Jim Cressman does a very nice article on Ray Morneau and his team in today's Free Press:

http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/Sports/Motorsports/2008/08/30/6615751-sun.html

"Act Of Kindness Spark For Team

Sat, August 30, 2008, By JIM CRESSMAN, LFP

DELAWARE -- Ray Morneau isn't sure where he'd be had a race fan not pulled over on Highway 401 to pick him on that Friday night 10 years ago.

Morneau was hauling his race car to Delaware Speedway from Windsor for the first time when a wheel bearing broke on the truck around Chatham.

While he was trying to hitch a ride, a fan -- ironically from Windsor -- stopped and offered him a lift to Delaware.

Dan Monaghan, already racing at Delaware a couple of years, offered Morneau his car for that night and that act eventually led to the formation of a new race team.

On the verge of their fifth straight super stock championship (one by Monaghan and four by Morneau), that team has never been stronger.

"We'll all crack a beer and celebrate next Saturday right after the feature," Morneau said last night of when their party will begin.

When it was asked "no champagne?" he said "beer is for racing guys."

The super stocks, on the track last night for the first day of the Great Canadian Race Weekend, will officially crown their champion next Saturday night during the Don Biederman Memorial, which also sees the OSCAAR Outlaws and Thundercar Invitational.

Morneau said it was initially disheartening to break down en route to his first night at Delaware.

"I was thinking about heading home because breaking down was not in the program. It was discouraging because when we raced at Checker Flag Speedway (in Windsor) we were seven minutes away and we had an old clunker to get there. But now you've got to have a pretty good truck and trailer to get down the road."

The team invested in an old short yellow school bus six years ago to serve as hauler for the car and crew.

"My dad found it sitting on the side of the road," Morneau said of the school bus, which they quickly painted white. "It was being retired. We can bring everybody up in it. The only reason I do this is because the family likes it and my brother Randy is heavily involved (as crew chief)."

Morneau started racing at Checker Flag in 1985 but the track closed seven years later when sold to a developer.

He'd received his introduction to the sport as a four-year-old when he would tag along to Checker Flag with his dad, a flagman at the track.

Morneau said their program began to flourish in 2003 when the super stocks went to the crate engine. It comes sealed from the manufacturer and cannot be altered by the race teams. It also costs a fraction of a built engine.

"This crate motor we have is four years old and I haven't had to touch it, just change the oil," Morneau said. "You can't build a good one like this now."

Morneau has a commanding points lead on Darrell Lake, Brad Clark and Jason Lidster going into next week after Morneau finished third in last night's 25-lap feature, which was won by Jeremy Reid of Kerwood. Lake finished second.

"That Morneau team is the class of the field, on and off the track," said Lake's father Matt, who owns their car. "They're great guys to race against, great guys to work with. Whenever we have a problem they're the first guys over to offer a hand, and vice versa."