Everything started off perfectly. A full pit area had close to 20 teams registered in each of the 5 scheduled divisions and a strong crowd was on hand to watch the action on Toonie Grandstand Admission/Fan Appreciation Night, presented by Pepsi – Saturday, July 19th – at Canada’s Toughest 3rd of a Mile Oval.

The evening’s qualifying action went into the books with just a brief delay for a quick passing shower and then the feature races – beginning with the Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun division – were scheduled to hit the tight, tricky bullring on Mount Pleasant Road, west of the Liftlock City. It was during the 3rd of a series of quick caution flags that the skies opened-up and caused track officials to throw-in the towel. Track owner/promoter J.P. Josiasse says it was an unfortunate end to a great night of racing.

“We’d been watching the weather radar and checking all the forecast models throughout the day,” said Josiasse. “Even when the radar showed it was raining in Peterborough, things were still dry at the track so it looked like we’d be safe. Of course, looks can be deceiving and we had to cancel the balance of the program.”

Always willing to please a very loyal fan base, Josiasse says that as a goodwill gesture Peterborough Speedway and Pepsi will offer half-price grandstand admission for the Saturday, July 26th show to anyone who presents a general admission ticket stub from Saturday, July 19th. The feature races that were not run will be made-up starting July 26th, when the Thunder Car, Late Model divisions will run double main events. Mini Stock and 4Fun classes will have double features Saturday, August 2nd. Another Fan Appreciation will be held Saturday, August 16th. The Inex Ontario Legends feature will be made-up then.

Before the rain arrived, Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun heat race wins went to Matthew Vanderbelt, Ray Schroer, Willow Barberstock and Griffin Powell. Howie Crowe and John Baker Jr. each took a pair of Paul Davis Systems Thunder Car qualifiers, while Danny Benedict grabbed a couple of Peterborough Hyundai Mini Stock checkered flags, with Tyler Junkin and Ryan Oosterholt taking the other 2. Craig Graham, Bryan Mercer, Ryan Kimball and Jack Horner claimed the Earl Ireland Auto Sales Late Model preliminary rounds. Inex Ontario Legend qualifying belonged to Nick Ledson with a pair. Dave Riopelle and Matt Haufe split the others.

Bullring Bullet Points: Losing a wheel and bringing out the night’s final caution was a rough finish for Kenny Ohno Jr., but the young driver won the 50/50 draw earlier in the night, taking home $900.50…The Earl Ireland Auto Sales Late Model division was bolstered by the addition of veterans Bryan Mercer and Dan McHattie; as well as Nick Oram, who pulled his #00 machine out of the barn to make the show. Chris Mitchell was also back at the controls of his #22 ride for the first time in a number of weeks..To gain a better understanding of changes needed to the car, Randy Hollingsworth ran some laps in his granddaughter Willow Barberstock’s #62 4Fun ride during pre-race practice.

In addition to the rain delayed features, action Saturday, July 26th will feature a full program with the Parry Spring Service Renegade Truck, Paul Davis Systems Thunder Car, Earl Ireland Auto Sales Late Model and Inex Ontario Legend divisions. Racing will conclude with a 100 endurance event. Pit gates will open at 3:00, with the spectator areas unlocked at 5:00 and the first green flag at 6:00.

Fans can always find the latest news at www.peterboroughspeedway.com or by liking the track on Facebook or following it on Twitter. You can also download the free Peterborough Speedway app on your Smartphone.