News Director 
Story By: MARTIN BÉLANGER / CORNWALL MOTOR SPEEDWAY – CORNWALL, ONT – There is a lot of excitement in the air as we are finally there with the start of the 54th season at Cornwall Motor Speedway this coming Sunday evening with 4 local series kicking off their calendar and being a long weekend, a lot of invaders are expected in every class.
The Fat Les Chip Stand Canadian Nationals Series has always been a marquee event since it’s start back in 2010 when Brett Hearn dominated the initial edition. Forwarding to the last 3 years, Corey Wheeler has been the man to beat winning the coveted title 3 years in a row and will be looking for a 4th one in the series. One of the good field of cars in 2023 is expected for the $4,000 to win race.
Corey Wheeler will lead the home field with Carey Terrance, Kyle Dingwall, Joey and Lee Ladouceur, Gage Morin, Johnathon Ferguson, Brian McDonald, Louie Jackson, Ryan Stabler, Brianna Ladouceur, Kevin Hamel, Chris Ferguson, Gilles Godard along with Sandy and Gavin MacFarlane are ready to defend the home turf against a long list of invaders that will include David Hebert, Luke Whitteker, Ryan Arbuthnot, Felix Roy, Yan Bussiere, Steve Bernard, Steve Bernier, Evan Racine, Tristan Draper, Jarrett Herbison and Francois Bellemare are amongst drivers that should be in attendance. A full field of 30 cars is a real possibility for the opening round of the series.
In the Race for the Cure Sportsman Series, a similar scenario is being written with Shane Pecore wanting to defend the title as he will face tough competition in the likes of Cedric Gauvreau, Bobby Herrington, William Racine, Gabriel Cyr, Thomas Cook, Tyler Givogue and many other local competitors. With the richest points funds for a Sportsman Series in Canada on the line, we can expect a lot of drivers in the pit area.
The Clyde Sligner Pro-Stock Series attracted some of the best field of cars in the division last season and we expect the same this year with nearly 20 cars expected, a new champion will be crowned as Marc Lalonde, Jocelyn Roy, Bruno Cyr, Kevin Fetterly, Denis Gauvreau and Rock Aubin are amongst the favourites to win the title.
A lot of hype is surrounding the Rick’s Ranch Mini-Stock class with nearly 25 drivers showing interest in running several events in Cornwall this summer. The Eastern Ontario Mini-Stock Showdown will bring a huge field of cars !
Working with a 11pm curfew for the 2023 season, all the special event similar to this upcoming Sunday will start 30 minutes earlier than before with the pit gates opening at 2pm, general admission at 4pm with cars hitting the track at around 5:15pm with the first heat scheduled to start at 6pm. General admission will be $35 for adults, $10 for kids between 6 and 16 years old and kids 5 years and under will be admitted for free. Pits will be $45.
A solid season is expected with many things to follow in all our five divisions and several visiting series throughout the season and it all starts on May 21! Be there!
