Baker’s OMRS Hot Streak Continues at Peterborough Speedway
When the Ontario Modifieds Racing Series – powered by Torque Builders Inc. – signed into the pits at Canada’s Toughest 3rd of a Mile Paved Oval – Saturday, June 11th – the dozen race teams in attendance had no idea that when the checkered flag fell, they’d be singing the 3rd verse of what has become a very familiar song.
With a 25 lap score to be settled on the Peterborough Speedway stage, the field followed INEX Ontario Legends Series’ graduate Duane Cinnamon and second season speedster Willow Barberstock to the start/finish line to get the headline affair underway. As he had on the same track just 2 weeks earlier, Cinnamon broke from the ranks quickly and had built-up a solid advantage before the lap counter showed even a handful of circuits complete.
As former baseball great Yogi Berra was fond of saying, it was like “déjà vu all over again”, as a hard-charging John Baker Jr. worked his way through the pack and was running 3rd with 6 laps on the scoreboard. When the yellow flag flew for an incident between Ryan Babin and Brad Stevenson just short of halfway, the soft-spoken wheelman took the runner-up spot on the restart and became the race leader with 15 complete.
The pace would be slowed once more before the event’s conclusion – for a tangle on lap 23 between Cinnamon and Rob Warnes that necessitated a green, white, checkered finish – but nothing would stand between John Baker Jr. and his 3rd straight Ontario Modifieds Racing Series win. Stu Robinson Jr., Alex Lees, Ryan Dick, Ryan Babin, Chris Burrows, Randy Hollingsworth, Rick Warnes, Duane Cinnamon, Rob Warnes, Willow Barberstock and Brad Stevenson completed the finishing order.
Duane Cinnamon, Alex Lees and John Baker Jr., with a pair solidified their main event starting spots with qualifying heat wins earlier in the night.