Another night, another win for George Wilson

Week seven of the 2006 race season proved to be one of the best nights for racing yet.

Perfect weather and a big car turnout kept fans in their seats late into the evening at the Kinross Speedpark. A number of 4 Cylinder race cars made their way over to the Speedpark from Laird International Raceway in Echo Bay Ontario. These cars were all very competitive and added excitement to this already entertaining class.

The racing action started with the Four Car Dashes in each class. The Pure Stock dash had Ray Golladay Sr. getting a great start and leading all four laps for the victory. The Factory Stock dash was won by Kevin Johnson. Mark Howland ran a strong race and finished first in the Late Model dash. Brandy Clawson held off fast qualifier John Mayer while taking the checkered flag in the 4 Cylinder dash.

Randy Touchtone started at the front of the Pure Stock Australian Pursuit and held off all challenges while winning this race. Moe Syrstad passed the only car in front of him and took the victory in the first 4 Cylinder pursuit. Ron Etcher made it look easy while running away with the win in the second 4 Cylinder pursuit race.

The first heat race of the night had the Late Models taking to the track. The first caution of the evening was shown when Kevin Jackson slid up the track coming out of turn four which put Sam Bohling into the outside wall. Bohling had serious damage and did not return to the racing action. The "Steel City Outlaw" George Wilson went on to win the heat. Second place was Mark Howland with Jim Gort Jr. finishing in third.

The Factory Stock heat had a spectacular crash while the cars were taking some warm up laps. Pee Wee Fountain hit the wall hard while exiting turn four creating an amazing shower of sparks. He lost a wheel which went down the front stretch and around turn one before hitting the catch fence behind turn two. Jared Nightlinger ran side by side with Kevin Johnson for most of the race and held him off for the victory. Cecil Piche finished third.

Randy Touchtone took his second checkered flag of the evening by winning the first Pure Stock heat race. He finished ahead of Chris Brady in second, and Nicole Rader in third. The second Pure Stock Heat race was won by John Clawson. Ray Golladay Jr. was second, and Rumblin’ Randy Miller finished third.

The first 4 Cylinder heat race had several cautions and lots of action. Moe Syrstad won for the second time of the night. He held off a hard charging Donny Mergaert in second, and Jake Irwin in third.

The second 4 Cylinder heat had Ron Etcher leading all the laps and taking the checkered flag. Preston Nightlinger finished second, and Brandy Clawson third.

Intermission festivities included drawings for five bicycles donated by track supporters in celebration of "Kids Night" at the Kinross Speedpark. Each child in attendance was given a chance to win one of these great prizes. Fans were also treated to a skit with Squeaky Berlin and his clown car. Tech official Darryn Laitinen caught Squeaky trying to race "Ole Betsy" around the 1/4 mile asphalt oval. A tech inspection followed with the clown car failing miserably, much to the delight of the fans.

The Late Model feature had Mark Howland and George Wilson racing door to door for over half of the race. George Wilson eventually pulled away and finished way out in first. Mark Howland finished second, and Kevin Jackson third.

Josh Ware had the field covered in the Factory Stock Feature. He built a big lead early and was never challenged while earning the victory. Kevin Johnson finished second and Cecil Piche third.

The Pure Stock Feature had thirteen cars line up for the green flag. Roy Golladay Jr. jumped the start and brought out the first yellow for a complete restart. He showed some displeasure to the race officials and was promptly shown the black flag and told to park for the evening. The cars were lined up again and given the green flag. Randy Touchtone led for a few laps before Larry Young Jr. moved through the field and took the lead. Larry Young Jr. pulled away and won by a big margin. Randy Touchtone finished second, and Ray Golladay Sr. third.

The 4 Cylinder Feature put seventeen cars out on the track for the start. Ron Etcher was cruising to a victory before being shown the black flag for breaking the 1/4 second rule. This turned into a battle between three cars with John Mayer taking the victory. Brandy Clawson and Marko Howland finished second and third respectfully.

The final race of the evening was round two of the Powder Puff series. Julie Fox attempted a last lap pass on Mindy Fox down the backstretch and lost control spinning wildly off of the track. Mindy Fox went on to the victory.

Racing action resumes again this Friday at Kinross Speedpark. For more information, log onto www.kinrossspeedpark.com.

(Submitted by Steve Lawson)