It was hot and the pits were full at Canada’s Toughest 1/3 Mile as the Mid-Summer Shootout presented by Country 105 rolled into town featuring extended laps for all divisions. At the halfway point in the season the action on the track hasn’t cooled off one bit. Coming into the night every division was packed tight with very few points separating the field. In the Late Model division only six points separated leader Craig Graham from the second position while Mini Stock frontrunner Ryan Oosterholt only had a three point lead over fellow teammate Ryan Babin.

In the battlefield Equipment rental Four-Fun class the battle between Ryan Oosterholt and second place challenger James Townsend didn’t take a week as they continued to show their stuff all night long. Both drivers took the checkered flag in each of their respective heats. The racing was full of excitement as lots of banging and bumping was evident all throughout the field. At lap 14 the #62 of Willow Barberstock and the #69 of Matt Vanderbelt  got into it resulting in a hard hit by Vanderbelt ending his night and showing his frustration by giving his car a good kick. As the checker flag dropped at the end of the feature, the currents points leaders of Oosterholt and Townsend continued their sweep of the night finishing 1^st and 2^nd respectively while the #83 of Andrew Massey rounded off the podium.

The Parry Springs Renegade Trucks saw a full field of action offering very entertaining racing as we saw trucks going three wide down the backstretch and into the corners. In the first heat points leader Bill O’Hara found himself on the pole followed by the #41 of Tyler Junkin. Come the inversion heat, Junkin found himself leading the way as the #07 of Jack Dallin made a hard charge to finish second. In the main event lcuk wasn’t on #27 Rob Harwood’s side as he bowed out of the race only one lap into the race. Coming across the line at the end of the feature, Tyler Junkin took the win followed by Bill O’Hara and Andy McCann.

The Peterborough Hyundai Mini Stock Division offered some of it’s most exciting racing of the season seeing a full field of 20 cars take to the track. In heat #1 the Farm Bro Racing team showed how dominant they can be as our points leaders of Chris Mulders, Ryan Babin, and Ryan Oosterholt lead the way. Heat two saw more action as Brandt Graham, Kevin Strutt and Jeff Vanderbelt lead the way. Come time for the inversion heats new drivers saw themselves in victory lane with Miles Tyson and Dan Demers. The feature race put on a great show for the fans seeing only one early caution with the remainder of the race providing side by side action. At the completion of the laps Chris Mulders returned to victory lane with teammate Ryan Oosterholt and the #54 of Danny Benedict round off the top three.

The Paul Davis Thunder Cars saw some new faces with the #7 of Ken Huntington and the #17 Tom Podd of making their first appearances. Second place challenger Matt Spence found himself in victory lane for both of the heat races with Dan Price Donny Beatty rounding out the top three in each of the heats. Come feature time, Brad Lavalle had some tough luck as he wasn’t able to start the race. After 25 laps of ground pounding action, Matt Spence followed by Donny Beatty came out on top making the points battle heat up even more, while the #69 of Craig Scott came across the line in 3^rd position.

The Ontario Modified Racing Series powered by Techtonix made their debut at the track offering something different for the fans. Bringing out a full field, they entertained the fans from start to finish. Their appearance marked the return of former Peterborough regulars Nick and Alex Lees who tried to prove they had a home track advantage. During intermission, the drivers interacted with the fans by doing a Frisbee toss, where the fan who is holding the winning drivers Frisbee gets a cash prize. The feature provided fans with excellent racing as the #95 of Rob Warnes took the checker flag and looking for more as the series is tentatively booked on August 17^th for fan appreciation.

To keep with the trend of great racing the Vanguard Self Storage Late Models put on a show for the ages. Newcomers of the 27 of Blake Watson and 27x of Mike Wallace took to the track for the first time this year adding to the deep level of talent this division already has. In the first heat Steve Foster took the win while Chris Mitchell achieved the same feat in the second. When it came time to invert, Mike Wallace, no stranger to Perterborough, ended up in victory lane and Jack Horner stole the fourth heat. In the feature race fans found themselves up and cheering as the most exciting racing in the province showed it could provide even more as the 35 lap feature went green to checker with no incidents and a tight field that saw lots of passing and side by side action. Once the dust settled the #79 of Cory Horner appeared in victory lane with points leader Craig Graham and Jack Horner rounded off the top three.

Intermission saw lots more action for the kids as they tried out the track with the barrel races. Winners of the races received tickets to see the new movie Turbo courtesy of Galaxy Cinemas of Peterborough. Make sure to join us again next weekend as Pepsi presents Toonie Night and Fan Appreciation with the Hurricane Midgets whirling into Canada’s toughest 1/3 Mile.