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The Rain Held off Until Late - We got it in! Racenight recap for Thurs Aug 8th

Recap for Thursday August 8, 2024

Our 6th racenight of the season was held on the evening of Thursday August 8th. Our regular show was switched up a bit to accommodate a 100 lap Enduro race held at the end of the night. The Enduro race was postponed earlier in the season due to a rainy weekend when the race was originally scheduled. Before intermission, we shortened the program a bit, holding a single heat in our regular divisions, and then feature races. During intermission we had a lawnmower race, then post intermission it was the special Enduro race with $3,000 to win. We also handed out trophies to the feature winners during the night.

The weather was threatening rain all afternoon but the temperature was good, and organizers decided to chance it instead of cancelling. It rained a bit in town on the way to the track but conditions were overcast and dry at the track for the evening, until ¾ of the way through the Enduro race, then mother nature let the rain loose.

The race night was Sponsored by AIM recycling – the season sponsor for the Enduro division – and Possamai Construction and Aggregates. Both companies had displays set up behind the grandstands. Thanks to both companies for their sponsorship and support.

Despite the threat of rain, the fan turnout was still good. Greg Brazeau and Oval Reving were back up in the tower to announce for the night. Annette Bouchard sang the national anthems and then heat races got started.

Lakeway Automotive Factory Stock Division:

Twelve Lakeway Automotive Factory Stocks were out to qualify earlier in the night. The #80 car, normally driven by Brad Bibeau was being driven by Jordan Sims for the night. Fast qualifier of the 12 out was #05 Tyler Praysner with a time of 15.884 seconds. We had a single heat, and a special 30 lap feature in the division with $1,000 to win.

The Factory Stock heat was a 10 lapper, right after opening ceremonies. All 12 were on track for the caution free heat. Starting at the front was #57 Rick Ellis inside, and #08 Daniel Bibeau. Bibeau took the lead from the get go, led all laps to take the win. #51 Jamie Fox, having started 2nd row moved up to 2nd on the first lap and held it to finish 2nd. Third place went to #29 Xavier Carter who had started mid field. Ellis took 4th, and #05 Tyler Praysner 5th.

Fourteen cars were up for the special 30 lap Factory Stock Feature with $1,000 to win. As we find many times; up the purse and drivers can be a bit more challenged and consequently caution flew a number of times through the race.

The race got started with #15 Andrew Givens at the pole with #77x Ed Lapish outside. The first caution flew right away with a spin by #12 Owen Brown out of corner 2. Brown had started second row. The race had a complete restart.

The group had a successful 2nd start with Givens and Lapish leading the first lap. On lap 2 the 2nd caution flew. Entering corner 3, #05 Tyler Praysner, running mid field was on the inside, with #08 Daniel Bibeau outside, and #51 Jamie Fox right behind Praysner. Fox went in a bit hot and tagged Praysner sending Praysner into a slide into Bibeau. The three then all went sideways into a spin in corner 4. Fox was being sent to the rear for the incident but left the track before the restart
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On the restart Givens maintained the lead while Lapish started to fall back. #91 Jay Palumbo, who had started in the 4th row got past Givens for the lead on lap 5. #4 Dale Tucker had moved up to 3rd. Caution flew on lap 7 when #33 Cody Champagne came to a rolling stop near the track exit. He was pushed off the track by the Laird Towing truck and the race resumed.

Palumbo maintained the lead after the restart and Tucker took over 2nd place from Givens. #57 Rick Ellis left the track on lap 8. Caution flew again on lap 10 with a spin at the back of the pack by #26 Buddy Palahnuk in corner 4.
Palumbo maintaining the lead started alone out front, Tucker inside 2nd row, and Givens outside. They completed another lap then caution flew again, this time it was #29 Xavier Carter that had rolled to a stop at the top of corner 2. Carter had been running strong in 4th until then. Carter went into the pits, got a tire changed, came back out for the restart but went back to the pits just before the green.

