Road Trip Day 1

Just after 6:30am, Jayme and I were leaving my parents' house in eastern Ohio and heading north.  After a quick swing through Martins Ferry, Ohio for some cheap gas ($2.91/gallon), we were ready to battle the orange cones, speed traps, and New York tolls.

I surprised Jayme with a visit to Niagara Falls on the way.  Because she had never been there, she'd been asking me to go for over a month.  Although I was secretly planning to take her the whole time, I kept making up excuses as to why we couldn't go ("it's too far outta the way"..."we don't have enough time"..."there's really nothing to see").  So, she was pretty excited when she finally realized we were taking the time to see the Falls.

We did the "Cave of the Winds" tour which, as Jayme put it, was "the best $11 waterpark" she'd ever been to.  Fully equipped with cheap ponchos and water sandals, the Cave of the Winds allows you to get as close to the Falls as you could ever want to.  It was time and money well spent and after a stay of nearly two hours, we were now east bound and down for Brewerton Speedway.

With the wind trying to blow away her poncho, Jayme gets soaked from the Falls.

From Niagara Falls, the journey to Brewerton should have only taken two-and-a-half hours, but thanks to New York's toll system coupled with Friday evening traffic in Syracuse, our first trip to the D-Shaped Dirt Demon was stretched out to three hours.  

Brewerton is a cool little track.  I'd have to say it's roughly a 1/3-mile with just a slight arch in the backstretch.  The pits are located behind the grandstands towards turn one and cars both enter and exit the track at the end of the frontchute.  The main grandstands are wooden and 15 rows high, while a newer set of tall aluminum bleachers sit in turn four.  The midway behind the grandstands is all gravel and offers the standard race track dining options ranging from cheeseburgers ($4.00) to hot dogs ($2.75) to chicken ($5.00) to pizza ($3.00).

A look at the Brewerton Speedway pit area.

Signed into the pits were 25 Big Block Modifieds, 12 IMCA Modifieds, 19 Mod Lites, and 14 4-Cylinders.   Hot Laps started right at 6:30pm and the Canadian and American national anthems were being sung right at 7:30pm.  The heats were run off without a flaw - nine total - and were finished by 8:12pm.  With new clay on the track being less than two weeks old, the track staff took advantage of intermission to rework the racing surface.

At 9:00pm, the Mod Lite feature hit the track and saw a three-car battle go right down to the checkered flag.  The Big Block Mod feature was a dandy with Dan Vauter getting the win in a pretty darn good show.  Behind Vauter, Larry Wight was puttin' on a show, charging from 18th to 4th in the 25-lap A-Main.  Just after 9:30pm, we were leaving Brewerton and heading to our hotel.  

Today, we'll swing through Cooperstown, NY for a stop at the Baseball Hall of Fame (Jayme's first visit, my second).  After that, we'll head up to Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, VT.  

A look at Brewerton from atop turns three and four.