Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, July 28, 29 and 30, 2000 - Ken Baird raced the famous street circuit with 2nd fastest practice times, good qualifying times and an 8th place finish out of 16 cars.  18 cars arrived but 16 raced in a very successful race weekend for ChampCar Lights.  The cars were very popular with the race fans, and the race had full stands.  The big screens allowed all to watch the action at every turn, with instant replays of exciting moments showcased throughout.

This was Main Street Racing’s first event at the famous Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres was successful and fun.  Owner and driver, Ken Baird gained  valuable  street racing experience in the Champ Car Lights.    Practice, qualifying & race time was all well  worthwhile for testing of car, crew  & driver.

Ken had the 2nd fastest time in practice on the Friday morning, showing the setup work and preparation was paying off quickly.  And Main Street Racing had the 3rd fastest qualifying time Friday afternoon.  Alternator problems on Saturday morning adversely affected second round qualifying, giving a start position of 7th on Sunday's Race.

Sunday was a bit overcast at the beginning but cleared again for sunny day.  The crowds at Trois-Rivieres are numerous and enthusiastic.  The pits are unlimited access, which is a unique experience for all.  The crew and driver enjoyed watching and talking to the Quebec fans.  Every day, the stands filled up quickly with lots of spectators.  The Grand Prix makes a great race venue for the ChampCar Lights Race.

Sunday Race Details - On the first lap, squeezed in 3rd corner, with nowhere to go, Ken hit the tire barrier.  After slowing on the back straight to ensure the car was fine, he found himself around 13th position.   Ken had a great time racing his way up to 7th, and then half way through the race, he bent the front wing hitting the same barrier.  He regained an 8th position finish and still managed a fastest time of 1:09, with nose and wing damaged.

Excellent racing and good fun.  Thanks to all involved, especially crew members Dan, Dave and Matt.

Schedule changes made July 2nd the second race weekend of the Canadian ChampCar Lights Championship Series.

The race was a support event for the CASCAR Castrol Super Series event held at Autodrome Chicoutimi of Quebec, a 1/3 mile oval track with slightly banked turns & very short straight stretches.

The Main Street Racing Team had travelled to Shannonville Motorsport Park the week before for a day of testing on their Pro Circuit, learning much about their new car. Upon arriving at Chicoutimi, they had the setup close on the Champ Car. With a few minor adjustments, by the crew, they were within tenths of the leaders on the Saturday test day.

Saturday night the crew participated in a pit crew contest on the Chicoutimi Waterfront to kick off their Canada Day celebrations.  Chicoutimi is a pleasant surprise.  Nice setting on the cliffs of the Sagenay River, with lots of small restaurants and pubs, and a very friendly, helpful populace.  They even have indoor Karting facilities, where drivers and teams competed Friday night.

Sunday night was to be Race Day but the rain would not let up. Officials cancelled at noon and made Monday the Race Day, moving the schedule to start at early afternoon.

Qualifying

Monday morning the teams awoke to bright sunshine. ChampCars qualified right after lunch with two laps to set a fast time.  Ken Baird did well to qualify 2nd in a field of veterans, 9 hundredths of a second behind first place, with the top 5 all within half a second.

Heat Race

The heat race was up next. Starting on the outside pole was exciting & passing pole sitter Shawn Thompson on the first lap was awesome according to Ken. Car # 63 worked well for a couple of laps but with an hour & a half of CASCAR
practice earlier changed the track and the line. Ken's line, fast for qualifying, was not the fastest now & the car finished 4th.

Feature

The Champ Car Light feature was right after the CASCAR feature.  Starting in fourth place Ken had a good start but could not hold off Paul Savoie. Nearing the end of the race Ken found a fast line at the bottom of the race track & was catching the leaders but ran out of laps finishing fifth.

Next Race

Canadian ChampCar Lights next race is in the streets of Trois Rivieres for the Grand Prix Player's de Trois Rivieres - July 28-30

Main Street Racing’s first race at Mosport International Raceway was off to a good start with a
disappointing finish.

Owner and driver Ken Baird gained much needed experience in the Champ Car Light, with time & budget
restraints not allowing for testing. Practice, Qualifying & Race Times were all used for testing of car &
driver.

