As you may have noticed (or maybe not), this site is in need of an update. Fortunately there’re some new blogs that have appeared on the SaskBlogs Aggregator 2.0 list.
One is Views from the Penalty Box [defunct as of 2012], focusing on the Sask. Junior Hockey League.
Politicians are getting into Twitter and blogs more and more. Here’s a Saskatchewan politician trying his hand at blogging (and very quickly gave it up again).
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There’s also Vision of Earth.
And Saskatoon In Focus.
Greg Cybulski, WINNIPEG, MB (June 5, 2010) Two months remain until one of the most highly anticipated race events of the summer takes place in Manitoba.
The biggest Wissota Modified event of the year will heat up Red River Co-op Speedway on Thursday, August 5th. The 1st Annual “Big Al” Delaine Memorial race boasts an incredible $12,000.00 guaranteed Feature payout including a $2000.00 pay day to the winner. Additional contingency prizes and awards increase the purse to $15,000.00!
Al Delaine, who passed away from a battle with cancer on June 22nd of 2009 was a fixture in the local auto racing community for many years. He raced during the 1970’s at Winnipeg Speedway before retiring in 1979. Al’s love for dirt track racing carried over to members of his family including sons Rick and Kevin who are actively involved in racing. Delaine was also involved in many important aspects of supporting his racing community.
In a showing of love and respect, his family and his friends created a Memorial racing event to pay tribute to the man and his legacy.
Determined to have as many participants as possible on race day, an ambitious fund-raising campaign over the winter netted the monies necessary to draw competitors from neighboring states and provinces for one big night of racing.
Sponsors who came on board for this event include Imrie Demolition, Trish Rentals and Green Way Bio Diesel.
“We would like to thank everyone who is making this race happen”, said event co-promoter Rick Delaine. “This is a race that my dad dreamed about… big money, big pressure and a big reward at the end.” “The response from our racing community shows that he truly left his mark on the world of racing in Manitoba.”
Event organizers are hoping to draw Modified teams from the neighboring provinces of Ontario and Saskatchewan as well as the Northern States of North Dakota and Minnesota.
According to co-promoter Pat Mooney, U.S. teams should have a smooth experience crossing the border into Canada and then back home as long as they are able to provide proof of citizenship.
Contingency Prizes include:
$250 A Main and B Main Hard Chargers
$100 Long Haul Award for U.S. team
$100 Long Haul Award for Canadian team
Free Fuel for Heats: 1st – 20 Gallons, 2nd – 15 Gallons, 3rd – 5 Gallons
$50 for B Main Non-Qualifiers
Pre-Registration Information:
First 10 Non-Regular U.S. Drivers – FREE
First 10 Non-Regular Canadian Drivers – FREE
Pre-Register at aldelainememorial@hotmail.com
$25 at the Gate
For more information about the “Big Al” Delaine Memorial contact promoters Pat Mooney at (204) 771-8000 , email pmauto@shaw.ca OR Rick Delaine at (204) 792-2449 , email delaineracing@mts.net
WINKLER, MB by Greg Cybulski (April 4, 2010) In August of 2006, a unique event took place in Winkler, Manitoba. More than 100 combines harvested 180 acres simultaneously in just over 10 minutes. The event was called Harvest for Kids. In 2010, the combines are making a return with an even bigger challenge, to have 210 combines harvesting 240 acres in less than 8 minutes.
The true goal of Harvest for Kids is to raise funds and awareness for Children’s Camps International, a non-denominational organization that seeks to give kids in third world countries the opportunity to experience camp and to hear the message of the Gospel.
In an effort to help support and promote this year’s Harvest for Kids event, Chris Unrau’s #27 Lightning Sprint will be carrying the Harvest for Kids logo and event information for the first half of the Northern Lightning Sprint Association racing schedule at Red River Co-op Speedway. Unrau’s car will also be displayed at numerous events in Southern Manitoba to help promote the Harvest for Kids program while representing the NLSA.
