7/4/2023
Laird Raceway
Who Will be Our Season Champs this Year?
Who Will be Our Season Champs this Year? Before we can answer that question, there is another question to answer: What makes a Laird Season Champion?
First, let’s take a look at last season’s results:
Our Season Champs last season at Laird in the Super Late Model Division were Dustin Jackson; with Jay Palumbo running up second, just 3 points behind Jackson, and Ron Raynor third, 21 points behind first.
In the modified division, Jay Palumbo took the first place trophy; with Roddy Bolduc 50 points back in second, and John Ross in third, just two points back.
In Factory Stock action, it was Jarritt Varcoe with the championship; Jamie Fox was second, 21 points behind Varcoe; and 59 points behind the leader, Daniel Bibeau.
In the Factory Four division, the championship wasn’t decided until the very last race of the last race night. Anthony Mannarino took the championship, with Shanna Harten in second, and Terrance Devon third, both just 3 points back of Mannarino.
What do all these drivers mentioned have in common?
Here’s my take on it…
Sportsmanship. All of them are good clean drivers. Not overly aggressive but very competitive. When they get on the track they are on a mission to the front. If you see a black flag flying for any of them, it is because of a car safety issue (for which they will still get points); rarely if ever because of aggressive driving.
Equipment. The car is important, as is its setup. Firstly, the car needs to be reliable and maintained. Teams know that any problems need to be resolved, before the race. Yes, breakdowns happen. Plenty of blown engines, broken suspension, brake failures, drive train failures are seen at the track. A good team and driver will seek out anything that doesn’t seem right before it becomes a bigger issue. Some hot laps, a pre race checklist, a simple oil change, and good driver/team communication can mitigate some of these types of problems. Car setup, especially in the upper divisions is also an important factor. Again, a championship driver will communicate with his/her team when the car isn’t handling or turning properly and will work to adjust their car. Track temperature, air temperature, and other factors all require adjustments of tire pressures, steering components, brakes, ride heights, weights, and more, and it all has to be done within the rules. If you are in the pits pre race, you’ll see drivers and teams all working to get their cars just right.
Also under the equipment category falls “spare parts”. When something does go wrong during a race night, teams are under pressure between races to replace failed parts. Tie rod ends, brake rotors and pads, bearings, tires, and more are needed, and needed quick. Some teams will cooperate and help each other out during a race night. In some cases, when a championship is on the line, you will see one team loaning a car to another driver, just so they don’t lose out on points. When there is bad damage, the championship team can be working all week to repair the car for the next race. They do it!
Luck. Sometimes things go as a driver wants, sometimes not. Sometimes something breaks unexpectedly that takes the driver out of a race or causes them to miss a race. Sometimes it’s just a matter of circumstance, it could be the car beside that breaks something or spins knocking another competitor out of a race. It happens. If you watch NASCAR, the track that comes to mind is Talladega, it's a track where anyone could win, they call it a “wild card” in the cup series. Good drivers are taken out of the race, just by being in the wrong place, at the wrong time. It can happen at Laird too.
Compensating some for bad luck might be driver skills. A good driver learns how to stay out of trouble. They try to control situations where they might be subject to bad luck. On the road, it is called defensive driving. A good driver has some level of patience, they know when to run hard, and when to back off. Most won’t play “chicken” on the track, they’d much rather follow another car analyzing how the driver ahead is running the track, sometimes waiting until that driver makes an error; maybe running into a corner too hot then exiting high, allowing an inside pass. The experienced driver will wait then pounce to make a pass when the time is right. George Wilson was good at it. How many times did we watch George make an inside pass coming out of corner 2? I watched George’s son Chase Wilson pull the exact same move last season. Fun to watch.
Consistency. All champions have one thing in common. They are out every race night and run in all the evening races – heats and the feature. Points are awarded to drivers for taking a green flag, and for their final placement in the race. In a heat, 10 points are awarded to the winner, with positions from second through 5th dropping by a point per position, 6th place and back are all awarded 5 points. In a feature first place is awarded 20 points, dropping a point per position through 8th place, 9th place and back are all granted 12 points. So it becomes very important to be out running all evenings and in all races. For a championship driver, winning races isn’t as important as just being out for as many races as they can. Ya, winning is desired, but for a championship run being in all races is most important.
A great example of consistency is Factory Four driver Jack Lannigan. Jack is a one-man team, for years he has come out with his car and run races. He doesn’t have the fastest of cars, once in a while he gets to hold a checkered flag, but yet he consistently has been a top championship finisher, last year taking 4th in the division. Jack is out consistently, just having some fun.
So who will be our season champs in two month’s time? I have no way of predicting that, other than to make some guesses. I won’t do that though, as I don’t play favourites and hate being wrong LOL. One thing I can tell you for sure is that this year’s champs will likely be out and running hard, putting on a great show this Thursday night.
What’s your prediction for this season? Hop on the Laird Raceway Facebook page and let us know. I don’t know if there are any prizes for correct predictions, but you can certainly have bragging rights if your predictions are correct.
Our season opener is set for Thursday July 6th, with main gates opening at 5:00 while hot laps are underway, qualifying at 6:00, and opening ceremonies and racing beginning at 7:00 pm. Come on out and see who our season champs might be! Make some predictions of your own, and root for your favourites!
Article Credit: Tom Stephenson
Submitted By: Tom Stephenson
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