Jacob Mercer Picks-Up Another Strong Peterborough Speedway Finish
Local racers can face a number of obstacles in pursuit of their next checkered flag. The most common hindrance would be an unfavourable forecast. Saturday, August 12th not even a torrential downpour could keep Jacob Mercer from a strong Late Model showing at Peterborough Speedway.
The 16-year-old, 3rd generation speedster from Port Hope, Ontario took the green flag in the 25-lap feature from a starting spot on the outside of the 3rd row. While the race leaders ran their pace at the front of the field, the talented youngster logged some steady, consistent mid-pack laps as he looked for a position in the running order. He says the goal was to have a clean race and bring the car home in one piece.
“The rain after practice had washed-away the rubber but once racing got back underway, there was a little more grip out there,” Mercer explained. “I wanted to find my rhythm, keep-up a strong pace and make sure I didn’t lose-touch with the leaders. While we’ll usually get a couple of caution flags to regroup, the entire feature race distance went from green to checkered without a yellow. That’s something different.”
At the end of the race distance, Jacob Mercer and the No. 81 team rolled their piece into the hauler with a solid 5th place finish in the feature event.
Earlier in the night, he had 2nd and 4th place showings in the qualifying heats, to head back home with another strong Saturday night outing.
Mercer Motorsports notebook: In addition to running his own equipment, Jacob Mercer was asked to fill-in at the controls of the No. 38 Mini Stock. He had a couple impressive heat race finishes in the unfamiliar car and was 4th in the 20-lap feature race run-down.
The 2023 Mercer Motorsports’ season is proudly 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, Young Co Septic Systems and Clarke Motorsports Communications.
The team will face a quick turnaround as the Late Model division is part of the next 3 events – starting Saturday, August 19th – at Peterborough Speedway.
Jacob Mercer and the No. 81 team can be followed at the track, through their Facebook and Twitter social media profiles or at 81mercermotorsports.com.
