For decades, stock car racing has been deeply implanted in the Glengarry area. Some DIRT racers from the early days included Ovide Doiron and Laurent Ladouceur; they have been inducted to the Glengarry Sports Hall of Fame over the years. Today, the stock car culture is still alive and well in the county as the results from this year show.

Mini-Stock Champions

First, Glen Robertson resident Andrew Leroux who describes himself as a “small-town father of three boys and an auto mechanic at Glengarry Tire” raced this year on Saturday nights at Brockville Ontario Speedway.

“My passion for motorsports started at a very young age. Growing up going to the races every weekend, watching Nascar with my cousin Justin Leroux — it’s been in my blood since then” explains the newly-crowned Mini-Stock Champion.  For the Leroux family, going to the races is a family affair and this summer, his wife Chelsea made the trip to every race supporting Andrew in his quest for a first championship.

“I’ve won many heats over the years but 2019 has been an amazing season. A couple of heat wins plus my first-ever feature, then to top it off, it helped us to win the 2019 Brockville Ontario Speedway Mini-Stock track championship.  I feel I have now done it all, accomplished my dream. I want to thank my biggest supporters: Ron King, my cousin Justin, my wife and everyone else who came out to watch and support me,” concludes the driver of the #2”Mini-Stock machine.

Now, at the other end of Glengarry County, Justin Jodoin, a Maxville resident also clinched a first-ever Mini-Stock track title, this one at Cornwall Motor Speedway. Before racing on the local quarter mile oval speedway, Jodoin raced and won two Lawn Tractor class championships at the Cornwall DIRT Raceway Park in 2013 and 2015. This season, the 28-year-old racer had one objective as the 2019 DIRTcar season started: “I got out this spring aiming for the championship, surrounding myself with a great team and we did!” Justin Jodoin and his #22j CJ’s Autos Ford Probe won the 2019 Cornwall Motor Speedway Mini-Stock track championship.

A 28th Championship!

Alexandria’s resident Chris Raabe has already been successfully racing for 21 years and keeps doing so with triumph as he became the 2019 Mohawk International Raceway 358 Modified track champion last Friday evening.

“The championship at Mohawk Raceway brings our team a 28th stock car championship!  A championship is always the goal when you enter into the racing “season. Racing is an extremely humbling sport. One day, you are in the winners circle and the next, you’re searching for speed. Over the 21 years that I have been racing, I continue to enjoy the challenges that the sport produces. Racing is very much a team sport and I’ve been fortunate enough to be surrounded by good people,” says Raabe.

Text by S.Lauwers

Pictures: courtesy of Don’s Imaging, S.Lauwers photos and Facebook