An unbelievable crowd was on hand to watch the 2026 season opener at Peterborough Speedway, presented by New Country KX 105 – Free Admission and Fan Appreciation – Saturday, May 16th.

First on the docket was the Switch Tire Mini Stocks – as a front row of John Lavalle and Dave Bragg was leading the field to the first feature event in 2026. It didn’t take long for Doug Butler to take the lead away from John Lavalle, as two laps was all Butler needed to go from 4th to 1st. The track stayed green for the entire 20 lap feature event, allowing Doug Butler to build a sizable lead, and park his 10 machine in Dart Heating and Airconditioning Victory Lane. The 2025 Autumn Colors Champion was ecstatic to find another checkered flag at Peterborough, as his last 3 starts have ended in a feature win – August 2nd 2025, October 12th 2025, and May 16th 2026. Drivers rounding out the top 5 included John Lavalle, Matt McGrath, Cameron McGlashen and Dave Bragg.

A front row of Scott Jacobs and Jack Dallin turned the Trent Lakes Complete Plumbing Renegade Trucks loose for a 20 lap feature race. Scott Jacobs had a mirror full of Shawn Murray, and the 2024 Truck champion Kyle Gordon – who was making his return to the series after racing the #25 Super Stock in 2025. The field would race bumper to bumper for 7 laps, until Kyle Gordon was able to get under Shawn Murray out of turn two for 2nd place. A lap later, Gordon would take the lead after passing Jacob’s on the outside lane. Once Gordon had a clean track, he quickly pulled away from the rest of the field and drove the 52 Truck back into victory lane for an emotional win. Scott Jacobs, Adam Chatten, Shawn Murray, and Stephen Bierworth were next to cross the line, rounding out the top 5.

19 Trailers Plus Legend Cars hit the track for one of their seven appearances this season. Cole McFadden in the 76 led the field to the Great Canadian RV Green Flag for a tightly contested race. Lap 5 would see the first lead change, as Dawson Drimme would take the inside away from McFadden off the exit of turn two. Lap 9 would bring out the first caution, and bring the field back to a two by two formation. As the field powered into turn two, drivers would go three wide, ultimately causing contact between Caleb Drimme and Gibson Baker – resulting in 3 cars hitting the outside wall. After the Dart Heating And Airconditioning clean up crew cleared the track, the battle for the lead was tight as Dawson Drimme continued to lead the field all the way to the checkered flag, with Cole McFadden, Keaton Pipe, Adam Cuthbertson and Matt Haufe not far behind.

The Battlefield Equipment Bone Stocks would bring another large field, as 20 cars were set to take the green flag. The top three would quickly breakaway from the field consisting of the 2025 champion Alex Dallaire, Jacob Stavropolous, and Shawn Solomon. Lap traffic forced the leaders to go three wide, but Dallaire was able to hold off the charging Stavropoulos. Solomon was able to drive into 2nd place, taking the middle lane in a 3 wide battle with Stavropoulos on his outside, and a lap down car on his inside. Solomon tried desperately to get by Dallaire in the closing laps, and with three to go, Solomon powered his 19 machine on the outside lane into the entry of turn one, once again going three wide – and taking the lead. Solomon would hold off Alex Dallaire, Jacob Stavropolous, Zachary Cheng, and Ryan Armstrong for his second career Bone Stock Victory. His last win in the #19 car was 5 years ago, back in 2021 when he won the Bone Stock championship.

Entertaining qualifying heats from the Super Stocks earlier in the event, set up one of the most anticipated races of the night. Two returning drivers to Peterborough Speedway would make up the front row, consisting of Colton Everingham and Bailey Jacobs. Racing up front was bumper to bumper as Myles Tyson – the 2024 Super Stock champion, would join the top two and breakaway from the field. Through multiple cautions, the top three of Jacobs, Everingham and Tyson would continue to pull away from the field, until Dan Archibald was able to pass Everingham with three to go off a restart. The two would race door to door into turn three, ultimately making contact – resulting in Archibald spinning down the frontstretch grass. Another caution would transpire the following restart, but Bailey Jacobs stood tall, taking the first feature win in the Super Stocks for 2026. A photo finish at the line put Colton Everingham in the runner up position, followed by Myles Tyson, Donovan Price, and Dan Archibald rounding out the top 5 five.

The final race of the night was the Late Model division, with a powerful field of 14 cars. Dan McHattie would start on the pole position, with Kelly Balson on his outside. It took only one lap for the 2025 champion Ryan Kimball to go from 4th to 2nd, and immediately applied pressure to McHattie. A caution on lap 7 and a wreck involving Steve Powell and Jassen Whyte on lap 8 would bring the field side by side, but once the green flag was back in the air, Dan McHattie and Ryan Kimball raced away from the rest of the pack. Kimball would stay patient, following McHattie’s tire tracks for a number of laps. The pass finally came on lap 15, when McHattie moved up the track in the middle of three and four, allowing Kimball to clear the 71 machine down the backstretch. McHattie would fight back, knocking on the back bumper in the closing laps, but was unable to make a move. Another classic battle between Ryan Kimball and Dan McHattie sets the stage for a very entertaining season. Ollie Furgeson would pick up his first top three in his young career, followed by Jacob Mercer and John Owen.