Second Round of Autumn Colours Classic Action Gets the Green Flag at Peterborough Speedway
Mother Nature might have tried, but her efforts to threaten the second day of the 25th Autumn Colours Classic – presented by Lucas Oil Products – failed as action rolled to the line Saturday, October 7th at Peterborough Speedway with only a slight delay.
OSCAAR Super Late Model teams were first on the agenda, with qualifying heats shared between John Cadman, Brandon Watson, Tyler Hawn and Dustin Jackson. Daniel Hawn with a pair, Jordan Hanna and James Stanley split the OSCAAR Pro Midget qualifiers, with Dave Riopelle, Parker Traves, Cole McFadden with a pair, Adam Cuthbertson and Jamie Riberdy taking the Trailers Plus Eastern Ontario Legends preliminary round checkered flags.
Outlaw Midget heat races went to Amanda McColl, Jessica James, Adam Carruthers and Paul Draganac. J.R. Fitzpatrick took the Pro Late Model qualifier, with Paul Boundy, Ken Grubb and Treyton Lapcevich sharing the Thunder Car heats. Gary McLean, Luke Gignac and A.J. Emms earned OSCAAR Modified heat victories.
The second round of Organics & Glass Late Model qualifying saw Danny Benedict and Dwayne Baker take the wins. Ken Townsend, Pat McDonald and Warren Paxton each 
picked-up a Jiffy Lube Mini Stock qualifying heat win. Jake Kelly, Chris Tubman and Jeremy Kelly advanced to Sunday’s 40 lap main event with wins in the final round of Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun heat races.
OSCAAR’s Pro Midget division hit Canada’s Toughest 3rd of a Mile Paved Oval for a 25-lap feature tilt, with Jordan Hanna and Daniel Hawn on the front row. Hawn jumped out to an early lead and started to work through the slower traffic with 9 laps complete. Not even a caution flag for an incident on the front-stretch would keep him from the win. Hanna, Ted Greenfield, James Stanley and Craig Pritchell rounded-out the top 5. Hawn collected an extra $500 from an anonymous sponsor in victory lane. His second-place finish was enough to clinch the 2017 Pro Midget championship for Jordan Hanna.
The 20 lap Thunder Car ‘B’ main put 4 additional qualifiers into the Sunday afternoon headline dance, as Brandon Passer, Nick Tooley, Jaymee Adams and Jerry Broom advanced. Home track runners Brandon Feeney and Brad Lavalle finished just outside of qualifying positions.
The Outlaw Midget 25-lap feature brought a field of 13 starters to the line, with Zack Millman and Nigel Buttivant on the front row. After a quick yellow flag produced the need for a complete restart, Jessica James moved into the top spot. A yellow flag for a 2-car incident on the front-stretch slowed the pace, but James wouldn’t relinquish control on the restart. A lap 15 spin in the 3rd turn collected 3 cars and produced a red flag. All drivers were checked on the scene and were unhurt. James parked the #2 machine in victory lane, with Paul Draganac, Brent Kemps, Nigel Buttivant and Owen Elliott completing the top 5.
Like their Thunder Car cousins, the 20 lap Jiffy Lube Mini Stock ‘B’ main put 4 more drivers into the Sunday afternoon main event. Rick Spencer-Walt and Bryan Sudsbury – both former Peterborough Speedway Late Model track champions – were first across the line, followed by Tyler Seaboyer and Dan Demers also qualified for the 50-lap finale.
The Trailers Plus Eastern Ontario Legends Series wrapped-up the second night of Autumn Colours action with a 15-lap trophy dash. A few yellow flags and some discarded body parts kept officials hopping, but didn’t delay a win by Chuck Hopkins, who led only 1 lap – the last one – to take the win.
Bullring bullet points: Taking home the winner’s share of $850.50 in the 50/50 draw was Paul Anderson of Bridgenorth…The opening lap the first Eastern Ontario Legends heat race was a rough one for Cole Ledson and Miles Tyson, as the pair came together entering the first turn. Ledson made hard contact with a retaining wall outside of the track’s surface and his #14C machine was too damaged to continue. Tyson’s crew was able to get the #49 ride back on the track for the second round of qualifying.
Feature events – with a green flag scheduled for around 12:30 – will highlight the Sunday portion of the 25th annual Autumn Colours Classic, with a 50 lap Thunder Car feature first on the schedule. Full details can be found by selecting the ‘Autumn Colours’ dropdown menu at www.peterboroughspeedway.com, checking the track’s Facebook page or Twitter feed.
