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Racenight Recap for Friday July 5, 2019

Our second race night of the season was held on July 5th. After a successful season start the week before, we got another great night of racing in under sunny skies, and warm temperatures. Maybe a bit too warm, judging by by activity on the track, especially in the modified division. The car count was up over the previous race night too.
Rob Wagner was up on the front stretch to sing the national anthems, then the racing got started with the Service Rentals Factory stocks up for a fast car dash.

Service Rentals Factory Stocks

There were six Factory Stocks out to qualify. Fast qualifier was #08, Daniel Bibeau, who was out for the first time at Laird this season.

Fast qualifiers Bibeau, #01 Jerry Ross, #21 Jacob Heimonen (also out for his first run of the season), and #51 Jamie Fox were out for a fast car dash. On the fourth and last lap, Fox inside, with Bibeau outside, tangled in corner 2 and ended up bumping and spinning (see photo). Heimonen went on for the win with Ross second.

In the heat a bit later in the evenings program neither Fox nor Bibeau were on the track, likely because of suffering damage in the dash that didn’t allow them to continue. The pair were not in the feature either. Ross and Heimonen were joined by #52 Jon Diodati, and #88 Rob Wagner for the 8 lap heat. Flagman Ron Schmidt did not like the start and flagged them down for a restart. Heimonen led the first three laps, then caution came out when Diodati spun by himself on corner 4. Wagner was nearly collected but managed to get by (see photo). Heimonen continued to lead after the restart but found Ross working outside of him. Ross managed to lead the last couple laps for the side by side win. Heimonen had to settle for second. Diodati third, and Wagner was fourth.

The same four returned for their 15 lap feature later. Ross opened an immediate lead on the other three, then Heimonen left the track before the first lap was complete. The race ran caution free, with Ross taking the checkers, Diodati second, about ¾ of a lap behind, and Wagner third, having been lapped towards the end of the race.

NAPA Auto Parts Modified Division

There was a good turnout in the Modified division with 12 cars in attendance. A couple of those cars arrived late and did not qualify. Josh Ware in the #7 was fast qualifier with a time of 15.152 seconds.
The fast car dash consisted of Ware, #01 John Ross, #84 Mark Laakso, and #21 Jake Irwin. Ware got past Laakso on the last lap of the four lap race, to take the win. Laakso finished second, Ross third, and Irwin fourth.
The modified heat was nothing less than crazy. Drivers were driving like it was the last race of a season for a championship. Little patience was shown. The 10 cars that started went three wide multiple times and there were multiple cautions. Missing from the heat were John Ross, and Josh Ware. The short 10 lap race took over 12.5 minutes to complete. Sean Sykes in #83 started at the pole with #71 Jay McCoy outside. McCoy lead part way around the first lap, the Sykes pulled up and got credit for leading it. On lap 2, #28 Mark Porpealia made a pass below the white line to get in front of Sykes. Not allowed, Porpealia was shown the black flag. While Porpealia was still on the track, #79 of Roddy Bolduc split Sykes and McCoy down the backstretch making it three wide into corner 3. McCoy ended up over the bank and into the tires near the track entrance on corner 4 (see photo). During the caution Porpealia saw that he was getting the black and left the track.

Sykes and McCoy restarted at the front and McCoy led the next lap. This time, rookie in the division, #77 Chase Wilson split them up making it three wide up the front stretch for a moment then nosed McCoy out of top spot at the start/finish line. Wilson got ahead, of the pack and then as they were rounding corner 3, McCoy spun, with #21 Jake Irwin at his tail. Not sure if McCoy was tagged by Irwin, or if McCoy spun himself, in any event, McCoy was sent to the back.

Wilson got a good restart and jumped to the front, with #4 Michael Carbone right behind, both high. At the same time, Sean Sykes was entering corner 1, with #84 Mark Laakso below him, and Bolduc above and leaving room. They were successfully making it around corner 1 three wide when further back, McCoy and #75 Dennis Aho tangled at the end of the front stretch (see photo). The yellow was out again. Jake Irwin left the track somewhere about here.

The race started again, then caution came out again a lap later when Carbone, running fourth spun out by himself in through corner 4. Five of 10 laps had been completed at this point. Jarritt Varcoe #67 left the track. The final 5 laps were more settled and Wilson took it to the finish for the checkers. Bolduc 2nd, Laakso 3rd, Aho 4th, Carbone 5th, McCoy 6th, and Sykes 7th. The flagman requested on the radio to see a couple of the drivers in this race at intermission.

The modified feature was a bit more settled, but still exciting with all 12 cars in attendance out. Caution was out before a half lap was complete as we watched Jay McCoy run high and sail off corner 2 and down the bank. This caused an accordion effect and Irwin and Sykes spun and got hooked together, it took a few minutes for the tow truck to separate them. No major damage and both were able to continue, although Sykes was off the pace for the rest of the race. Also in the incident, Mike Carbone got collected and suffered damage to his left rear and was out of the race.

Sean Sykes restarted at the back, so Roddy Bolduc restarted out front, with Jay McCoy beside. Bolduc held the lead for the first 9 laps of the 20 lap race. Meanwhile though, Josh Ware, who started near the back was picking off cars one at a time, then it was Bolduc’s turn to get passed to lose the lead on lap 10. There was some good racing action for the last 10 laps, but no one was near Ware. Ware, last year’s division champion took home the win. Bolduc 2nd, Laakso 3rd, Porpealia 4th, Ross 5th, and Varcoe 6th. Irwin, Aho, McCoy were all a lap down, Sykes 2 laps down.

