Friday's Report
7:00 AM
There's obviously nothing to report at this early hour, other than to say that I'm already running late, running around trying to get packed and making sure I haven't forgotten anything for my flight to Calgary. Not sure if I'll have internet access from the track when I arrive there this afternoon, so if not, the next update to this page will be this evening. Until then, enjoy your Friday.
2:00 PM
After a quick hour and a bit flight from Vancouver, we landed in Calgary, collected the luggage, picked up the rental car and plugged in the "trusty" GPS unit, with the coordinates for the track entered. All seemed well at first, and while we weren't on freeway much of the way (maybe I had it deprogrammed to avoid the fast route), we were headed in the right direction until the GPS insisted we make a right turn off the freeway into a ditch. It kept bleating about some road that simply wasn't there, and didn't look like it had ever been or was ever going to be.
A few backtracks, u-turns and detours later, we ended up on a country road in the middle of nowhere, until nowhere became "Race City" on the left side of the road. Thank goodness. Turned off the main road onto the Landfill and Race City road (they share equal billing) and then through the VIP & Media gate into the gravel parking lot. Seeing a couple of large tractor trailer units ahead in this "parking lot" I began to wonder where the pit area was located. Guess again, Sherlock.
The "parking lot" is the pit area. The spectators cars park down at the far end of the track, in an area currently inhabited by various waterfowl, with the watertable being almost level with the end of the shutdown area of the drag strip. Parts of the road course that extend beyond the strip are virtually underwater now with the steady rain and cool temps of the past few weeks. This weekend's event is starting to look like more of a challenge to the promoters than I'm sure they envisioned. One challenge will be where to park spectators and Plan "B" is to use the oval track and infield area.
With no one at the entrance gate to check in with, no one policing the roadways, I was able to drive around the property pretty much at will, with the exception of the drag strip & road course, where a herd of Porsches and Beemers and such like screamed around as part of the Allen Berg Racing School, one of the major users of this multi-purpose facility. After they finished their high-pitched eardrum assault for the day, it was time to take a walking tour of a track that has been described in colourful and not always complimentary terms.
Starting with the shortest concrete launch pad I've ever seen (80 ft), except on tracks with none at all, the condition of the racing surface deterioriated as I marched towards the top end. Lots of cracks, many with water bubbling up from the very high water table lurking just beneath, and grooves and dents and other undulations made themselves apparent. By the time I got to the finish line, I was seriously wondering if 1/4-mile racing was going to be on the agenda this weekend. Sidenote: later it was confirmed to me by the principals involved, that the feature (i.e. fast) cars were only going to run the 1/8-th mile this weekend.
Getting back to the starting line, I was greeted by one of the CDRA club officials who filled me in on some of the history of the facility. Most surprising of all was the effect that the massive CP Rail distribution yard built across the road from the track has had on the track and other surrounding businesses. The sheer weight of the equipment and facilities at the rail yard has displaced the underground acquifer that flows under much of Race City and is literally forcing the water up into and through the track surface at times.
Nothing short of blowing the place up and starting over will really fix that problem, but it's only one of many issues the racers and fans in Calgary are facing. Security of the lease for the property is non-existent and has become a serious game of political football for the local city council, with some interference at the provincial level as well. Obviously, until something ironclad is secured by the racing association from the government, then no real progress can be made at the facility. There's lots more to write about this but time and space don't permit that today.
4:00 PM
On the way out to the gate, stopped for a chat with club president Rick Francescone about the CDRA's problems this season, and we were joined by the jack-of-all-trades Vernon Christy for a little round of AHRA-bashing and other hot topics. I certainly don't envy these guys as they've got a mountain of work to do, with little time and apparently not much help. But the spirit is there and I'm sure that one way or another we will have a drag race this weekend, in spite of AHRA, in spite of Art McKenzie, in spite of Calgary city council, and any other people or groups that have gotten in the way of drag racing in Calgary.
When I return to Race City tomorrow morning, I'm expecting a much different look to the place, and a renewed sense of optimism in all the people who are working so hard to pull this off. Until then: stay tuned.
11:00 PM
I've just about finished processing (photoshopping) today's photos, but my eyes are heavy and I'm starting to drift off after only four hours sleep last night. It's time to pack it in for the night, have a Double Espresso (Van Gogh) Vodka nightcap and watch a few minutes of mindless televised diversion.
1:30 AM
What's that noise inside my head. Oh, it's the telly, still on, blaring away and telling me: TURN OFF THE LIGHTS AND GO BACK TO SLEEP. Done......
That's it from Race City; tomorrow we've got the first day of the Father's Day Funny Car Classic