Home track Bone Stock, Super Stock and Late Model divisions were joined by the Canadian Legend Car Series – Saturday, August 26^th – on the second to last night of the 2023 regular season at Peterborough Speedway.

Front row starters Brandon Feeney and championship contender Miles Tyson brought the Jiffy Lube Super Stock field to the line to open the night’s feature race action. The pair was locked in a side-by-side battle during the early stages of the race before Feeney took the lead and Gerrit Tiemersma moved-up to challenge Tyson. Marlie Owen was having a solid run, pushing her No. 21 machine into 3^rd position before the halfway mark. Tiemersma – who had been the 2023 poster child for bad racing luck – was looking to take control of the field and became the new race leader with a dozen circuits complete. The driver of the No. 17 held back Tyson for the checkered flag, with Owen, Feeney and Dan Archibald following the lead duo across the line.

Current championship point leader Ryan Kimball and multi-time titleholder Dan McHattie were on the front row as the KOD Disposal Late Model teams rolled from the staging area for their 30-lap feature tilt. A red flag for an incident in the 3^rd turn brought things to an early halt and sent a pair of cars to the pits for attention from their respective crews. McHattie grabbed the race lead on the restart but Kimball was determined to get around the No. 71 machine. Slower traffic became an issue for the leaders with less than 10 laps on the scoreboard, with McHattie still in control. Another yellow flag – in almost the same spot as the first issue – slowed the pace again and gave Kimball the chance to come up with a new plan to get around McHattie. The pair continued to run nose-to-tail until Kimball saw a small opening with just a couple of laps remaining. He worked around the race leader and held-off a late race challenge to take the win. McHattie, James Townsend, Daniel Montanari, who bounced back from the early race issue and Brandt Graham finished-out the fast 5.

Point standing runner-up Sean Kennedy and John Lavalle led the way to the Great Canadian RV green flag as the Battlefield Equipment Rental Bone Stocks hit the track for 20-laps of excitement. Kennedy grabbed the lead on the initial start, while close to the rest of the field battled for 2^nd spot behind him. Wheeling his No. 9 machine, Kennedy moved-out to an advantage of almost a straightaway over Jacob Kelly, Angelo Novis, Lavalle and John Bates. Kelly got close to the leader over the closing stages but settled for a spot on the leader’s rear bumper as the checkered flag fell. Novis, Lavalle and Bates rounded-out the top-5 positions.

Jordan Latimer and Parker Traves – who just a week ago swept a pair of feature events – brought the 17-car Trailers Plus Canadian Legend Car Series starting field to Canada’s Toughest 3^rd Mile Oval for a 25-lap ‘A’ main. Latimer took the early lead, with Traves, Dawson Drimmie, Cole McFadden and Mark Griffin hot on his tail. Mitch Wright – who was having a strong run in the No. 57 ride – moved into the 5^th spot, as the lead pack started working through some of the slower traffic. Traves, Drimmie and Latimer were locked in a fierce 3-car battle for the lead when a yellow flag for an issue in the 2^nd turn slowed the pace, with 14 laps complete. With just over a handful of laps remaining, Drimmie took the lead and held on for the win. Latimer, Adam Cuthbertson, McFadden and Wright completed the top 5.

Brandon Feeney, Miles Tyson, Marlie Owen and Mark Gordon shared the Super Stock qualifying events, with Dan McHattie taking a pair of Late Model heats, as Ryan Kimball and Brandt Graham had the others. Current point leader Jake Kelly scored a couple of Bone Stock preliminary round wins, with Sean Kennedy and John Lavalle splitting the others. Mitch Wright, Mark Griffin, Jordan Latimer and Dawson Drimmie each had a win in the Canadian Legend Car opening rounds.

All finishing positions are unofficial and subject to scoring review and post race inspection.

Bullring bullet points: Matthew Martin made his first career Bone Stock start in the No. 16 machine, with the words ‘rookie driver’ on the back panel of the car…John Lavalle took over for Victoria McLenon in the No. 89 Bone Stock, while Kyle Johnson wheeled the No. 00 Bone Stock in place of James Amos…After a stuck throttle destroyed his own ride during a Friday afternoon practice session, Mitch Wright borrowed the No. 57 machine of Kevin Foisy. Todd Tolton filled-in at the controls of the No. 36 Legend ride, in place of Amber Wallis…Last week’s feature winner James Horner suffered extensive damage during a wreck early in the Late Model feature and was cradled off the track…3 different bands of rain rolled through the area before racing was scheduled to start. As result, teams were limited to just a single practice session. On a positive note, the full race program – with the Kid’s Bike Race intermission attraction – was completed in less than 3½ hours.

Peterborough Speedway closes the book on its 2023 regular season schedule Saturday, September 2^nd with the Championship Clash that will decide this year’s titles in the home track Bone Stock, Mini Stock, Renegade Truck, Super Stock, Late Model and Junior Late Model divisions. Also on the docket will be the Ontario Modifieds Racing Series and the Non Winner’s Races. Grandstand gates open at 3:00, with racing at 5:00.

For the latest schedule news and information, as well as a preview of the 30^th annual edition of the Autumn Colours Classic – presented by APC Auto Parts Centres – be sure to see www.peterboroughspeedway.com or the track’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram social media platforms.