Trans Am weekend at Mosport had 11 different classes racing throughout the weekend; Leaving Champ Car Lights with
½ hour sessions on Friday, Saturday & Sunday.

Friday’s practice session started off slow, lapping the circuit at a best time of 1 min 37 sec’s. Ken learning the car and
the new track configuration was just 10 sec’s off the fastest competitor.

With some setup changes on the car and a repair of a small oil leak, Saturday’s Qualifying had a fast lap of 1 min 33
sec’s even after another car had leaked oil around two turns and down the back straight.

 Some hard work on Saturday night by Dan, Matt & Dave, crewmembers, had the car set up well for Sunday’s race.
Setting a fastest lap of 1 min 31 sec’s having moved from 7th starting position to 3rd briefly and back down to a solid
fifth place in the first 5 laps, things were going well. A spin resulting in a broken transmission on lap 6 moved Car #63us
down to 6th and some stripped threads in the right front suspension on lap 7 resulted in a off track excursion at 120mph
at Corner 2, so out of the race but on to Cayuga on June 3rd and 4th.

Update July 15th, 1998. Ken races tonight at Capital City and then he's off to watch the Molson Indy.  He won one of the heats at last week's Capital City  races, but the feature was rained out.  At St. Eustache, in the Monroe 100 Sunday rain date, Ken came tenth in a very tightly packed race.  Hot day and the cars raced within inches of one another.  Car behaved well, but overheating was a problem with the cars so close, for the whole race.

Update June 2nd, 1998. Ken's first feature win of  the 1998 Season was the Snap On Tools CASCAR on May 30th at Captial City Speedway.  The win was GREAT.  Showed what  the car and driver can do. Showed that all the work is more than worth it.  Go Kenny Go!  Main Street Racing Rules!
 
 

Update May 4th, 1998. Ken's first race of the 1998 Season was the  Molson 110 Provincial Race at St Eustache Montreal.  The team was great, and the car, with only 5 practice laps to use to test and tune, performed very well.  The power steering line blew in the qualifying race, so we started in eighteenth place.  Ken worked his way through the pack to 5th place.  A minor bump and it was back to 8th place, where we finished the 100 laps.  Good long race, and a good start to the season.

May 1st, 1998, Main Street Enterprises bought 2319 Community Way, in beautiful downtown North Gower.  Main Street Automotive and Main Street Racing now have their own building.

Come join us and enjoy the fun! Next scheduled race is Capital City Speedway regular Wednesday night feature.
 

Update Jan 26th, 1998. Ken has won 2nd, 3rd and 4th at  Capital City Regionals,St. Eustache Regionals, and Capital City Speedway CASCAR Series respectively.  First year he was a Rookie, second year in the top 5 and 1998, his third year he and his team are headed for the 1998 CASCAR Championship at Capital City Speedway.  Come join us and enjoy the fun!

The 1997, CASCAR #63 Racing's season began in St Eustache Montreal on April 27th. CASCAR #63 did well until the belt broke, in the 42nd lap of 50 lap Race. Next race was a Capital City Speedway, May 14th. Ken got 3rd and 4th in the two heat races. The transmission went in the feature. As of May 14th, Ken has 56 points, and is sixth in points at Capital City Speedway.

Update July 17th, 1997.  Since the previous entry Ken has already won the Feature at Captial City Speedway.  Actually two features in fact through the track scorer's error, (according to the Speedway itself, after reviewing the race tapes), credited the proclaimed winner with an extra lap.  We were first, but the standings were left as is,  with Ken getting a second.place finish.  As the car and driver are in good form, this is minor - there are more races, and more races to win.

In 1996, Ken Baird and his Main Street Racing Team raced at Capital City Speedway and at Autodrome St Eustache.By the season's finish he had captured Rookie of the Year in CASCAR. In his first two CASCAR races he finished second. Mechanical difficulties slowed him down but even an engine replacement, broken crankshaft and two clutch replacements didn't stop him from making all the Capital City races to finish 7th and win Rookie of the Year. He finished 15th in the Autodrome St Eustache/Capital City Speedway's Regional Series and 24th in the CASCAR SuperSeries Race in Ottawa.
 
 

 
 
 
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