| 7th October 2006 |
| That's It, Now The Hard Work Begins! |
| Last weekend's Belleville Half Mile race saw the curtain being brought down on the 2006 Canadian Summer Speedway Season. A tremendous year, which saw the popularity of our sport grow, and become more widely known throughout the rest of the world. |
| I would like to say a big thank you to all involved in this "big push" and in the week in, week out running of our events. Pretty much everyone involved in Canada is a volunteer and speedway happens in this country as a result of a few people giving a lot "for the love of it". |
| I think another big factor in the raised awareness of Canadian Speedway has to be Kyle Legault racing in the UK. A huge thanks Kyle, and all his family in the true making of such a professional ambassador to our sport. |
| There's just too many people to thank individually and you all know who you are, so I'm going to move on! |
| With the close of the season came immediate talks on how the racing could be improved for 2007. One subject that came up for discussion was the possible improvement to the racing suface and drainage of the Paris track. Our premier dedicated speedway track has, over the years, seen literally thousands of heat races, and the passing of time, erosion of the surface and general settling of the ground has resulted in a track which has become difficult to maintain and keep in top racing condition consistently. |
| As you have probably already read on the CSRA website, work is about to be undertaken to remedy this. The Paris Fairboard, together with considerable help from the CSRA now has the resources and equipment available to re-lay the "blue clay" base. The inside ten feet base all the way around both turns will be completely re-done before the frosts set in, and the new top surface will be layed in the spring. |
| A huge thankyou to the CSRA, the Paris Fairboard and it's volunteers and especially Dave Havill, who sought and won approval from the fairboard to carry out not only the track work, but also some other improvements to the grounds in preparation for a great 2007 season. |
| As stated in the recent CSRA newsletter, it is of great importance that the "off season" CSRA meetings are well attended, in order to lay the remaining plans for next year. Please do your bit by attending as many of these winter affairs as possible to voice your opinions and help mold the future of speedway racing in Canada. |
| The first of these is next Saturday (October 14th) at Aaron Hesmer's shop. Please see the CSRA website for more details on this and the fast approaching CSRA Banquet and Awards Night. |
| Bye for now! |
| Phil #21 & Michael #2. |