Wilson captures Laird late model feature

Laird International Raceway certainly had its share of action on Thursday evening.

A familiar face made a return to the place where he was so dominant while other regulars made their first appearance of the season after missing week one.

Last year's Late Model points champion Michael Gold suited up in a Late Model in order to get some race time in prior to opening his season on the CASCAR Circuit later this month.

Gold, driving his traditional No. 97 car, showed right off the bat why he was so dominant a year ago, posting a qualifying time of 14.644 seconds, which was just short of the track record in the division of 14.636, which was set by George Wilson on Saturday evening.

Then, in the Fast Car Dash, Gold placed second just behind winner Rob Sartini and just ahead of Wilson, who had posted a qualifying time of 14.697 seconds. Cory Furkey rounded out the field.

In the first heat, Wilson came away with the victory, but not before getting involved with Sartini after the latter bumped Wilson, leading to a black flag on Sartini. The two continued to exchange pleasantries throughout the evening. Rod Bolduc placed second while Gold finished in third.

Gold returned to victory in the second heat beating out Bolduc and Wilson, who finished second and third respectively.

The feature race was a lengthy one after starting the races late at 7:20 p.m. after some oil was spilled on the track during the time trials. The race found itself marred with numerous cautions due to everything from blown tires to crashes. The feature was also cut from the expected 50 laps to 25, although the 50 lap feature is expected to be made up. As the race moves on, things began to get more interesting, especially in the final five laps. With both Gold and Wilson moving in to overtake Bolduc, Wilson found himself with tire problems. Thanks to a caution flag, the veteran driver was able to get the problem fixed and rejoin the race.

The quickness of his pit crew was vital as Gold, who was making a move on Bolduc found himself in as tight spot after the car of Cory Furkey made contact with Gold, causing the No. 97 to spin and be impacted by Furkey, causing extensive damage to the passenger side of the Gold car and leaving him out of the race.

That gave Wilson all the opportunity he needed as he worked his way back to the front of the field and came out of the feature race victorious.

In the Factory Stock Division, John Fragale and Dick Wellwood came out victorious in the heats while Steve Kent earned himself another feature victory beating out Bill See and John Hamilton.

In the Stock Four Division, much like Saturday afternoon's races, Gord Hunt and Dave King were successful in the top two spots in both heat races as well as the feature. Hunt won all three events.

Heat one of the Modified Division did not complete their allotted laps, although a winner was officially declared. A crash involving all four participants – Nick Jobst, Larry Ebare, Jordan Sims and Kevin Oicle – occurred that sent all four racers to the pits. Fortunately, one lap had been completed to allow the race to go down as official. Jobst took the victory.

The second heat race saw all four participants come out and, although Sims was forced to leave the track due to car trouble, Kevin Oicle took the checkered flag. The feature saw all four participants run, but only two managed to finish the race. Oicle beat out Sims for top spot.

Action is again scheduled for next Thursday night but Laird may also run on Saturday to make up for postponing the opening race of the season.

Further information regarding Laird can be found on the track's official website at www.lairdraceway.com.