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Racenight Recap Thursday Aug 1, 2019

Thursday August 1st marked our 5th race night of the season at Laird International Raceway. We’ve returned to our Thursday Night Thunder traditional race night for the rest of the season, with the exception of our final mid-September Northern Stars Invitational which happens on a weekend.

The weather for our race night was perfect, warm and sunny, cooling down slightly in the evening. Rob Wagner was out again to sing the anthems and shortly after that racing got started with two heats in each division. The Atomic Blonde Factory Fours did not run during the night.

Northern Fencing Super Late Models
There were 8 cars out for qualifying earlier in the evening with fast qualifier being Rob Hiiemaa in the #50 with a time around the 1/3 mile oval of 14.366 seconds.

A ninth car was added to the mix for the first heat in the Late Model division. Jay Palumbo was out for his first time at Laird this season, driving the #94 Late Model. The race was a fast caution free 8 laps but things were tense for a moment near the end of the race as cars went three wide into corner 1 and round corner 2. The #100 of Ron Raynor was up front for the entire race and took the checkered flag. He was followed by #3 Shawn Ritchie 2nd, #94 Jay Palumbo 3rd, #21K Kevin Errington 4th, Hiiemaa 5th, #61 Dustin Jackson 6th, #46 Dan Byrnes 7th, #15 Randy Lapossie 8th, and #21 Jake Irwin in 9th.
All nine were back out a bit later for their second 8 lap heat, which also ran caution free. Jackson started inside row 3, moved up quickly and took the lead from Raynor on lap 3 and went on for the win. Raynor finished 2nd, Hiiemaa 3rd, Errington 4th, Palumbo 5th, Ritchie 6th, Irwin 7th, Lapossie 8th, and Byrnes, who left a lap early was 9th.

After intermission Byrnes was missing from the action in the feature, leaving 8 cars to start the race. Caution flew three times during the first half of the 25 lap feature. Caution was out for the first time just after the first lap was complete. Raynor was running high, and moved down up the front stretch, pinching Hiiemaa below as they were approaching turn 1. Raynor was bumped up and into Palumbo, then went into a spin into corner 2. Raynor was sent to the back for the restart and the race restarted with Errington and Ritchie up front, and Jackson & Hiiemaa in row 2. Ritchie was having problems and was off the pace and quickly went backwards. Errington was on fire and held the lead with Jackson keeping up, but not able to challenge. A few car lengths back Hiiemaa and Palumbo were battling for third. The two got together at the end of the backstretch on lap 7 and slid into corner 3 and 4 bringing out the caution. Hiiemaa got sent to the back.

The race resumed and Errington and Jackson raced side by side again. Jackson was on the outside, a foot or two ahead on the lap after the restart, but then began to lose ground. Errington continued in the lead and Jakson then found himself outside of Jake Irwin, racing side by side for a while. Irwin went a bit squirrely around corner 4 but held onto it, but that allowed Jackson to move up. Hiiemaa passed Irwin on the inside up the front stretch, then Jackson came down into Hiiemaa on corner 1, putting the two into a spin. Jackson was sent to the back this time.

Errington restarted at the front again, this time with Irwin beside him. The pair raced side by side for a couple laps, but Errington got out front again. Irwin then had Hiiemaa beside him. Hiiemaa took over second spot on lap 14 and began to work on Errington. Hiiemaa was successful in passing Errington on lap 17. A lap later Irwin got past Errington too. The running order of the front three then remained the same until the last corner of the last lap. Irwin went squirrelly again in corner 4 and that allowed Errington to steal second spot back. Hiiemaa was successful in restarting at the back during the earlier caution and coming back to win the race. Errington 2nd, Irwin drove the wheels off his car to finish 3rd, Dustin Jackson 4th, Randy Lapossie 5th, Jay Palumbo 6th, Ron Raynor 7th, and Shawn Ritchie 8th. Hiiemaa maintains the lead in points in the division.

NAPA Auto Parts Michigan Modifieds
Six cars qualified in the Modified division with fast qualifier being #84 Mark Laakso with a time of 15.308 seconds.

In the first 8 lap heat there was a single caution with 6 laps in as #67 Jarritt Varcoe spun in corner 4. Laakso jumped to the early lead and finished the race in top spot. #79 Roddy Bolduc pulled up 2nd, #01 John Ross 3rd, #77 Chase Wilson 4th, #71 Jay McCoy 5th, and Varcoe 6th, having left the race a lap before the end.

