Clean sweep for McClelland at Laird
Friday, June 29, 2012 by: Brad Coccimiglio
It was a clean sweep in the Super Late Model Division at Laird International Raceway on Thursday night.
Veteran driver Terry McClelland had a perfect night in three Late Model races, two weeks after an incident led to McClelland stating he had no intentions of returning to the track. McClelland didn’t miss a week after weather forced the postponement of action last week.
McClelland opened the night in a battle with Corey Furkey during the opening heat race. The two battled throughout the 10-lap heat. On the final lap, McClelland held off a push by Furkey on the final lap that included the pair making contact coming out of turn four to the finish line.
The second heat race saw McClelland hold off Keith King, who finished third in the opening heat race, to take the checkered flag. Paul McLean took third in the second heat.
In the 25-lap feature race, the trio of McClelland, Furkey and King continued their solid evening. McClelland capped off the sweep with a first-place finish while Furkey placed second and King took third. Steven Baraluk and McLean rounded out the top five.
Former track champion Dennis Uhlman found himself in a familiar position thanks to a pair of first-place finished. Uhlman won the 20-lap Laird Modified feature. Jake Irwin finished while Nick Kozak was third. Chris Miller took fourth and veteran driver Rick Ellis rounded out the top five.
In the Laird Modified heat Uhlman finished ahead of Zack St. John (second) and Irwin (third).
In the Factory Stock Division Kyle Jarrett took the checkered flag in the feature. Jamie Fox was second while Jason Praysner took third. Fox won the lone Factory Stock heat race ahead of Jarrett. Praysner was third in the heat.
In the Outlaw Modified Division, Jordan Sims took the checkered flag in both of Thursday’s races. Sims won the feature race and the lone heat race in the division. In the feature, Cody McLean was second while Ted Ritchie Jr. placed second in the heat race.
Jakob Bourdage nearly left the track on Thursday night with a clean sweep of his own in the Xtreme Four Division, but Daniel Bibeau had other ideas. With the two battling on the final lap, Bibeau and Bourdage came to the finish line and Bibeau picked up the checkered flag, finishing just .032 seconds ahead of Bourdage for the win. Steve Ibbitson placed third.
Bourdage won both heat races in the division. Bibeau had a second and a third in the heats. Ibbitson placed second in the first heat race while Taylor Crockford had a third-place finish in the second heat.
Similar to Bourdage, Rebecca Fewchuk had a clean sweep foiled on the final lap of the feature in the Factory Four Division. Fewchuk was passed on the final lap of the 20-lap feature by Tyler Praysner, giving Praysner the feature win. Taylor Crockford finished third.
Fewchuk won both heat races. Crockford finished third in the first heat and second in heat two. Brent Fewchuk was second in the opening heat. Praysner rounded out the top three in the second heat.
Action continues at Laird International Raceway on Monday evening and includes a 30-lap Super Late Model feature.
