From a start near the end of May, the 2017 regular season at Canada’s Toughest 3^rd of a Mile Paved Oval ran its second-to-last show of the year with the home track Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun, Thunder Car and Organics & Glass Late Model divisions; along with the Trailers Plus Eastern Ontario Legends and Ontario Modifieds Racing Series – Saturday, August 26^th – at Peterborough Speedway.

Keith Parkes and Jassen Whyte brought the Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun teams from the staging area for their 20-lap feature. Parkes got an early jump on the field, as championship contender Sean Kennedy moved into the runner-up position. The pace was slowed with 9 circuits complete for an incident in the second turn. Parkes stayed in front on the restart, with Chris Tubman and Jeremy Kelly looking to take away the position. Another caution flew on lap 18 created a green, white, checkered finish. Rob Crick took the win, over Jeremy Kelly, Shawn Solomon, Steven Finnegan and Jake Kelly. Sean Kennedy was 6^th across the stripe.

The Ontario Modifieds Racing Series – powered by Torque Builders Inc. – came to the line with Randy Hollingsworth and Connor James on the front row for their 25 lap ‘A’ main. James jumped-out to an early lead and Duane Cinnamon was challenging him for the lead when yellow flag flew for a spin entering the second turn. John Baker Jr. slipped into second on the restart and set his sights on the leader, with Brad Stevenson on his back bumper. Baker got by James, coming off the 4^th turn with 16 laps on the board. The #63 machine started putting slower traffic a lap down, with 20 laps complete and held-on for his second straight series win. James, Stevenson, Cinnamon and Rick Warnes completed the fast 5.

Bryan Mercer and James Horner brought the Organics & Glass Late Model field to the stripe for their 30-lap headline dance. Dan McHattie took over the top spot with 4 laps complete and began lapping backmarkers a lap later. The yellow flag waved on lap 10, with McHattie and Mercer restarting side-by-side. McHattie again had control of the pack and went to Dart Heating & Air Conditioning victory lane over Mercer, Tyler Betts, James Horner and Steve Powell.

With Howie Crowe and Dan Archibald on the front row, the Thunder Car pack hit Canada’s Toughest 3^rd of a Mile Paved Oval for a 20-lap feature. Archibald made hard contact with the front stretch wall as the field came to the initial green flag and couldn’t continue. Crowe kept control of the field, as the pack was racked for a restart, with Anthony DiBello looking to find a way around. Bailey Jacobs climbed into 5^th on lap 3 and moved to 4^th with 8 complete. A yellow flag for a turn 4 incident on lap 15 slowed the pack and created a 5-lap trophy dash. Crowe held-off a hard-charging Jacobs for the win. Post-race inspection changed the announced finishing order, with Rob Richards, Mark Gordon and Paul Boundy completing the top 5.

Adam Cuthbertson and Jamie Riberdy brought the Trailers Plus Eastern Ontario Legends Series to wrap-up the night with a 25-lap feature tilt. Cuthbertson led the early stages, with current point leader Matt Haufe – who had started 6^th – gaining ground on the leader, before taking over the top spot with 9 circuits on the board. A 2-car incident in the 4^th turn on lap 20 slowed the pace, but couldn’t keep Haufe from another feature win. Riberdy, Adam Cuthbertson, Parker Traves and Terry McClelland rounding out the top 5.

Heat race wins went to Griffin Powell, Jake Kelly, Jeremy Kelly and Jassen Whyte in the Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun. Brad Stevenson with a pair, John Baker Jr. and Duane Cinnamon took the Ontario Modifieds Racing Series preliminary rounds. Tyler Betts, Dan McHattie, Bryan Mercer and James Horner won the Organics & Glass Late Model qualifiers. Dan Archibald with a pair, Mark Gordon and Kyle Gordon earned the Thunder Car wins. In the Trailers Plus Eastern Ontario Legends, Jamie Riberdy, Matt Haufe and Adam Cuthbertson with a pair had the checkered flags.

All main event finishes are unofficial and subject to post-race technical inspection.

Bullring bullet points: Peterborough Speedway staff and race teams observed a moment of silence before the start of the program to honour the memory of John Plunkett, who passed away earlier in the week. Mr. Plunkett was one of the original builders of what was then known as Westgate Speedway…Sean Kennedy – a former track champion at Capital City Speedway – made the tow from the Nation’s Capital for his first career Late Model start at Peterborough Speedway. The #9 4Fun team – driven by a different Sean Kennedy – shared a social media post, showing a photo of the #14 Late Model and received several ‘likes’ from friends and fans…Brandie Culfield-Medirous of Etobicoke, Ontario claimed $754.50 as the winner’s share of the Millbrook Legion 50/50 draw.

The Championship Clash – Saturday, September 2^nd – will determine the 2017 champions in the Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun, Jiffy Lube Mini Stock, Trent Lakes Complete Plumbing Renegade Truck, Thunder Car, Organics & Glass Late Model home track divisions; along with the Ontario Modifieds Racing Series, powered by Torque Builders Inc. Pit gates will open at 1:00, with general admission grandstands unlocked at 3:00. The first Great Canadian RV green flag is scheduled for 5:00.

Schedule information and the latest news can always be found by logging onto www.peterboroughspeedway.com, by liking the Peterborough Speedway Facebook page or following the track on Twitter. Fans can also download the free app on their Smartphone.