, the car was back at the McColl’s shop. It looked ready, with paint and decals complete but still it was many parts and pieces short of being race ready. “I definitely would panic” said Doug “but I know the staff here are used to meeting deadlines like this.”

Friday afternoon, the car arrived at the race track with still a few more things to complete and the team missed the first practise session. In the second practise, the car was jumping out of gear and that needed to be taken care of. In the third practise session, Doug finally got his first chance to see what he and the new car could do.

He was confident going into the heat race. “I was surprised at how well it ran. It doesn’t feel a lot faster but it feels smoother. I have confidence going into corners because it’s more stable. It hugs the corners.”

Doug won his heat race, and also won the feature race; leading most of the 40 laps with little pressure from his competition.

From the front straightaway, where Doug was interviewed after his win, the lights in the hospitality tent on the hill in turn one sparkle like a cruise boat out on a lake. The CAN-USA guests have watched an almost perfect evening; one in which 27 years of racing experience, hours of hard work and a dedicated team have come together to create magic. Racing doesn’t get much better than that.
Well maybe it does. This year marks the ten year anniversary of the racing partnership between Doug and CAN-USA. Congratulations.

return to top

June 29 - The Pace Car Driver's Job looks easy but.....

It is 7:45 pm on a Friday night at Delaware Speedway. The vehicles for the parade lap are lined up on pit road ready to be introduced and the race cars involved in the first race of the evening, a late model eliminator race, are lined up behind them.

As the last notes of the National Anthem fade into the cheers of the crowd, Albert Baker climbs into the pace car, fastens his seat belt and starts the engine. Lights flashing, the pace car heads out around the track followed by the parade lap vehicles. As the vehicles circle the track, the announcers introduce them to the spectators. Then, Albert stops the pace car in turn 2 while the sponsor vehicles leave the track before travelling around to pit road to pull in ahead of the waiting race vehicles.

The pace car, which travels about 1100 km a year, is one of the only instances that I know of where going in circles is productive work, and this evening I am riding along with Albert to find out how that happens and experience racing from a different perspective.

Albert works as a part of a 16 person team that coordinates the racing program each Friday evening. In constant radio contact, this team includes the race director, the safety crew, the scorers and the flag person among others and it coordinates the show behind the scenes to keep the program moving along and the participants safe.

As we wait for the signal to lead the eliminator out onto the track, Albert switches on the radio to 680 am, where the race announcers can be heard introducing the line up for the race against a backdrop of music. Albert likes to stay in touch with the flow of the event as the spectators experience through the evening.

As the “start your engines” command is relayed via the announcers, the late model engines fire up behind us. Seconds later, on signal comes and we pull away; out past the VIP tent in turn one, up the incline nicknamed the Delaware hill, and out along the back strait where the billboards flash by beside me. Travelling at 60 km/hr, we set an easy pace for the beginning of the race.

As we pass under the flag stand, the white flag is waving and Albert switches off the lights on the pace car to indicate that this is the final pace lap. We head into turn one again picking up the pace gradually as we go; the ten late models behind us speed up as we do. Coming into turn three now at 95 km/hour, we make the turn down pit road and out of the way of the race start. As we speed along pit road, the late models are already powering past us on the track; the deep raw sound of their engines is a wall of noise just beyond the concrete barrier.

Albert didn’t come to Delaware Speedway looking for a job as a pace car driver. Twenty eight years ago, he came out to the speedway to work as parking attendant and he has since worked in every area of the track. He was on the safety crew and filling in for the regular pace car driver from time to time, when the pace car position was offered to him. He didn’t jump at the chance immediately. “When they asked me, I wasn’t sure about it “he explains “But then I realized what an important job it was”.

We leave pit road again, this time with the Challenger Trucks in tow, travelling this time at a more sedate 45 km/hour to bring the trucks around to take the green.

A minute into the race, there is a caution and the pace car is out on the track again. Staying low, Albert pulls ahead of the lead vehicle to take control of the field and lead them safely through the accident area. As we move around the track, he is watching for debris or other hazards that need to be cleaned up. When the wrecked vehicles have been towed away and the trucks are declared by the scorers to be in their proper order, the white flag appears as we travel under the flag stand. One more lap and we pull off the track as the race gets started again.

Race after race, we repeat the same pattern and between times, the pace car sits, tucked into a spot on the end of pit road. The race cars fly by every 20 seconds or so and it is easy to loose track of where in the race we are.

Albert takes a lot of ribbing from other staff members about how spoiled he is to drive the pace car; he is warm in cold weather and cool in the heat. However, the bottom line is that driving the pace car is hard work – it takes focus, concentration and one mistake could have disastrous consequences. And it takes consistency and reliability. And Albert definitely has that one covered. In 28 years, he has only missed two regularly scheduled days of work at the speedway; once was for his cousin’s wedding and the other was for his brother’s wedding. You don’t get more reliable than that.

return to top