On the restart, Palumbo and Tucker got a great start but Givens fell back. #77x Ed Lapish took up third. #80 Jordan Sims and #12 Owen Brown battled for 4th for a lap or two and Sims eventually had that position but only for a couple laps before being passed by #05 Tyler Praysner. #23 Buddy Palahnuk departed the track with 14 laps complete. #08 Daniel Bibeau left with 19 laps complete. The top 4 running order stayed the same until lap 21 when Praysner made a successful pass on Lapish to move up to third. By lap 25 Palumbo and Tucker had a quarter lap lead over Praysner running third, then caution flew when Lapish, running 4th a few car lengths behind Praysner, got loose in corner 4.

The restart served to tighten up the field for the last 5 laps of the race, with 7 cars remaining. Palumbo again was single out front, Tucker inside and Praysner outside row 2. At the restart Tucker slid a bit and Praysner moved up behind Palumbo. At the end of the 30 laps Palumbo took the checkers, Praysner 2nd, Tucker 3rd, Sims 4th, Brown 5th, Lapish 6th, Givens 7th and rookie #44 Christian Medaglia 8th. Palumbo was interviewed on the front stretch by announcer Greg Brazeau.

Northland Autobody Factory Four Division:

The Northland Autobody Factory Fours were second in the lineups for the night. There were 14 cars out for qualifying with fast time being clocked by #16 Dyllen Sherrard at 17.131 seconds. The four bangers were broken into two groups for a single 10 lap heat each, then had a 20 lap feature.

In the heat for the first group, consisting of the faster qualifiers, there were 7 cars on track. The group started with #4 Kayleigh Tucker and #17 Shaun Desjardins out front. # 51 Kenn Schwarz having started in row 2 snagged the lead right away and led all laps of the caution free race to take the win. During the race #24 Christopher Viotto had the flagman Ron Schmidt pointing the black flag at him as a warning. Viotto settled down after that and took 2nd, #7 Gianni Viotto 3rd, #22 Shanna Harten 4th, and #16 Dyllen Sherrard 5th.

In the second factory four group the heat race consisted of 7 cars running 10 caution free laps. Starting up front was #86 Tyler Mortimore and #6 Wayne Devon in the Mini Cooper. Devon was able to hold the lead for the first couple laps then was passed by #94 Seth Ralph. Mortimore was shown the black flag and left the race after 2 laps due to having a tire down. Ralph went on to lead all laps for the win. #38F Dylan Couturier finished 2nd, #13 Logan Lavoy was 3rd, #8 Alex Lapensee 4th, Devon 5th, and #22x Adam Lapensee 6th.

The AIM Recycling Ford Mustang pace car led 14 cars around the track to start the Factory Four 20 lap feature. The leaders at the start were #4 Kayleigh Tucker and #51 Kenn Schwarz. Schwarz led the first lap over Tucker by a nose then the first caution was pulled out during lap 2 when #38f of Dylan Couturier looped it at the beginning of the back stretch. During the caution #8 of Alex Lapensee left the track.

The group restarted with Schwarz single out front and Tucker inside row 2 & #7 Gianni Viotto outside. Within a lap of the start Schwarz and Viotto were a few car lengths out ahead, nose to tail; while Tucker, #22 Shanna Harten, and #16 Dyllen Sherrard were running together battling for 3rd. With 5 laps complete Tucker had problems, slowed and left the track. Caution flew on lap 8 with #86 Tyler Mortimore coming to a stop at the top of the beginning of the backstretch. Mortimore was able to get rolling again and continued the race at the green.

The rest of the race ran caution free. #13 Logan Lavoy dropped out after completing 11 laps. Schwarz led all remaining laps, with Gianni Viotto following close behind. Sherrard was running 3rd until lap 12 when he was overtaken by Harten. The leaders spread apart by two or three car lengths between then as they were going through lap traffic they tightened up again and were running nose to tail at the end. Schwarz took the checkered flag, Gianni Viotto 2nd, Harten 3rd, Sherrard 4th, #24 Christopher Viotto 5th, #38f Dylan Couturier 6th, #17 Shaun Desjardins 7th, #94 Seth Ralph 8th. #6 Wayne Devon and #22x Adam Lapensee were 9th and 10th respectively, both a lap down. #86 Tyler Mortimore finished 11th 3 laps down to the leader.

