By Dale Calnan / OntarioOval.com Photographer – On a day when racing lost a tremdous driver and talent in Dan Weldon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, those of us closer to home were much more fortunate. A violet wreck occurred at the Brockville Ontario Speedway on Sunday, October 16th during the DIRTcar Northeast Fall Nationals. The positive from the accident was that drivers Brian McDonald and Jason Riddell were able to walk away. 

During time trials for the DIRTcar 358 Modified tour event the #M96 of McDonald headed into turn one. The track conditions in that corner were very heavy and rolling up from all the rain the previous few days. The car just seemed to catch on the surface, then bounce and then proceed into a nasty roll. As the car rolled in the air the car of Jason Riddell came onto the scene and wasn’t able to get slowed down in time. Contact was made while the McDonald was upside down and in mid air. The collision was so hard it actually forced the #M96 machine further down the track. The main impact of the hit was clearly to the roll cage resulting in a broken cage.

After an emotional day for motorsports fans across the world, I will wrap up this edition of ‘Behind The Lens’ by saying it was a relief that the safety equipment the drivers were wearing and the cars they were driving did they job they were intended to do allowing both to walk away uninjured. 

Dale Calnan is the lead photographer for OntarioOval.com as well as ImageFactor.ca Motorsport Designs. Questions, comments or concerns can be sent to Dale via our Contact page.