Youngsters dominate Laird features

It was a great day for a pair of youngsters at Laird International Raceway on Monday night as two of the track's up-and-coming racers sped their way to feature victories.

In a make up race for last week's postponement, Jeremy Van Hoek in the Late Model Division and Jordan Sims in the Modified Division each won their first features of the season, unseeding a pair of veterans to do so.

In the Late Model Division, Van Hoek got his night off to a strong start by fending off veteran Late Model driver George Wilson in the Fast Car Dash to open the night's program.

After watching Wilson take the first heat race in the division and finish a close second to Rod Bolduc in the second heat race, Van Hoek began to strut his stuff again in the Late Model feature.

In the Feature race, Wilson looked poised to take the victory for the fourth straight week as he battled from the back of the field and eventually overtook Bolduc for second place behind the front-running Van Hoek. The battle between the three lasted through much of the second half of the race as the three saw limited separation between them.

Then, with two laps remaining, a caution flag came out thanks to an engine problem in the car of Cory Furkey which brought the three contenders even closer. Thanks to a strong re-start by Van Hoek, the second-year Late Model driver beat out Wilson to take top spot.

In the Modified Division, the top three spots remained status quo through the two heat races as Kevin Oicle continued his dominance in the division by beating out second-place Jordan Sims and third-place Larry Ebare in both heats.

In the Modified feature, Oicle did all he could to beat out Sims but could not overtake the youngster as the 15 year-old took the lead and never looked back, despite a late spinout that could have cost him the Feature victory.

The Stock Four Division also saw a first time victor in the feature race as Cody McLean took his first checkered flag from a feature. To do so, the young driver had to fend off charges by Adam Gardiner, Tyler Parsons and Gord Hunt, who finished second, third and fourth respectively.

The heat races in the Stock Four Division saw Mike Hardy take the victory in the first heat while McLean took the victory in the second heat.

In the Factory Stock Division it was status quo for the most part as Steve Kent took top spot in the first heat race after John Hayes was disqualified after over-running his qualifying time by more than a quarter of a second.

The second heat was a little more of the same. Kent and Hayes battled it out for top spot and this time Hayes managed to secure top spot thanks to a clean run.

Kent managed to put together a solid run in the Factory Stock feature as he beat out Bill Butler for top spot, increasing his lead in the divisional points standings.

Due to graduation ceremonies at some schools in the Laird area, races scheduled for this Thursday night have been re-scheduled to next Monday – June, 27 – with qualifying at 6 p.m. and racing to follow at 7 p.m.

The races will then revert back to their normal night on Thursday, June 30.