A Full Night of Action Thrills the Fans at Peterborough Speedway
After an unexpected week off due to rain, Canada’s Toughest 3rd of a Mile Paved Oval came back to life – Saturday, June 6th – with a full night of racing, that featured the Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun, Paul Davis Systems Thunder Car, Mini Stock and INEX Ontario Legend divisions. A 100 lap endurance event closed-out the show.
Ray Schroer and Ryan Babin paced the field of 21 starters to the green flag for the 20 lap Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun feature event. Schroer and Matthew Vandebelt broke away from the pack, but within a handful of laps, slower traffic came into play. James Townsend moved into second spot near halfway with Andrew Massey and Ryan Oosterholt chasing the lead duo. As the laps clicked away, Townsend – filling-in for Tiffany Vandebelt – moved into the lead and held on for the win. Oosterholt, Massey, Schroer and Jeremy Kelly completed the top 5.
Geoff Greatrix and Luke Gignac brought the Paul Davis Systems Thunder Car starting field to the line. Invader Dan Archibald moved into second spot as the lap counter showed 3 complete, with Gignac still finding the quick way around. There were 7 laps on the scoreboard when the caution flag flew after contact between Fedelle DiBello and Jeff Bell. The heavily damaged #9 was towed from the track, while DiBello’s night was done after being penalized for rough riding. On the restart, it was Archibald, Tyler Liscum and Gignac in the top 3 spots, with Howie Crowe and Anthony DiBello the top running home track cars. A couple of late race yellow flags bunched the field, with a turn 3 incident forcing the race to end under yellow. Anthony DiBello took the win over Crowe. Steve Mayhew, Greatrix and Tom Podd completed the top 5.
15 Mini Stocks left the staging area for a 20 lap feature tilt, with Steve McNevin and Gil Brooks on the front row. Brandon Hannah, Tyler Junkin and Miles Tyson launched a 3 car breakaway until the caution flag flew with 6 laps complete. Back under green conditions, Tyler Junkin took control, with Tyson and Hannah trying to hold invader Gerrit Tiemersma at bay. At the checkered flag, it was Junkin taking his first win of the season. Tyson, Hannah, Donovan Price and Fred Jordan followed the leader across the stripe.
The final feature race of the night was a 25 lapper for the INEX Ontario Legends, with Cole Ledson and Brian Saunders pacing the pack. There were amazing battles throughout the field. Former series champion Kevin Foisy took control with 5 complete, as Nicholas Ledson, Saunders, Cole Ledson and Cole McFadden filled-out the top 5 positions. Cars were going through lapped traffic, when Saunders spun, but kept going with 14 circuits down. In a race that went caution-free, Foisy took the win over Nicholas Ledson. Saunders rebounded to finish 3rd, with Cole Ledson and Jamie Riberdy completing the top 5.
The top 5 finishers in Peterborough Speedway’s first endurance event of 2015 were #34 Lloyd Harper, #7 Stan Tisnovsky, #7x Noel Snow, #79 Ryan Oosterholt and #48 Paul Wannamaker.
Finding their way to the main event were Ryan Oosterholt with a pair, Jeremy Kelly and Andrew Massey who won 4Fun qualifiers. Howie Crowe with a pair, Jeff Bell and Tyler Liscum took Thunder Car preliminary rounds. The 4 Mini Stock heats were shared by Miles Tyson and Tyler Junkin, while Kevin Foisy and Nicholas Ledson split the INEX Ontario Legend Series openers.
Bullring bullet points: Tanya Shepherd of Warsaw, Ontario walked away with the $932.00 50/50 prize. A number of drivers made their 2015 Peterborough Speedway debut including Tyler Liscum, Dan Archibald and Luke Gignac in the Thunder Car division and Mini Stocker Gerrit Tiemersma. INEX Ontario Legends Series runner Fred Jordan took a turn in a Mini Stock ride and logged a 5th place finish.
Saturday, June 13th the Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun, Mini Stock, Renegade Truck and Earl Ireland Auto Sales Late Model divisions will be joined by the Can Am TQ Midgets. Pit gates will open at 3:00, with the spectator grandstands 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.