Race season winding down with tight points races at Laird

Just two race nights remain on the schedule at Laird Raceway in addition to capping off the season in mid-September with the Northern Stars Invitational.

Action resumes on Thursday night after a two-week hiatus at the northern Ontario track. The time off allowed drivers to compete in other events in the area, including the Wawa drag races and the Hot Shoe 100 at Kinross over the weekend.

On the heels of a feature win in the late model division on Aug. 1, veteran driver Rob Hiiemaa will look to extend his lead atop the points standings in the division this week.

Hiiemaa currently holds a 14-point lead on Ron Raynor Jr. and has been a model of consistency this season with three feature wins in six events and finishing in the top five six times.

Jake Irwin and Dustin Jackson are in a battle for third in the late model points standings.

Heading into action on Thursday night, Irwin sits in third with 143 points, just two points ahead of the young-but-experienced Jackson.

Speaking of consistency, in the factory stock division, local driver Jerry Ross has five top-five finishes this season, including four feature wins. Ross currently holds a 29-point lead over Jonathan Diodati in the points standings.

The battle for second in the standings in the factory stock division is tight with Diodati sitting nine points ahead of Jamie Fox.

Atop the modified division, the race is tight between a pair of local drivers heading into the final two race nights of the season.

Mark Laakso sits in top spot with 152 points heading into action on Thursday while Roddy Bolduc sits second with 139.

In five race nights this season, the modified division has seen five different drivers pick up feature wins.

The factory four points race has become a battle between a pair of local drivers.

With a pair of feature wins among his three feature races, Jason Kern leads the division with 111 points, eight ahead of Kayla Kurnell.

Following Thursday’s program, which sees qualifying begin at 6 p.m. and racing set to begin shortly after 7 p.m., Laird’s season championship is set for Aug. 22.

The Northern Stars Invitational is set for Sept. 13 and 14.