June’s Action Concludes with an Exciting Night at Peterborough Speedway
Fans across the province will see many different racing divisions during the 50th Anniversary Season at Peterborough Speedway. The home track Jiffy Lube Mini Stock and Trent Lakes Complete Plumbing Renegade Truck classes were joined by the Can-Am TQ Midgets, Trailers Plus Eastern Ontario Legends and the Ontario Modifieds Racing Series Saturday, June 24th as another month of action wrapped-up at Canada’s Toughest 3rd of a Mile Paved Oval.
Feature race action got underway with a 25 lapper for the Ontario Modifieds Racing Series, as Linc Brown and John Baker Jr. brought the field from the staging area. Brown – making just his second start of the year – jumped-out to an early lead, while Baker and Rob Warnes – a pair of former series champions – fought to catch him. The duo brushed against each other coming off the 4th turn with 4 laps down, but the race continued under green flag conditions. With only a lap 13 yellow flag to slow his march, Brown held-off Baker to become the 4th straight first-time main event winner on this year’s OMRS tour. Rob Warnes, Rick Warnes and Stu Robinson Jr. completed the top 5.
Doug Dallin and Rod Marshall occupied the front row for the Trent Lakes Complete Plumbing Renegade Truck main event. Marshall took an early lead over the second truck from the Dallin Racing stable, but a pair of yellow flags took a toll on the running order. Stacy Switzer led the late stages of the event for her first win on the year. Carrson Hennessy, Tim Burke, Stephen Bierworth and Brandon Vennor rounded-out the fast 5 finishers.
Cole Ledson and Dave Riopelle paced the Trailers Plus Eastern Ontario Legend Series pack to the Great Canadian RV green flag. As early as the pre-race practice sessions, Riopelle displayed his strength and that trend continued when he snatched the lead from Ledson with just 3 laps on the board. The #92 machine held the advantage through a series of caution flags, but a late race restart with less than a handful of circuits remaining saw Matt Haufe slip to the inside, take the point and his 5th straight win. Riopelle held on for 2nd, with Adam Cuthbertson, Ledson and Cole McFadden taking the 3rd, 4th and 5th positions.
With Chris Novis and Rob Harwood on the front row, the Jiffy Lube Mini Stock pack came to the line for its 20-lap main event. It may have taken a few attempts to get things rolling, but once they got down to business, the Mini Stockers showed the fans some great racing. Noel Snow made a 3-wide pass for the lead on the back-stretch, bringing along his teammate Kris Khan. The pair moved into lapped traffic with 7 laps on the board, as Snow gained a straightaway advantage over the 2nd place car. A yellow flag for a lap 11 incident on the front-stretch slowed the pace, but couldn’t keep the former endurance racer from victory lane. Khan, Kent Missons, Kevin Strutt and Gil Brooks followed the winner across the stripe.
Adam Racine took the Can-Am TQ Midget Series ‘A’ main, over Darren Dryden, Mack DeMan, Steve Murdock and Ryan Fraser. The full race story can be found on the series web-site, www.canammidgets.com.
In qualifying action, Stu Robinson Jr., Brad Stevenson, John Baker Jr. and Rob Warnes each took an OMRS heat. Tim Burke and Rod Marshall won the Trent Lakes Complete Plumbing Renegade Truck qualifiers, while Dave Riopelle and Matt Haufe each grabbed a pair of Eastern Ontario Legend preliminary rounds. Ryan Oosterholt, Kevin Strutt, Kent Missons and Erin Kearns took the Jiffy Lube Mini Stock heat races. Adrian Stahle and Darren Dryden split the Can-Am TQ Midget qualifiers.
Bullring bullet points: Andrea Cummins of Keene, Ontario pocketed the night’s 50/50 payout of $605 in support of the Millbrook Lions Club…With Jack Dallin taking a night off, the #07 machine in the Trent Lakes Complete Plumbing Renegade Truck field was steered by Rod Marshall. The ride was almost fully rebuilt after a hard-crash last week.
Peterborough Speedway takes a break Saturday, July 1st but welcomes one of its most important shows of the year Sunday, July 2nd. The Chase for the Colours Pole Qualifier – presented by Lucas Oil Products – will have extra distance main events for the Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun, Jiffy Lube Mini Stock, Thunder Car and Organics & Glass Late Model divisions that will award preferred starting spots for the 25th Annual Autumn Colours Classic. Pit gates open at 11:00, with the spectator grandstands unlocked at 1:00 and racing underway at 2:30.
Full schedule details and the latest news can always be found by logging onto www.peterboroughspeedway.com, liking the Peterborough Speedway page on Facebook or following the track on Twitter. Fans can also download the free app on your Smartphone.