Jacob Mercer Looks to Bounce Back After a Rough Racing Weekend
Local, hometown racing is a sport filled with ups and downs. A driver can experience very emotional highs one week, with a string of bad fortune the next.
With weather woes keeping Peterborough Speedway’s Late Model pack on the sidelines for 3 of this year’s 4 scheduled dates, Jacob Mercer was excited to see the class added to the line-up for the Saturday, July 22nd show. Turning his first laps since recording a runner-up finish during Canada Weekend event, the 16-year-old go kart racing graduate had his sights set on another strong run.
“During the practice session, the car felt fast and felt like it was going be a good night,” said the 3rd generation racer. “I had a good run and finished 4th in the first qualifying heat for our group. We weren’t able to take the green flag for our 2nd round of qualifying and discovered that for the 3rd time this year, we had a broken shock. Thanks to some hard work by our own crew and help from fellow racers Dan McHattie and Ryan Kimball, we were able to get it changed and still make the starting line-up for the feature.”
In the 30-lap main event, the No. 81 machine was fast but luck wasn’t on the team’s side as they were caught-up in someone else’s wreck just short of the halfway mark and the heavily damaged machine was towed back to the pits. The driver’s father and former racer Bryan Mercer says he’s thankful for the help their team received behind scenes and vowed that they’ll be back.
“The drivers we race against want to beat us on the track but they’re always quick to step up to the plate to lend a hand,” Bryan Mercer explained. “Our team is willing to help the other racers when the need comes up. That’s what makes our weekly racing program the success that it is.”
Jacob Mercer and the Mercer Motorsports team are proud to be supported by Sine’s Flooring, Durmach Precision Tooling, Courtice Septic, Facility Services, Beyond Signs & Design, Mediavandals, Highland Designs by Tracy Pattison, Kawartha Metals, Richter Law, Press Any Key Solutions, Lynch Rutherford Tozer Accountants, Cressman Tree Maintenance, BJ Tackle, Wilson Niblett Performance, Ross Funeral Chapel, K9ine Security, Dairy Farmers of Ontario, Cliffshore Excavating and Clarke Motorsports Communications.
Next action for the talented, young Port Hope, Ontario racer is Saturday, July 29th at Peterborough Speedway. Spectator gates open at 5:00, with racing at 5:30. Follow the team at the track, through its Facebook and Twitter social media profiles or at 81mercermotorsports.com.
