We Had a Fantastic Season Opener on Thursday July 3, 2025

Recap for Thursday July 3, 2025

Thursday July 3 marked the first racenight of the Laird Raceway 2025 season, after a cancellation of our planned Saturday June 21 Enduro Race and June 26th racenight due to weather. The weather during the racenight started at a couple degrees below seasonal, about 20 degrees which was quite comfortable. We had a great car count for the first race of the season with over 60 cars in the pits. There were also approximately 3000 fans, drivers, and team members onsite in the grandstands and in the pits.

In the announcers booth was veteran announcer Greg Brazeau along with new announcer Ron Caruso. Ron has replaced Oval Reving, who has retired from the track announcing duty. Thanks Oval! We'll miss your voice. Ron did a great job with the mic through the night, as did Greg. Opening ceremonies included national anthems sung by Annette Bouchard on the front stretch, shortly after 7 pm, and our racenight got underway with heats immediately afterward.

We fit in extra heat races during the evening to break each of the Factory Stocks, and Factory Fours into two groups, one with faster cars, and one with slower cars. This was done due to a number of rookies in each division and to minimize "incidents" and caution delays.

Service Rentals and Sales Super Late Models:

Seven Super Late Models were out on track during the evening and ran a single heat and a 20 lap feature. There was one rookie in the division, #724 Mike Heinonen. Mike has raced previously at Laird, but this was his first run in a Late Model.

Results:

Qualifying: 1. 47-Jordan Sims, 00:14.393[3]; 2. 33-Jordan Rocchetta, 00:14.551[5]; 3. 51-Jeremy Van Hoek, 00:14.558[1]; 4. 826-Jordan Parniak, 00:14.773[6];
5. 79-Roddy Bolduc, 00:15.014[4]; 6. 724-Mike Heinonen, 00:21.400[7]

Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 51-Jeremy Van Hoek[2]; 2. 47-Jordan Sims[4]; 3. 33-Jordan Rocchetta[3]; 4. 826-Jordan Parniak[1]; 5. 724-Mike Heinonen[6]; 6. (DNF) 79-
Roddy Bolduc[5]

Feature (20 Laps): 1. 47-Jordan Sims[4]; 2. 51-Jeremy Van Hoek[1]; 3. 33-Jordan Rocchetta[3]; 4. 724-Mike Heinonen[6]; 5. (DNF) 79-Roddy Bolduc[5]; 6.
(DNF) 826-Jordan Parniak[2]

Highland Ford Factory Stock Division:

Our sponsor for the Factory Stock Division this season is Highland Ford. Thank you to the management and staff at Highland for your support! Track sponsors and driver sponsors are important, please support them when you can with your business.

There were 21 Factory Stocks registered in the pits at the beginning of the night, a great turnout. Seventeen of them were out to qualify and race through the night. The division was broken into two groups for the heats. There were a number of rookies in the division; Kenn Schwarz and Shanna Harten have moved up from the Factory Four division; Teagan Lapish has moved up from the Enduro division; and Brian Jobst, Alex Rankin, Ethan Dewar, Schyler McCoy and Al Alexander are all new to racing at Laird. These new drivers will certainly invigorate the division and add some competition for the division's veteran drivers.

Results:

Qualifying: 1. 05-Tyler Praysner, 00:16.187[13]; 2. 12-Owen Brown, 00:16.193[7]; 3. 75-Kenn Schwarz, 00:16.235[1]; 4. 80-Brad Bibeau, 00:16.314[4]; 5. 74-
BRIAN JOBST, 00:16.446[15]; 6. 711-Shanna Harten, 00:16.543[10]; 7. 44-Dale Tucker, 00:16.611[18]; 8. 15-Andrew Givens, 00:16.612[16]; 9. 29-Xavier Carter,
00:16.796[9]; 10. 88-Rob Wagner, 00:16.945[3]; 11. 66-ALEX RANKIN, 00:17.085[5]; 12. 04-Ethan Dewar, 00:17.096[14]; 13. 72-Teagan Lapish, 00:17.274[17];
14. 71-SCHYLER MCCOY, 00:19.624[20]; 15. (DNS) 13-Dave King; 16. (DNS) 67-Jarritt Varcoe; 17. (DNS) 4-AL ALEXANDER; 18. (DNS) 77-Ed Lapish; 19. (DNS)
33-Cody Champagne; 20. (DNS) 08-Daniel Bibeau; 21. (DNS) 51-Jamie Fox