In the second 8 lap heat, only 4 of the 8 came up on track to take the green flag. The race ran caution free. Wilson led the race and finished 1st, followed by Ross, Laakso, and Bolduc.

In the 20 lap feature, #4 Michael Carbone joined the original six cars from the first heat to make the car count 7. The race started with Bolduc at the pole, and Wilson outside, with Ross and Laakso in row two. As they came out of corner 4 at the start of the race, Ross in second row had a good run up the inside of Bolduc making it three wide into corner 1. Bolduc got into the side of Wilson, who in turn spun, and then bounced into Ross. All were able to restart.

The cars were coming to the green round corner 3 when Bolduc and Wilson touched, immediately bringing out the caution. It looked like someone lost some sheet metal, and it was “absorbed” under Jay McCoy’s car. After the restart, the metal ended up on the backstretch and the caution was brought out for the third time on lap 2. Carbone left the track before the restart.

The race restarted and Ross got out in front and was on fire. He opened up a gap on Bolduc and Laakso who were battling for second spot. By the half way mark of the race, Ross had a ¼ lap lead. On lap 13, caution came out again after Laakso tried to pass Bolduc low up the front stretch. Laakso hit the binders going into corner 1, but it wasn’t enough and he got into the side of Bolduc. Laakso was sent to the back. Ross ruled again after the restart and held the checkered flag at the end. Bolduc had another solid 2nd place, Laakso 3rd, Wilson 4th, Varcoe 5th, McCoy 6th.

Service Rental Factory Stocks
Five cars qualified in the Factory Stock division, with #67 Jarritt Varcoe being fast qualifier with a time of 16.375 seconds. Varcoe was running “double duty” for the night, also running the #67 modified. Rob Wagner in the #88 broke down during qualifying and his car wasn’t seen for the rest of the night.
Six cars started the first Factory Stock heat. Four qualifiers were joined by #21 Jacob Heimonen and #22 Adam Lapensie – a new driver. The #26 of Buddy Palahnuk was also up on track but was sent off before the race began due to a possible fuel leak. The race ran caution free with #51 Jamie Fox taking the win, #01 of Jerry Ross finished 2nd, Varcoe 3rd, Heimonen 4th, Diodati 5th and Lapensie 6th.

Only four cars were out for the second Factory Stock Heat. Fox repeated the win of the first heat, followed by Ross, Heimonen, and Diodati.

The Factory Stock Feature was a 20 lap race, with 6 cars running. McCoy was missing from the lineup. Up front at the start were Diodati on the inside and Fox outside. Behind them were Varcoe and Ross. On the start Diodati took the lead while Fox drifted back. By the time they got to the backstretch on the first lap, Varcoe had moved inside Diodati and completed a pass to take the lead. Varcoe was running on rails and no one could keep up. Caution came out on lap 7 when rookie Lapensie slid up off corner 4.

On the restart, Diodati started beside Varcoe, but quickly lost ground and within a couple laps had been passed by Ross, Heimonen, and Fox. Ross took up second place but couldn’t get near Varcoe. Caution was out again on lap 13 when Lapensie went up and off corner 1 and 2. He drove it back onto the track and the race restarted.

This time on the restart, Ross had a chance but Varcoe quickly jumped out front again. Fox moved up on Ross trying for second a couple times, but was unsuccessful. So Fox was unable to repeat his earlier performances and get a third win. Varcoe took the checkered flag ahead of Ross. Fox finished 3rd, Heimonen 4th, Diodati 5th, and Lapensie 6th.

Other Activities During Intermission
Intermission fun for the race night included a school bus race. Then kids were invited up onto the track for a nickel toss and a ride around the track and into the pits in a couple of school buses. When kids were getting onto the buses they were all handed a ticket and then after their ride there was a draw for three new bicycles. Lucky winners were Mya Laakso 4, Rebecca Major 6, and Robin Rankin 7.

The race night was over just before 10 pm. We take a week off at Laird next week so our next regular race night will be Thursday August 15th when we present another episode of Thursday night Thunder. Come on out and join us for some great racing!

Check our website at http://www.lairdraceway.com and our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/lairdraceway for photos, videos, stories and more.

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