“We are excited to be a part of this effort to help send kids to camp in countries where these opportunities are rare, if they exist at all”, said Unrau. “We would like to encourage all of our fans to attend the Harvest for Kids event on August 7, and to give generously to help send kids to camp.”
Harvest for Kids will take place at Winkler, Manitoba on August 7, 2010. For more information, please go to the Harvest for Kids website at http://harvestforkids.com
About the Northern Lightning Sprint Association:
Created in September of 2008, the Northern Lightning Sprint Association is a rapidly growing organization committed to the creation and maintenance of safe, fast, fun, and affordable open wheel racing. Many of the organization’s members are dedicated to helping charities such as the Children’s Hospital Foundation and Cancer Care of Manitoba. More information can be found at http://www.nlsprints.com
Another guest-post by Greg regarding the exciting world of racing in western Canada:
Greg Cybulski, WINNIPEG, MB (September 22, 2009) Perfection was the word of the day as Dave Sobczak won both his heat race and the feature race to close out the Northern Lightning Sprint Association’s inaugural racing season. The #17 Sprint was hooked up as Sobczak turned in a dominating performance on Saturday afternoon’s season finale at Red River Co-op Speedway.
In the only 8 lap heat race, front-runners Roland Bernard and Darren Pallen lead the field of 9 cars with Sobczak starting right behind in third place. When the green flag waved, Pallen took the early lead going into the first turn. Two laps was all it would take for Sobczak to pass Bernard and Pallen. With nothing but free air in front of him, Dave Sobczak increased his lead and never looked back as he took his first checkered flag of the afternoon.
The front of the field was not where all the action was happening as Chris Unrau worked his way up from his seventh place starting position to earn a fourth place finish in the heat race.
Starting from the pole position of the 15 lap feature, Dave Sobczak dominated in similar fashion, steadily distancing himself from the other competitors. The biggest battle of the afternoon mirrored the entire 2009 NLSA season as Roland Bernard challenged Daren Pallen for second spot. Bernard dogged Pallen throughout the feature in a classic battle which went to the wire before Bernard successfully edged out Pallen at the finish line to steal second place.
Jennifer Carlson and Estevan, Saskatchewan racer Allan Dayman both charged up the field by three positions during the feature. Starting in seventh, Carlson earned a fourth place finish, while Dayman earned sixth place after starting at the tail of the field in ninth.
Rounding up the top five was Dave Sobczak, Roland Bernard, Darren Pallen, Jennifer Carlson and Bob Charney.
Roland Bernard may have lost the battle, but on this day he won the war. The Northern Lightning Sprint Association’s 2009 inaugural Champion was the model of consistency, hard work and determination. There was never a race that the driver of the #2 Lightning Sprint was not competitive in. If Roland Bernard was not in Victory Lane, he finished in the top 3 almost every night and displayed good sportsmanship on and off the track.
“I want to thank all of my friends, family and sponsors for their support in making this season truly special.” commented Bernard, who also credits much of his success to his crew chief Marc Goovaerts. “Marc is the heart of this team and he makes my job easier each and every race day.”
The 2009 NLSA Champion also shared his thoughts about the organization following it’s inaugural season. “I want to thank all the drivers who helped make the NLSA season a success. I would also like to thank President Darren Pallen for bringing the Lightning Sprints to Winnipeg. Darren has done an amazing job of promoting this class and racing in general.”
Bernard served notice that he will be returning next season in an attempt to repeat his championship run. With the growing level of competition in the Lightning Sprint class, this will not be an easy task for the “Blue 2 Crew”. During the offseason, teams will be busy preparing their cars for the spring of 2010. Lessons learned from 2009 will fuel their desire to improve and to challenge the reigning NLSA Champion.
When the green flag waves at Red River Co-op Speedway for the first race of the new season, the next chapter will begin for the Northern Lightning Sprint Association.