Heat 1 -fast cars (10 Laps): 1. 44-Dale Tucker[1]; 2. 80-Brad Bibeau[4]; 3. 67-Jarritt Varcoe[7]; 4. 12-Owen Brown[6]; 5. 08-Daniel Bibeau[3]; 6. 711-Shanna Harten[2]; 7. 05-Tyler Praysner[8]; 8. 75-Kenn Schwarz[5]; 9. 74-BRIAN JOBST[9]; 10. 51-Jamie Fox[10]

Heat 2 -slower cars (10 Laps): 1. 88-Rob Wagner[1]; 2. 77-Ed Lapish[3]; 3. 29-Xavier Carter[2]; 4. 15-Andrew Givens[5]; 5. 66-ALEX RANKIN[4]; 6. 72-Teagan Lapish[6]; 7. 04-Ethan Dewar[7]

Heat 3 -fast (10 Laps): 1. 05-Tyler Praysner[7]; 2. 67-Jarritt Varcoe[8]; 3. 74-BRIAN JOBST[9]; 4. 711-Shanna Harten[2]; 5. 51-Jamie Fox[10]; 6. 75-Kenn Schwarz[5]; 7. 44-Dale Tucker[1]; 8. (DNF) 80-Brad Bibeau[4]; 9. (DNF) 08-Daniel Bibeau[3]; 10. (DNF) 12-Owen Brown[6]

Heat 4 -slower (10 Laps): 1. 29-Xavier Carter[6]; 2. 88-Rob Wagner[1]; 3. 15-Andrew Givens[7]; 4. 77-Ed Lapish[2]; 5. 66-ALEX RANKIN[5]; 6. 72-Teagan Lapish[3]; 7. 04-Ethan Dewar[4]

Feature (20 Laps): 1. 12-Owen Brown[6]; 2. 08-Daniel Bibeau[3]; 3. 80-Brad Bibeau[4]; 4. 67-Jarritt Varcoe[8]; 5. 711-Shanna Harten[2]; 6. 51-Jamie Fox[10]; 7. 29-Xavier Carter[12]; 8. 75-Kenn Schwarz[5]; 9. 05-Tyler Praysner[7]; 10. 74-BRIAN JOBST[9]; 11. 77-Ed Lapish[13]; 12. 88-Rob Wagner[11]; 13. 72-Teagan Lapish[14]; 14. (DNF) 15-Andrew Givens[16]; 15. (DNF) 04-Ethan Dewar[15]; 16. (DNS) 44-Dale Tucker

NAPA Reyco Automotive Modified Division:

We had a good turnout in the modified division as well. There were 13 registered in the pits with a couple unable to race due to breakdowns. Rookies in the division are Adam Lapensee who has moved up from the Factory Four Division and Dylan Connolly, who ran in the Enduro division the past couple of seasons.

Results:

Qualifying: 1. 61-Dustin Jackson, 00:15.143[12]; 2. 01-Jerry Ross, 00:15.484[3]; 3. 22-JP Delpaggio, 00:15.600[1]; 4. 84-Mark Laakso, 00:15.713[6]; 5. 20-Matt Lewis, 00:15.746[7]; 6. 86-Dylan Connolly, 00:16.167[11]; 7. 78-Jason Herrington, 00:16.373[2]; 8. (DNS) 02-John Ross; 9. (DNS) 15-Chris Miller; 10. (DNS) 22XAdam Lapensee; 11. (DNS) 28-Mark Porpealia; 12. (DNS) 21-Jake Irwin; 13. (DNS) 36-Jesse Bailey

Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 61-Dustin Jackson[6]; 2. 84-Mark Laakso[2]; 3. 01-Jerry Ross[4]; 4. 28-Mark Porpealia[8]; 5. 86-Dylan Connolly[9]; 6. 20-Matt Lewis[1]; 7. (DNF) 78-Jason Herrington[7]; 8. (DNF) 21-Jake Irwin[5]; 9. (DNF) 22X-Adam Lapensee[10]; 10. (DNF) 02-John Ross[11]; 11. (DQ) 22-JP Delpaggio[3]

Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 61-Dustin Jackson[6]; 2. 84-Mark Laakso[2]; 3. 22-JP Delpaggio[3]; 4. 01-Jerry Ross[4]; 5. 20-Matt Lewis[1]; 6. 78-Jason Herrington[8]; 7. 28-Mark Porpealia[7]; 8. 86-Dylan Connolly[10]; 9. (DNF) 21-Jake Irwin[5]; 10. (DNF) 22X-Adam Lapensee[9]

Feature (20 Laps): 1. 01-Jerry Ross[3]; 2. 22-JP Delpaggio[2]; 3. 78-Jason Herrington[5]; 4. 61-Dustin Jackson[4]; 5. 84-Mark Laakso[1]; 6. 28-Mark
Porpealia[6]; 7. 86-Dylan Connolly[7]; 8. (DNF) 22X-Adam Lapensee[8]

Equipment World Factory Four Division:

Our factory four division has a new sponsor as well this year, thank you to Equipment World! The turnout in the division was outstanding with 23 cars registered in the pits with quite a few rookies. As in the Factory Stock division we broke the group into two, based on qualifying times and each group had two heats, and a feature. Rookies in the division include Chris Pinder, Ryan Sharpe, Kohle Kennedy, and Cody Herrington who all have moved up from the Enduro Division. Rookies also include John MacMillan, Kayden Lapish, and Harmony Swain who all are first time racers. Brandon Williams also returned to the division having raced last in 2022. It's great to see this entry division growing with new faces.

Results:

Qualifying: 1. 16-Dyllen Sherrard, 00:17.528[7]; 2. 4-Kayleigh Tucker, 00:17.616[14]; 3. 38F-JOHN MACMILLAN, 00:17.883[12]; 4. 22X-Lucas Crosato,
00:17.899[20]; 5. 86-Ryan Sharpe, 00:17.950[21]; 6. 94-Seth Ralph, 00:18.597[11]; 7. 96-Brandon Williams, 00:18.848[1]; 8. 08-Alex Lapensee, 00:19.243[13]; 9. 27-Kohle Kennedy, 00:19.326[19]; 10. 13-Logan Lavoy, 00:19.578[8]; 11. 86X-Tyler Mortimore, 00:19.747[4]; 12. 70-KAYDEN LAPISH, 00:19.816[15]; 13. 79-
Cody Herrington, 00:20.402[9]; 14. 77-HARMONY SWAIN, 00:20.883[6]; 15. 31-Ryder Byrnes, 00:21.293[22]

Heat 1 -faster (10 Laps): 1. 16-Dyllen Sherrard[7]; 2. 38F-JOHN MACMILLAN[9]; 3. 4-Kayleigh Tucker[6]; 4. 08-Alex Lapensee[1]; 5. 166-Wyatt Dubois[4]; 6. 94-Seth Ralph[3]; 7. (DNF) 96-Brandon Williams[2]; 8. (DNF) 86-Ryan Sharpe[8]; 9. (DNF) 22X-Lucas Crosato[5]

Heat 2 -slower (10 Laps): 1. 14-Chris Pinder[8]; 2. 27-Kohle Kennedy[2]; 3. 13-Logan Lavoy[1]; 4. 71-Taryn McCoy[9]; 5. 79-Cody Herrington[4]; 6. 70-KAYDEN LAPISH[6]; 7. (DNF) 31-Ryder Byrnes[5]; 8. (DNF) 86X-Tyler Mortimore[3]; 9. (DNF) 77-HARMONY SWAIN[7]

