Caledonia Dreaming or Ian38018 Sporting Travels: Cowdenbeath Racewall

Sunday, 19 September 2021

Cowdenbeath Racewall

2021 ORCi Stock Rod World Masters

12th September 2021

Stock Car Racing was the first sporting event I can clearly recall ever attending. It would have been back in the mid 1960s sometime, and my dad had been invited to attend a meeting in (I think) Glasgow somewhere by my Uncle John. Myself and my younger brother went along.

I have no idea why - he may have been late leaving work, or perhaps my Mum (for she didn't have much time for Uncle John) deliberately delayed him, but I remember Dad dashing along the A8 (or could it have been the newly opened M8?) in order to get there on time.

I have since attempted to work out where that Glasgow meeting would have been. I am inclined to think it may have been at Carntyne Racetrack, as Dad came from and John still lived in, that part of the city. But it could just as easily have been Stepps Stadium, or even Albion Rovers' Cliftonhill Stadium in Coatbridge.

First impression was the smell: a distinctive melange of burning rubber and exhaust fumes, the exposure to which even today can effortlessly transport me back half a century. I also have a vivid memory of a wee red car bursting into flames after crashing, which impressed me no end.

Over the next few decades I sporadically attended meets at the likes of Armadale (where Malcolm Paterson was a favourite), Newtongrange and, latterly once my kids came along, this afternoon's venue Cowdenbeath Racewall.

This weekend's meet was a Two-Dayer: the Saturday had seen the Stock Rod World Championship take place, whilst this afternoon's blue riband race was the Stock Rod World Masters Final. What is the difference, you may ask? No idea.

And, yes, I am acutely aware how unlikely it is that the world championship of anything would ever take place in Cowdenbeath. But there you go.

I believe even within the UK there are two distinct and separate Stock Rod World Championships competed for. There being one overseen by the Oval Racing Council International (ORCi) i.e. this one, plus the Spedeworth version. Perhaps, rather like boxing these days, everybody gets to be World Champion eventually. But I am inclined to doubt that there were any non-UK based drivers here this afternoon.

Anyway, in the event, the World Masters title was won by a chap called Craig Haxton who, if I understood the procedure properly (which is unlikely), only qualified for the final by winning the Last Chance Qualifier race the previous day.

Before the main event there were a couple of Stock Rods class heats, before we were all treated to a selection of Micro Bangers and Pro Stocks races. I don't claim to know much about these classes, at all. But I do like the Bangers.

So I was disappointed when we had to leave early, and so miss the really intriguing sounding last race: The Micro Bangers Chained Pairs Championship.

That I really must see one day!

Within seconds of the start of one of the Micro Bangers races, we had one car (No 155)
end up stuck facing the wrong way, whilst another (No 11) having snapped an axle.

The rather basic, but perfectly comfortable, seating inside the stand.

I am moderately sure there used to be a scoreboard here, so at least we had
a chance of working out who was winning...

...now, I think, the only person who knows for sure what is going on is the Start Marshall.

This is the way to do it - comfy seats and a wee tent.

Re-arranging the sauce bottles.

I had a casual glance at this, but it looked way too complicated for me. Number 304
appeared to have won Race 3, but there was no 304 in the drivers list in my programme.