Northern Fencing Super Late Model Division

Action in the Super Late Model division was also very exciting. Because of a technical problem with the track lights late on our first race night, we held twin 25 lap features in the Late Model Division during our race evening.
Dustin Jackson was fast qualifier with a time of 14.562 seconds around the 1/3 mile paved oval. Because we had twin features, we didn’t have a dash, or heat in the late model division.

The first feature, before intermission, seven cars were up. #100 Ron Raynor started up front, with #21 Jake Irwin outside. As cars were coming to the green, the hood of Irwin flew up in front of him, blocking most of his view out the windshield. Flagman Ron Schmidt kept the race green and after a couple laps Irwin managed to see the black flag and was out of the race with equipment problems. Raynor held on to his lead, while #50 Rob Heiimaa and #46 Dan Byrnes battled for second for a couple laps.

Eventually Byrnes took second spot, and after a few laps the gap between 2nd and 3rd place Heiimaa grew to about 15 car lengths. On lap 10, Raynor got tagged by Byrnes in the middle of corner 3 & 4 and spun, bringing out the caution. Byrnes was sent to the back.

On the restart, Raynor found Heiimaa beside him. The pair did some side by side racing for a couple laps until Raynor slid up a bit, and Heiimaa down a bit on the backstretch, they touched and Raynor spun. Raynor’s rear trunk cover had flipped up so he was sent back to the pits and was given a few laps to get it fixed but didn’t return to the race.

Five cars restarted with Heiimaa up front and #61 Dustin Jackson outside. Six more laps got completed with Jackson working beside Heiimaa but unable to get past. On lap 17, Dan Byrnes, following Heiimaa got his nose under Heiimaa and the two went spinning in corner 4. #91 of Keith King also lost control trying to avoid the two, and spun up and off the top of corner 4. The green flew again, and lap after lap Jackson was working at trying to get around Heiimaa. A couple of times Jackson tried to get around the veteran underneath off corner 2, but Heiimaa was just not leaving enough room. On the last lap, Jackson tried again to go inside on the backstretch and ended up touching and spinning himself sideways and slightly into the infield. Heiimaa went on for the win, followed by #21k Kevin Errington, #91 Keith King, Byrnes and Jackson.

The second late model feature of the night was after intermission and was also a 25 lapper. This feature was clean, smooth, and caution free. The group of seven were joined by latecomer Zak St. John in an unnumbered red car to make 8 to start. Raynor and Irwin started at the front. At the green, Raynor took the lead and after a couple laps Irwin lost second to Jackson. Jackson set to work on Raynor and worked into the 10th lap until he could get by Raynor to take the lead. Jackson opened up a lead on Raynor, and Raynor on the rest of the field. A few laps before the end, Irwin slid back a few positions. When the race concluded, Jackson had better than a quarter lap lead on Raynor, Raynor had about the same lead on third place Byrnes, Hiiemaa was fourth, Errington fifth, Irwin 6th, St. John 7th and King took 8th having left the track a lap before the end.

Atomic Blonde Factory Fours

We were slated to have twin features in the Factory Four division this week but due to low car count had only one feature race in the division.
Three cars were only out in the division: #12 Jason Kern, #88 Kayla Kernell, and #59 Andrew Premo. Also on track was #72 Randy Larrett in an enduro car, that doesn’t meet the Factory Four rules, so he was out just for some seat time and doesn’t qualify for points or payouts.

In their sole 15 lap feature, Kern jumped to the front, with Premo behind for the first two laps. On lap 3, Premo’s engine blew up and he was done for the night. In the pit’s at the end of the night, Premo said, “A connecting rod broke and popped a hole in the block, so I’ll have to change the engine.” Luckily, there was no oil on the track and the race continued. Kern took the lead again at the restart with Kurnell close behind for a couple laps. Kurnell slid up the track in corner 1 on a couple laps and that set her back about a ¼ track from Kern. As the race progressed to the end, Kern opened up the lead to about ¾ of a track. Kern finished first ahead of Kurnell, and Larrett was a few car lengths behind Kurnell unofficially finishing third.

Because there were only 2 cars remaining to race in the division, the second feature was cancelled.

Jason Kern has started a group on Facebook called “Laird Raceway Four Cylinders” in an effort to get the car count back up in the division. If you are looking to get into racing in a four cylinder, go and join the facebook group. Ex 4 cylinder drivers with cars available for sale are also encouraged to join the group to get in touch with potential buyers.

Wrap Up

During intermission, 14 year old Shanna Harten had her mini wedge out to show the crowd and spin a couple laps (see photos) Mini wedge racing will take place at Laird towards the end of the season and is open to kids 6 to 14. Give us a call at Laird if you are interested in getting your son or daughter, or grandchild into racing. 705-256-1652

Our racenight concluded a bit past 10 pm. Our next scheduled race will be Friday July 12th when we hold the Factory Stock Run for the Flag.

Need a ride to the track? We have a bus running from town on race nights. It departs Misty’s 50’s at 5:30 pm, The Harp at 5:50 pm, and the Roadhouse at 6:10 pm. Cost is $25, which includes gate entry. The bus departs the track shortly after the races are over.

Visit www.lairdraceway.com or www.facebook.com/lairdraceway for more photos, stories and video clips.

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