CORNWALL, Ontario – We are about 3 weeks away from turning a new chapter as we will start a new decade, a lot of great action and racing can happen in 10 years, let’s look back at what happened at Cornwall Motor Speedway from 2010 to 2019.
In 2010, the decade started with the announcement of the Canadian Nationals as a staple Series at the speedway which at that point replaced the Lucas Oil Canadian Series that toured at all tracks around the area. Brett Hearn stole the show during that first edition winning both events and leaving with more than $10,000 in total. Laurent Ladouceur won his fourth and final Modified track championship over brothers Danny and Tim O’Brien. Joey Ladouceur was the dominant force in the Pro-Stock division at that point with the track championship along with the Mohawk Race Parts Series crown. Chris Raabe won the Sportsman title in front of veteran Chris Herbison while Gaetan Amesse in Semi-Pro and Ronnie Tyo in Mini-Stock, won their respective championship.
Stephane Lafrance had a banner year in 2011 winning both the track championship and the Canadian Nationals Series, he became the first driver to get both championship during the same season, Carey Terrance and Joel Doiron completed the podium. Joey Ladouceur continued his dominant way in the Pro-Stock with 6 wins paving the way to his 6th championship, he also got the Mohawk Race Parts Series. After being runner up in 2010, Chris Herbison won the championship in Sportsman while Kevin Fetterly Jr in Semi-Pro and Ernie Cree in Mini-Stock were named champions.
2012 was another historic year for promoter Ron Morin as he hosted for the first time the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars, Morin pushed the envelope that year in having the World of Outlaws Late Models as well. Donny Schatz won the historic race while Mother Nature had the best for the Late Models. Dale Planck imitated Lafrance by winning his 3rd track championship and the Canadian Nationals, Laurent Ladouceur finished second with Chris Raabe completing the podium. Chris Herbison had a terrific year by securing his second Sportsman championship and winning the new Seaway GM Series. Joey Ladouceur won both track and Mohawk Race Parts Series while Benoit Dubois in Semi-Pro and Martin Bernard in Mini-Stock won their respective championship.
Year 2013 started on the wrong foot with 4 of the first 5 events being cancelled due to inclement weather, the first program ran on June 9th that year. Mario Clair won the Modified track championship with Brian McDonald getting the honors for the Canadian Nationals. Joey Ladouceur made a splash in his first year in Sportsman winning the track championship with Mathieu Desjardins getting the Seaway GM Series. Dave Bissonnette captured the Pro-Stock championship with Stephane Lebrun getting the Mohawk Race Parts Series. Steve Billings in Semi-Pro and Mike Gaucher in Mini-Stock got the titles. This was also the last season for Ron Morin as the owner of Cornwall Motor Speedway.
2014 was an important year for Cornwall Motor Speedway after owning the facility since 1982, Ron Morin sold the speedway to brothers Raymond and Jacques Lavergne who has been owning the track for the last 6 years. The Lavergne family put their own flavor by starting phase 1 of their investment plan with some upgrades around the speedway. On the race track, Carey Terrance had a solid season with 6 wins paving the way for a second track championship while Stephane Lafrance got the Canadian Nationals, Corey Wheeler was our champion in our Sportsman rank while Dave Bissonnette got his third Pro-Stock championship, Junior Delormier and Chris James got the Semi-Pro and Mini-Stock titles.
In 2015, the Lavergne family presented a 21-event. Carey Terrance won a second title in a row in the Modifieds while Danny Johnson won the Canadian Nationals, Corey Wheeler also got his second title in a row in the Sportsman while Dave Bissonnette continued his dominance getting a 4th title in a row in the Pro-Stock. Derek Cryderman and J-F Page got the titles in the Semi-Pro and Mini-Stock division. At the end of the season, the Lavergne family received the promoter of the year away from World Racing Group a coveted honour!
Race fans were greeted with state of the art grandstands to start 2016, this was the major portion of their investment plan, a well needed upgrade! Chris Raabe had a great season with the Modified title along with the DIRTcar 358-Modified Series champion, Carey Terrance won the Canadian Nationals. Shane Pecore had a similar season in the Sportsman getting the championship and the DIRTcar Sportsman Series, the Race for the Cure Sportsman Series made its debut during that season with Pecore continued his winning way by becoming the first champion. Stephane Lebrun got the Pro-Stock championship while Bob Ray was our Mini-Stock champion.
2017 was another great season at the speedway with Joel Doiron being named the new race director replacing Scott Hanton who provided great services over the years. On the track, Chris Raabe had a solid season getting all three possible championships at the speedway with the track, Canadian Nationals and the Doiron Cup. Consistency paid off for Justin Lalancette as he captured a first Sportsman championship while Johnaton Ferguson won the Race for the Cure championship. George Renaud was also a first time champ in the Pro-Stock. Marc Dagenais won both the Mini-Stock championship and Cindy Ladouceur Memorial. It also marked the start of a unique event paying more than $10,000 to the feature winner. Tim Fuller was the initial winner.
In 2018, Carey Terrance had a great year joining some great drivers with his fourth Modified track title at Cornwall, he event had the luxury of missing 1 night! Luke Whitteker won the Canadian Nationals Series. Shane Pecore was back on top in the Sportsman by capturing the track title while Johnathon Ferguson received honors in the Race for the Cure Sportsman. CD Beauchamp got this first Pro-Stock title while Chris James came back un full force in the Mini-Stock with his second title. Two of our track champions during that season also won their Super DIRT Week finale in Pecore and Beauchamp, a first for the speedway.
Last season marked the 50th year of operation for Cornwall Motor Speedway, it was another great year in the Modified with the title on line until the end of the season. Corey Wheeler came on top winning his first title. Steve Bernier won the Canadian Nationals. Shane Pecore wrote history in the Sportsman by winning 9 events, he also took the honours in the Race for the Cure Sportsman. Stephane Lebrun won a second title in 4 years while CD Beauchamp got the win in the Weekend Warriors Pro-Stock Series. Justin Jodoin was dominant in the Mini-Stock with Yannick Potvin getting the Weekend Warriors Mini-Stock Series.
What will mark the next decade? Who will dominate a class? Will we have several historic moments? Be there in May 2020 as we will start writing a new chapter at Cornwall!
For more information on the upcoming season at Cornwall, please visit the website at www.cornwallspeedway.com you can add us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cornwallspeedway , twitter at @cms_speedway, and now on Instagram under Cornwall Speedway, we will use these media platforms for results and contests over the summer.