Service Rentals and Sales Super Late Models:

There were 8 Late Models out for the qualifying session. Fast qualifier was #77 Chase Wilson with a time of 14.076 seconds around the 1/3 mile. Fans watched a 10 lap heat, and a 25 lap feature in the division during the racenight.

All 8 qualifiers were out for the heat race. The group was led by #61 Dustin Jackson inside and #21k Kevin Errington outside. Caution flew before the first lap was complete when Jackson spun in front of the field coming out of corner 4. Once the tire smoke cleared everyone had avoided wrecking and they had a full double file restart of the race. #20 Mike Hearty had a bit of body metal damage on his right front nose, but nothing enough to stop him from restarting.

No further cautions came out. Errington led all laps to take the win. Jackson maintained 2nd through lap 4 then lost positions to #51 Jeremy Vanhoek – finishing 2nd, #21m Cody Maclean – finishing 3rd and #77 Chase Wilson 4th. Jackson 5th, Hearty 6th, #46 Dan Byrnes 7th and #826 Jordan Parniak 8th.

The eight qualifiers were joined by a 9th car, #33 Jordan Rocchetta for the 25 lap Late Model feature later in the programme. Starting at the front for this race was #21k Kevin Errington and #21m Cody Maclean. The green flag flew and Maclean working on the outside was a nose ahead of Errington on the first lap. Maclean increased his lead and got ahead and moved down in front of Errington. #77 Chase Wilson moved up on the outside of Errington and the pair raced side by side for a couple laps with Maclean a bit ahead running mainly high. Wilson soon got past Errington to run right behind Maclean. On lap 7 Wilson made an inside pass on Maclean for the lead on corner 1 when Maclean went high on the front stretch.

Jeremy Vanhoek in the #51 moved past Errington into 3rd on lap 10. A lap later Vanhoek had got past Maclean as well for 2nd. By this time though Wilson had about a ¼ lap lead on Vanhoek. Despite driving his car near it’s limit Vanhoek gained no ground on Wilson as the laps wound by. On lap 20 caution came out with a spin by #33 Jordan Parniak going through corner 3 & 4. Parniak’s car was obviously overheated and fluid was running out from under his car down the corner. Track crews came out and spent a few minutes drying the track. During the caution Errington left the track.

The race restarted and drivers would get one more chance at taking the win from Wilson. It wasn’t to be though; Wilson got a rocket start and after the final 5 laps had taken the checkered flag once again. That’s 6 straight feature wins for Chase – all feature races of the season. At the end, Chase had opened a 2.3 second lead on Vanhoek who finished 2nd. 3rd went to Maclean, 4th to #61 Dustin Jackson, 5th to #20 Mike Hearty, 6th to Jordan Rocchetta, and 7th to 826 Jordan Parniak – a lap down. #46 Dan Byrnes left the track on lap 21.

NAPA Reyco Automotive Modified Division:

In the Reyco Automotive Modified division there were 8 cars out to qualify with fast time being clocked by #84 Mark Laakso at 15.152 seconds. There was a single 10 lap heat and a 20 lap feature for the division during the night. The #7 car normally driven by Terrence Devon was being driven for the night by Roddy Bolduc.

Starting the Modifieds off in the heat were #20 Matt Lewis inside with #28 Mark Porpealia outside. Porpealia led the first 4 laps of the race until he spun out in corner 4 in front of the #7 driven by Bolduc. Porpealia was sent to the back for the restart.

Bolduc had the pole position on the restart with #84 Mark Laakso and #78 Jason Herrington side by side behind. Bolduc went on to hold the lead for the rest of the race to take the win. Laakso was 2nd, about a half second behind. #97 Michael Gold was third after passing Herrington on lap 8. Herrington was 4th, Porpealia 5th, #20 Matt Lewis 6th, and #36 Jesse Bailey 7th. #21 Jake Irwin had left the track with 2 laps complete.

