Edelweiss Speedway season preview

GATINEAU, QC - by Martin Bélanger - The car show and press conference announcing the major events of 2008 was done this past Saturday in the parking lot of the Vieux-Duluth in Gatineau. Many cars along with several fans were present for the first activity of the season for Edelweiss.

The speedway always had the support of the drivers and also a good fan base. To recognize that, Edelweiss decided to give back to the community by getting involved with two foundations which are the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cancer Society. Each foundation will have a fundraiser night at the speedway.

On Friday, July 4th, it will be the Heart and Stroke Foundation night with the presentation of the first edition of the ``Simone 50``, fifty laps for the modifieds which will also be a Syracuse qualifier. The event was name after the loss of Simone Belhau, who died from a heart disease last summer. Simone was Serge Lagace's wife.

The Canadian Cancer Society will have their night on Friday, August 15 with the feature race of 50 laps for Pro-Stock. This race will be named the ``Carole Legault 50`` in honour of Carole Legault, the wife of pro-stock driver Denis Gauvreau. Carole passed away in 2005 after a long battle against cancer.

Each night will have a fundraiser to help out both foundations. The money will be collected in many ways, with the help of JGV Design who will provide stickers in hearts for the heart foundations and ribbons for cancer, the drivers will be invited to participate. Drivers will sell to the fans these stickers and the racecar that will sell the most will receive a gift certificate of $150 from Vieux-Duluth for the heart foundation. We are still looking for a restaurant for the cancer.

Also on these fundraiser nights, the fans will also be able to buy stickers and put them on the car they think will be the feature winner. Everyone that will choose the winner will get a coupon good for a free hot-dog and a soft drink for another race program.

In addition, 1 dollar of each entry on the fundraiser night will go to the foundation. The Speedway is committed to equal each entry for the two events. It will be a total of 2$ for each fan that will go to the foundation.

Along with these two fundraiser nights, many other big events are planned throughout the year. The always spectacular Empire Super Sprints will make three stops this year on July 18, August 15 and September 19. These cars can reach speeds up to 170 km/h and are always popular at Edelweiss.

The Lucas Oil Canadian DIRT Challenge is returning again this year after a successful race last year when 38 cars showed for the 100 lap event. Beside the ``Simone 50``, the modified will start the season with a 50 lap feature event that will also be a Syracuse Qualifier.

In Pro-Stock, there will 2 events to watch, the ``Carole Legault 50`` which will also be a Mohawk Race Parts event and the MrDIRTcar Pro-Stock series that will stop at the track on Friday, September 5th. The winner of this 100 lapper will receive a cool $1500 for his win.

The Semi-Pro class will have again this year the Street Stock Challenge on Friday July 4th, last summer, this race had attracted many outsiders. This class will close the year in fashion with a $600 to win 50 laps feature race on Friday, September 19. Many drivers are expected.

With the help of several sponsors a new bonus program will start this season. Coffrage 20-20 will sponsor the hard-charger prize in the modifieds, the driver that make the most passes through a feature will get a $100 bonus at the end of the night. At the end of the year the driver that will have accumulated the most passes will get an extra 750$.

Each class will also have the halfway bonus award. In the modifieds, Total Race Supply will give a gift certificate of 50$, Micheline Richard of Royal Lepage Group will donate 50$ in the Pro-Stocks, Dépanneur Tassé 307 will present a gift certificate of 20$ value in the the Semi-Pro class. DLP Motorsports is offering a 25$ gift certificate in the Mod-Lite category and Quickie convenience stores will provide a 20$ certificate in the 4 cylinders class.

Mr.Gas is also involved with the hard-charger award in both the Semi-Pro and 4 cylinders, the 20$ gift certificate will alternate between the two classes. Kenyon Racing will sponsor the hard-luck award by giving a 50$ gift certificate to driver who had bad luck. It is a total of over $5,200 in prize and money that the drivers will receive this year.

A new category is starting this year; the Mod-Lite class will begin. These small cars who are run by 600cc and 1000cc motorcycles engines can reach incredible speeds. Dean Pronovost, the instigator of the project, believes that the Outaouais Region is a great spot for this class.

Already nearly 10 cars are projected to start the year. If you want to have a preview of this class, the speedway will have a 2-day practice session next week-end on Saturday, May 3rd and Sunday, May 4th. Some drivers from the Toronto area will be present to help out the new drivers.

With only 3 weeks left before the start of the new season, we are expecting a lot of action in 2008 at Edelweiss. With the Mod-Lite practices during next week-end, the other classes will have their own session on Saturday, May 10th and the season will officially start on Friday May 16th with the presentation of a 50 lap feature race plus a Syracuse Qualifier for the modifieds on Dupont and Dupont night. Be there!