Continue reading
A few new Saskatchewan Bloggers popped up on the SaskBlogs Aggregator 2.0, I’ve noticed.
reginaurbanecology.wordpress.com
UPDATE: 1minionsopinion.wordpress.com/
I’ve noticed some new SaskBlogs popping up on the SaskBlogs Aggregator 2.0
Saucy’s and Corene’s are two of the latest to show up.
And Carmen‘s
UPDATE: Some more recent appearances on the Aggregator 2.0
A bit of a different thing for Saskblogs.ca today, we’re posting a guest blog by Greg who writes about racing in Saskatchewan:
Dirt from the Stands by Greg Cybulski
Home
A strong prairie breeze blows against my back as I sit high atop the pit stands, staring across at the wooden grandstands. I pull my pen from my shirt pocket to begin scrawling the title page in my trusted notebook. This is the day I have been waiting for. “It’s important”, I think to myself, “to get this all down on paper. I want to remember this for a long time.” To my right, a young crew member sits next to me, peering over to observe what I am writing. Under different circumstances or on a bad day, this may have been a bother, but not today. The Sprint Cars are in town.
Earlier, on this sunny Saturday, I exited my hotel room in Swift Current, Saskatchewan and went for a walk. It was all down hill, literally. There was no use sitting inside when I could enjoy the day and get some exercise. As I strolled down the service road, I glanced over to my left at the other hotel parking lots to check for racing trailers. Every time I saw one, my smile grew a little wider.
South of the main drag off of Highway 4 sits Kenetic Park. Within the confines of this park is an incredibly authentic Frontier Village that forms the backdrop for Speedy Creek Raceway. Upon entering through the park’s welcoming front gate, you are temporarily transported to life on the western prairie as building after building appears to represent an important and unique service to the village. As I take in the visual effect with amazement, I can’t help but think that this whole scene in front of me is the picture-perfect location for the Prairie Dirt Classic.
Now the wind is blowing a little stronger, as if trying to knock me off of my perch, but that is alright. The sun is shining. The clean, flowing air fills my lungs with each deep breathe I take and it refreshes me. I am at one with it all. For the first time in a long time, I feel alive and free. I look beyond the pit stand to witness the beehive-busy pit area alive with perpetual activity. Drivers and crew members hurriedly prepare their cars to do battle on this stage of honor, this bullring…this dirt track.
48 hours ago, I was sitting in the grandstands with friends at Red River Co-op Speedway in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They had never been to any races before, let alone a Sprint Car race. That moment reminded me of my first race at Victory Lane Speedway in 1997 with the NCRA Sprints lead by Gary Wright. I hoped they would get the same kind of thrill that I had experienced. The next morning, I began a 9 hour journey, traveling westward along the Trans-Canada highway from Winnipeg, where I was born and raised, to this place, for just this moment. I have traded my home and family for a hotel room and a surrogate family. My racing family.
It is here, at this dirt oval in Saskatchewan, that I have found my sanctuary and my comfort. Here, there are no politics, nor agendas. There is no squabbling about engine size or car counts. There is no stress. What I am seeing is all I really need to see…
Racing fans filling the grandstand area.
A dirt oval race track.
Wings.
The push trucks circle into position, awaiting the signal to push off the first group of Sprint Cars onto the track for hot laps. The 2009 Prairie Dirt Classic is about to start.
This is Sprint Car racing on the Canadian Prairies and I know in my soul that I am finally home.
Saturday, June 20, 2009 you’re invited (yes, you the public) to a potluck BBQ at a picnic table just west of the Science Centre’s parking lot. 12:00 noon. We’ll be really close to beautiful Wascana Lake, in the cover of trees.
Help spread the word to other bloggers you know, and let’s make this a big party. RSVP is appreciated, but not required. Leave a comment here, or email Saskboy – at -Hotmail.com
Sunday was the 4th Annual Saskbloggers get together in Saskatoon. Things did not run as smoothly at first, being that the restaurant we chose happened to be closed on a Sunday. Everybody had a good time and we talked a few hours away about different events and issues and had fun doing it.
