Jacob Mercer Continues his Racing Education with an APC Late Model Start
Logging laps at the hometown speedway could hardly be confused with a traditional classroom environment, but that doesn’t mean Jacob Mercer isn’t learning something every time he gets behind the wheel of his No. 81 Late Model racecar at Peterborough Speedway.
Saturday, June 15th, the 18-year-old 3rd generation racer from Port Hope, Ontario went to school with the best of the best as the travelling teams from the APC Series rolled into the popular oval on Mount Pleasant Road. After showing some strength during the pre-race practice sessions, Jacob Mercer, his team and the crew were optimistic and how their day would progress.
“We were very good in practice and recorded the 9th fastest speed, with some competitive lap times,” said team owner and the driver’s father Bryan Mercer. “Our tires staggered perfectly and we were looking forward to a good run. The American Racers are a softer compound and wear faster than the Hoosiers.”
In a field of full-time series runners and drivers with much more experience at other tracks and on the tour, the No. 81 machine qualified 16th and finished the 100-lap main event 15th, 1-lap down to the leader. While they were hoping for a better outing, Bryan Mercer says that around the 30-lap mark, the car became ‘evil loose’ and a handful behind the wheel.
Jacob Mercer and the No. 81 Mercer Motorsports team thanks Sine’s Flooring, Durmach Precision Tooling, Facility Services, Courtice Septic, Beyond Signs & Design, Lindsay Dodge Chrysler, CARSTAR Lindsay, Lindsay Buick GMC, Highland Designs by Tracy Pattison, Cressman Tree Maintenance, Richter Law, BJ Tackle, Kawartha Metals, K9INE Protection, YoungCo Septic Design & Install, Cliffshore Excavating, Sarah Turck Sherwood Mortgage Group, Andrea Spohn Desjardins Insurance, Ganaraska Financial, Holdaway Motorsports and Clarke Motorsports Communications for their support during the 2024 schedule.
Next on the line-up for the team will be the annual Autism Awareness Night – in support of the CNAF – Saturday, June 22nd at Peterborough Speedway.
Family, fans and friends can find and follow Jacob Mercer throughout the season on the 81 Mercer Motorsports’ Facebook page.
