Picture of the Day August 5, 2009
Lonnie and Anthony put some tape on Tommy Wickham's rockscreen to help block out some of the setting sun at Drummondville.ESS PRE-RACE HOOPLAPosted for Wednesday August 5th.....................................Autodrome Drummond really puts on a show for the Empire Super Sprints. The fans really enjoy watching us whenever we race there. One time the promoter had all the cars lined up on the frontstretch for the A-Main, then opened the track up for the fans to go down and get autographs. Another time, the cars were paraded one by one in front of the grandstand as the starting line-ups were announced.
The pit stands aren't that great up there, so I always go and sit in the grandstands to watch Anthony race.
ESS has a routine they do before every A-Main wherever they travel. Dean Reynolds goes up and down the front of the grandstand and throws a few t-shirts into the crowd.
Anthony's girlfriend, Ellie, now helps out with the program. She goes around to all the drivers who qualified for the A-Main, and each one signs a frisbee to be tossed into the stands. They try to get everyone up on their feet and screaming, and she and Dean fire the frisbees to groups who are hollering the loudest. It's quite a show to see.
I happened to see Ellie come where I was sitting Saturday night. She was holding up the frisbees, and people were on their feet hollering and waving. I got a picture of her in action.
When I downloaded the pictures, I zoomed in to see who the lady next to me got...........................
She got the frisbee that Anthony signed.
What happens then, is that whoever wins the A-main, the person who catches that driver's autographed frisbee, goes to the flagstand, and ESS gives them a prize package of a shirt and a hat.
Of course, during the pace laps, the cars are grouped into a four-wide parade lap. This is the Salute to the Fans. People are on their feet, hollering, waving their hats, or whatever. At Drummondville there is a fireworks show going off in the infield as the cars comes down the frontstretch in front of the fans. Anthony said he could hear the crowd in his loud racecar as he was in that formation.
For me, sitting in the stands, looking at the crowd, standing when they stood, waving to the cars, knowing that the people were cheering the 20 drivers out on the track, and my nephew was one of them....................................I actually had a lump in my throat.
It is simply awesome.