Heat 3 -faster (10 Laps): 1. 16-Dyllen Sherrard[3]; 2. 4-Kayleigh Tucker[2]; 3. 94-Seth Ralph[1]; 4. 166-Wyatt Dubois[5]; 5. 08-Alex Lapensee[4]
20 entries

Heat 4 -slower (10 Laps): 1. 14-Chris Pinder[6]; 2. 70-KAYDEN LAPISH[2]; 3. 13-Logan Lavoy[1]; 4. 27-Kohle Kennedy[7]; 5. 71-Taryn McCoy[3]; 6. 79-Cody
Herrington[5]; 7. 31-Ryder Byrnes[4]

Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 31W-Chase Wilson[9]; 2. 4-Kayleigh Tucker[5]; 3. 16-Dyllen Sherrard[6]; 4. 22X-Lucas Crosato[4]; 5. 94-Seth Ralph[2]; 6. 38F-JOHN
MACMILLAN[8]; 7. (DNF) 166-Wyatt Dubois[3]; 8. (DNF) 86-Ryan Sharpe[7]; 9. (DNF) 08-Alex Lapensee[1]

B Feature 2 (15 Laps): 1. 14-Chris Pinder[5]; 2. 27-Kohle Kennedy[1]; 3. 71-Taryn McCoy[6]; 4. 79-Cody Herrington[4]; 5. 70-KAYDEN LAPISH[2]; 6. (DQ) 13-
Logan Lavoy[3]

AIM Recycling Enduro Division:

The final feature race of the night was the 15 lap AIM Recycling Enduros. There were 20 cars registered in the pits, with 11 cars scored during the race. Along with few returning drivers we saw mostly rookie drivers in the division. Rookie Dayne Lorenzo in the #19 took the win in his first race, having started 2nd. Other rookies included Hunter Lewis, John Dubois, Ashley Morin, Tiana Wiegand, and Chassie Stjules. Justin Matheson is relatively new too, having raced just once at the beginning of last season. The Enduro division proves to be a great place for new racers to try out the sport, it is relatively inexpensive to get set up. If interested in getting a car for the division, call track promoter Donnie Varcoe or Rita during Lakeway Truck Centre business hours, they usually have cars available.

Results:

Feature (15 Laps): 1. 19-DAYNE LORENZO[2]; 2. 95-Chris Pinder[11]; 3. 44-Eric Sylvestre[10]; 4. 07-Tannis Wirth[3]; 5. 94-hunter lewis[1]; 6. 96-Justin
Matheson[7]; 7. 57-JOHN DUBOIS[8]; 8. 25-ASHLEY MORIN[4]; 9. 92-Tiana Wiegand[6]; 10. 03-Chassie Stjules[9]; 11. 66-Cord Hughson[5]

Intermission:

We had a shortened intermission during the night to accommodate the extra heats we added. We intended to have a Lawnmower Race during intermission, courtesy of the Algoma Lawnmower Racing Association (ALMRA) but the day before our racenight we had to call it off due to too much water on their infield dirt track. We did have a quick 6 lap School Bus Race, which fans always seem to enjoy.

##More:
Photos from the night can be found on our website under the “media” menu item - https://www.lairdraceway.com/gallery/ You will find there driver photos, qualifying/car photos, and photos from our racenight.

Fans are also invited to view the Laird Raceway Facebook page to get current news and updates including weather cancellations, announcements, and more at https://www.facebook.com/lairdraceway

General track information is available here on our website at https://www.lairdraceway.com. Here you will find post-race writeups, photos, results, point standings and more.

More news articles and videos relating to Laird Raceway and other local sports events can be found on Jay Houslander's SaultSports.com website

Our next race night is scheduled for Thursday July 10th. The full moon will be out, come join us for some more howling Thursday Night Thunder excitement!

Article Credit: Tom Stephenson