Wilson takes two checkered flags at Kinross

Blue skies and sunshine covered the area for the second consecutive week at the Kinross Speedpark, setting the stage for another great night of racing.

In honor of Memorial Day, the opening ceremonies included members from the 1437th Engineering Company National Guard unit from Sault Ste. Marie, an Honor Guard from the VFW Post 3676, and members of the motorcycle club from the American Legion Post. The beautiful ceremony included a 21 gun salute and the playing of Taps.

The first race of the evening was the make up race of the 4 Cylinder feature postponed from the week before. Jake Irwin was the early leader before John Mayer moved by him taking over first. There was plenty of good clean racing with action all around the track. Almost simultaneously, both the Adam Gardner and Dustin Mackellar vehicles went down in clouds of smoke. The track went yellow to remove the disabled vehicles from the track. On the restart, Brandy Clawson shot to the front and went on to the victory. Don Dangler finished second, and Ron Etcher third.

The four car dashes for each class went smoothly without any incidents. Tim Aho won in his Late Model, Mark Beaudoin with his Factory Stock, Dan Shumbarger in the Pure Stock race, and Brandy Clawson with her 4 Cylinder.

One Australian Pursuit race was run with the 4 Cylinders lined up from slowest to fastest. When a car is passed completely, they drop out of the race. John Gardner passed the six cars ahead of him in taking the victory.

The Factory Stock heat race was action packed with some early, tight racing. Mike Fox got a light tap from Pee Wee Fountain while leading causing a spin and bringing out the first yellow. Cecil Piche had a great restart and took over the lead. He held on to first the remainder of the race. Dean Eggart finished second, and Mark Beaudoin third.

The Pure Stock heat race was another great race. There was one caution for the spinning car of Mick Pieri. John Clawson had the field covered and took the win. Ray Golladay Jr. finished second, and Dan Shumbarger third.

The first of two 4 Cylinder heat races had three wide racing for most of the first lap. Larry Miller led most of the race and took the checkered flag. Ashley Pietrangelo finished second, and her sister Erica Pietrangelo third. The second heat race had some excitement when the James Thompson car spun in turn three. The car spun down the track and right in front of the Don Dangler car, bringing out the yellow after a pretty hard collision. When racing resumed, Brandy Clawson raced to the victory with Ron Etcher second, and Eric Fountain third.

The last heat before intermission was for the Late Models. Tim Aho encountered mechanical problems during the warm up laps and wasn’t able to race. The "Steel City Outlaw" George Wilson led every lap and recorded the victory. Denny Aho finished second, and Rick Leonard third.

The Factory Stock feature had both Mike and Paul Fox out front early. Paul Fox eventually took over the lead, building a small cushion over second. In possibly the best race of the young season, Cecil Piche and Mark Beaudoin reeled in Fox and had a great three way battle for first. Beaudoin got into the Fox car in turn three bringing out the yellow and a restart. Paul Fox’s car didn’t seem to handle like it did before the contact, which allowed Cecil Piche to dive inside on the restart and pull away for the win. Dean Eggart finished second, and Mike Fox third.

The Pure Stock feature had several laps of side by side racing. Barry Glenn started on the front row and had a great battle with John Clawson for many laps for first place. Dan Shumbarger had a great view of the action from his spot in third. The feature was run caution free and was very entertaining. Barry Glenn held off the charging John Clawson car for what appeared to be Glenn’s second straight feature win. The Barry Glenn car did not pass post race inspection and was disqualified from the race. John Clawson was awarded the victory with Dan Shumbarger second, and Nicole Rader moving up to third.

The Late Model feature saw Tim Aho drop out early with mechanical problems. Rick Leonard also pulled off the track before the race was completed. George Wilson ran door to door with Denny Aho for several laps before pulling away with the lead. Wilson recorded his first feature win of the season with Denny Aho second, and Matt Rader third.

Soo Collision was the sponsor of the second 4 Cylinder feature of the evening. Fans were treated to even more racing action as this feature was for thirty five laps. Cars went three wide in the first turn with Ron Etcher, John Gardner, and Brandy Clawson all fighting for the lead. Clawson really picked up speed and shot into the lead. She battled the Etcher car for a few laps before Eric Fountain caught the pair making this another three way battle.

All the cars put on a great show and really ran a clean race. The caution was shown on lap thirty two when a large chunk of metal fell onto the front straightaway. The restart saw Ron Etcher getting a big jump on the field bringing out another caution and black flag at the same time. Etcher was sent to the back of the pack. The three lap shootout saw Brandy Clawson driving to another win, with Don Dangler, and Jake Irwin crossing the line not to far behind her. Irwin did not pass the post race inspection and was disqualified from the race. Eric Fountain rounded out the top three when he was moved up in the finish.

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

(Submitted by Steve Lawson)