Road Trip Days 3 & 4

The first part of Sunday was spent doing the whole "tourist" thing in Vermont.  A tour of Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory was, dare I say, delicious.  After that, a short swing through the green mountains with a few stops along the way pretty much wiped out the better part of our day.  At 3:00pm, we started making our way to the 1/4-mile dirt oval Legion Speedway in Rumney, NH.

Legion has gone through a few ownership changes over the last several years.  Once known as Rattlesnake Motordrome (yikes!), it was later purchased and renamed Big Daddy's Speedbowl.  Last year, Si Allen bought the place and named it Legion Speedway, to be run in conjunction with the American Legion that sits at the entrance to the speedway.  The track ran a couple of "test" shows last year before opening full time this season.

Standing above turn one, looking at Legion Speedway.

Legion had only run two races before the July 1st show.  The season opener drew 19 Modifieds, a pretty decent number for that area.  The following week, the car count slid back to 13.  The afternoon we were there, they had just 9 Mods in the pits.

Hot Laps rolled onto the track at 4:20pm, about 20 minutes past the advertised starting time of 4:00pm.  However, with racing scheduled to start at 5:00pm, the first heat was actually on the track ten minutes early, most likely due to the sprinkles that had started falling.

Legion Speedway, as seen from the top of the turns three and four bleachers.

Looking down the frontstretch at Legion Speedway.

Literally a lap or two away from the first Mini Stock heat taking the green flag, the skies opened up.  For nearly 45 minutes a hard, steady rain fell on us.  I thought for sure the show was going to be rained out...especially since the track had a 9:30pm curfew.  But they decided to try their best to get it in and I was stuck with a decision to make.

I hit Legion with the intent of being out of there by 7:30pm or so.  With a three-plus hour drive to our hotel in Augusta, ME - and knowing we were wanting to spend as much as time as possible in Bar Harbor, ME the following day - I had to decide whether to stick this one out, or throw in the towel and hope the show in Canaan, NH didn't get rained out Tuesday.

The Legion Speedway pit area.

With a small field of cars in the pits, we made the tough decision to pull out of Legion having not seen a race.  I hated doing it, but Jayme let me make the call knowing I'd be the one living with the decision.  

Monday was the only "off" day I scheduled for this road trip.  And when I say "off" day, I'm talking about the racing, of course.  Jayme and I spent the entire day taking the sights and sounds of the gorgeous Bar Harbor, ME.  Climbing to the top of Cadillac Mountain, taste-testing the local seafood joints, walking through the downtown tourist shops...we did it all.  

Sitting at the top of Cadillac Mountain in Bar Harbor, Maine.

Today, we'll spend a few morning hours in Bar Harbor before packing up and heading five-and-a-half hours back west into New Hampshire for tonight's special show at the Canaan Fair Speedway in Canaan, NH.