LIR puts cap on racing season

Laird International Raceway's racing season officially came to a close on Sunday afternoon on a warm day in front of a crowd estimated at 2,100.

It was a good day for David Slingsby both in the Late Model and Factory Stock Divisions as the veteran driver ran double duty again on Sunday, much like he did on Thursday night.

In Late model action, Slingsby's night got off to a solid start as he took home top spot in the Fast Car Dash to open the racing program. Slingsby then rode to a fourth place finish in the first Late Model heat race, while Charlie Robert and George Wilson finished first and second respectively.

After placing out of the top five in the Late Model's second heat race, Wilson went on to finish first in the heat and Rick Leonard second.

In the feature, Wilson took home the checkered flag, officially putting a stamp on his great run in the Late Model Division, while Chris Furkey finished second and Cory Furkey third. Wilson also won the points title for the Late Model division this season.

In the Factory Stock Division, Slingsby was even better. First he beat out Steve Kent, who won the Factory Stock points title, in the first heat race in a battle right down to the wire. In the second heat, Slingsby finished second to Chuck Fawcett.

Slingsby battled in the feature race but finished in third spot as Kent took home second and John Fragale, who had a strong year in the Factory Stock Division, finished in top spot.

The Factory Stock feature also marked the end of the line for veteran stock car driver Bill Butler as the feature was his last race at LIR. The feature also marked the end for Steve Kent in the division as he will likely be making the move to the Modified Division next summer.

Speaking of the Modified Division, it was a pretty even night overall as all three races saw different winners. Mav MacDonald held off second-place Len Bibeau and third place Jordan Sims, who won the division's point title, to win the first heat. Bibeau then went on to come out victorious in the second heat race.

In the feature race, it was meant to be for Jordan Sims as the 15-year-old took home another feature victory holding off Bibeau and MacDonald to do so.

Finally, in the Stock Four Division, points champion Gord Hunt got behind the wheel of the No. 78 of Jason Herrington for the afternoon and picked up a second place finish in the first heat race behind Cody McLean. The second heat race, which was run in reverse, was also won by McLean with Hunt finishing in fifth.

McLean made it a clean sweep as he held off the No. 35 of John Clawson to take home the victory in te feature. George Haldenby finished third while Mike Hearty and Anthony Jones finished fourth and fifth respectively.

With that, the racing season in Sault Ste. Marie came to a close although fans will have an opportunity to circle next year's opening night on their calendars. It was expected that the racing schedule for LIR will be posted on the official LIR website sometime in the next two weeks. Fans can check into that at www.lairdraceway.com.