Turning Some Hot Laps Under the Warm Sun at Peterborough Speedway
Race fans got everything they could possibly want from a late spring Saturday night at Canada’s Toughest 3rd of a Mile Paved Oval. The lightning quick Can Am TQ Midgets joined the hometown favourites in the Mini Stock, Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun, Renegade Truck and Earl Ireland Auto Sales Late Model divisions for a stellar show Saturday, June 13th.
Feature race action got underway with a 20 lapper for the Mini Stock field, as Ross Couture and Darryl Anthony paced the pack to the Great Canadian RV green flag. With just a single lap on the scoreboard, the yellow flag flew for a turn 2 incident involving Anthony and Brandon Hannah. With 6 laps complete, Paul Hannah and Dwight Lavoie came together on their way into the 3rd turn in a crash that also collected Brandon Hannah. On the restart, Kevin Strutt and last week’s feature winner Tyler Junkin were in control of the field. With a late race pass, former track champion Ryan Oosterholt took the checkered flag over Tyler Junkin, Kevin Strutt, Donovan Price and Paul Hannah.
Steve Foster and Amanda Connolly – each making their first starts of the year, brought the Earl Ireland Auto Sales Late Models to the stripe for a 25 lap headline dance. With a pair of laps on the board Kevin Buscher, Matt Spence and Cole McFadden were involved on the front stretch. Near halfway, Steve Foster took control the issue, but gave up the top spot to Ryan Kimball with 14 laps down. As the lap counter rolled 16 complete, the yellow flag flew again as Bryan Sudsbury spun on the backstretch. On the same caution period, Jack Horner headed pit-side for a quick fix. Kimball would restart flanked by Foster, with Dave Morgan and Tyler Betts a row behind. A hard hit by Spence and Al Shepstone into the 3rd turn wall saw the red flag displayed, but neither driver was injured. There was hard racing throughout the field as Kimball took the win. Morgan, Mark Gordon, Betts and Foster finished 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th.
With Ray Schroer and Jeremy Kelly on the point, the Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun teams were set for a 20 lapper. Ryan Oosterholt jumped out to an early lead – of sometimes as much as a half a track – with Schroer and Cody Fenton filling out the top 3. The yellow flag flew with 12 complete for debris in the 2nd turn. Over the closing stages, Oosterholt maintained his advantage, but Matthew VanDerBelt was closing quickly on the leader. The driver of the #69 would take the win by the width of a front bumper, over Oosterholt. Sean Kennedy, James Townsend and Tiffany VanDebelt completed the top 5.
A pair of former track champions – Bill O’Hara and Jack Dallin – brought the Renegade Truck division starters from the staging area for their 15 lap main event. A number of yellow flags sorted out the finishing order, with Jack Dallin taking the win over Tim Burke. Chris Burridge, Jordan Dallin and Bill O’Hara Jr.
The night’s final feature event of the night belonged to the Can Am TQ Midgets, who brought 17 starters to the line. After surviving a late race yellow flag for an incident between Todd Cresswell and James Marche, Mack DeMan took the win over Darren McLennan, Ryan Fraser, Brandon Zavarella and Lucas Smith. Follow the series through their 50th anniversary season at www.canammidgets.com.
Qualifying heat race wins went to Ryan Oosterholt, Brandon Hannah, Steve Brier and Dwight Lavoie in the Mini Stock field. Bryan Sudsbury, Tyler Betts, defending track champion Ryan Kimball and Jeff Toms took the Earl Ireland Auto Sales Late Model preliminary rounds. Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun qualifiers went to Sean Kennedy with a pair, Cody Fenton and Matthew VanDerBelt. Jack Dallin and Tim Burke shared the Renegade Truck division opening rounds. Darren McLennan and Adrian Stahle took the Can Am Midget heat races. Mack DeMan won the ‘B’ Main last chance qualifier.
Bullring bullet points: Peterborough Speedway regular John Ferguson pocketed the $461.00 payoff in the 50/50 draw…The 3 Parkes Racing cars in the 4Fun division were all in attendance, but with different drivers due to a family commitment…Several drivers including Brad Lavalle, Donovan Price, Matthew VanDerBelt and Cody Fenton participated in the Ontario Modifieds Racing Series ‘Test a Mod’ program earlier in the day.
Canada’s Toughest 3rd of a Mile Paved Oval hosts action with the Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun, Paul Davis Systems Thunder Car, Earl Ireland Auto Sales Late Model and INEX Ontario Legend divisions Saturday, June 20th. Pit gates open at 3:00, with the spectator grandstands unlocked at 5:00 and the night’s first green flag at 6:00.
Fans can always find the latest news at www.peterboroughspeedway.com or by liking the track on Facebook or following it on Twitter. You can also download the free Peterborough Speedway app on your Smartphone.