All 7 were back out for the feature with Lewis and Porpealia starting them off again. Lewis got the lead from the green, with Porpealia behind. Others lined up behind nose to tail for the first laps, with a few attempts for passing from third back. On lap 8 Porpealia, still running in 2nd spun on his own in corner 4 bringing out the caution. Porpealia restarted at the back.

Lewis had the front position on the restart, now with #7 Roddy Bolduc and #97 Michael Gold right behind. Lewis had a good run going, maintaining the lead until lap 15 when he was overtaken by Gold with an inside pass going down the backstretch into corner 3. With 5 laps remaining Lewis now had #84 Mark Laakso right behind looking to pass. Laakso didn’t have the opportunity. Gold took the win, Lewis had a great run to take 2nd, Laakso 3rd, Bolduc 4th, #78 Jason Herrington 5th, #28 Mark Porpealia 6th. #36 Jesse Baily left the track with 8 laps of the 20 complete.

Intermission:

After the Modified feature we then had a short intermission with a Lawnmower Race, courtesy of the Algoma Lawnmower Racing Association (ALMRA). The race winner was #18 Darcy Reid for his second consecutive win. Reid made a pass on Al Lowen mid way in the race for the lead. Lowen finished 2nd, and 3rd went to Ray Ferguson. It was a bit dusty out there during the race. For information about ALMRA visit their facebook group page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/101494564073784

AIM Recycling Enduro Division:

The final race of the night was our 100 lap Enduro race with $3,000 to win. The Enduro race was to be held at the beginning of the season but the event was rained out and had to be postponed.

There were 26 cars out to start the race, of which three of them did not have scoring transponders onboard or had them located improperly on their cars. Visiting driver and family of #13 Eric Rainville “Wonderbread Circus Crew” came all the way from Sudbury to take part in the event.

Of the 26 that started, 4 were wrecked and done within the first 2 laps. Ouch! There are no cautions in the Enduro race. When a car dies it stays where it is, making the track into a bit of an obstacle course for remaining drivers.

Laps 1 through 4 were led by #11 Jake Ritchie, who had started in row 2. #86 Dylan Connolly had started in row 4 led from lap 5 to lap 30 then was overtaken by #05 Tyler Praysner who had started in row 8. Praysner's lead was not long lived though, he got creamed while going around corner 4 with a couple cars in front of him getting into it and moving up in front of him. Praysner came to rest on the front stretch near the flag stand with his right front wheel pointed sideways. Connolly regained the lead again after that.

The race had a scheduled stop on lap 50 to allow cars to be refueled and for a driver change for some. While stopped track crews removed cars and larger debris on the track. At the half way mark there were just 13 of the original 26 left running for the restart. Of those just 3 were on the lead lap. #86 Dylan Connolly was leading, #44 Eric Sylvestre was 2nd, and #11 Jake Ritchie was running 3rd.

Shortly after the race restarted it began to sprinkle a few drops of rain, making the track wet and slippery. Shortly after that the call came from officials in the pits to end the race at lap 75, instead of the originally scheduled 100 laps.

The rain started coming down harder and harder. On lap 73 Connolly got passed by Sylvestre for the lead and two laps later the win + $3,000. Connolly was 2nd and Ritchie 3rd. #8 Alex Lapensee was 4th, 3 laps down; and #83 Jon Hill was 5th, 4 laps down. At the end of those 75 laps, just 10 cars remained running. It was certainly a fun and entertaining race to watch.

Photos from the night can be found on our website under the “media” menu item - https://www.lairdraceway.com/gallery/

**The next Thursday Night Thunder is set for Thursday August 15th, with a full show in all our divisions. This will be the final Thursday racenight of the 2024 season. The season finale will be the weekend of Friday Aug 23 for a full show, plus Saturday Aug 24th for the Mike Parsons Memorial show. **

Fans are invited to view the Laird Raceway Facebook page to get current news and updates including weather cancellations, announcements, and more at https://www.facebook.com/lairdraceway

General track information is available on our website at https://www.lairdraceway.com. There you will find post-race writeups, photos, points standings, race results and more.

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