Temperatures may have been a few degrees cooler, but the action on the track was just as hot…or maybe hotter as the 24th Annual Autumn Colours Classic – presented by Lucas Oil Products – rolled on at Canada’s Toughest 3rd of a Mile Paved Oval. Drivers were looking to gain a better starting position for the calendar of feature events on the schedule for Sunday, October 9th.

A field of 13 starters rolled from the staging area for the OSCAAR Midget feature, with (name) and Ryan Brown on the front row. From the drop of the green flag, it was the Jessica James show. The young lady from Trenton, Ontario has had a love/hate relationship with Peterborough Speedway. In past events, her strong runs have come to an end with a crash or mechanical issue, but the Autumn Colours Classic was her race. Taking the lead on the 3rd lap, her #2 machine worked through lapped traffic with machine-like precision to capture the win. Brown – one of the Race for the Chase eligible drivers – was 2nd, with Owen Elliott 3rd.

OSCAAR Super Late Model qualifying heats went to Kelly Balson, Gary Passer, Rob Clarke and Tyler Hawn with Wally Wilson, Brian MacDonald and Jessica James with a pair scoring OSCAAR Midget wins. Pro Midget victories belonged to Adrian Kemps, Cassidy March and Rob Summers with a pair. Matt Haufe, Cole Ledson and defending series champion Nicholas Ledson had the INEX Ontario Legends preliminary round wins.

Billy Schwartzenburg and Andrew Gressel took the second round of Pro Late Model qualifying. Anthony DiBello, Ken Grubb, Matt Bentley and Hudson Nagy claimed the Paul Davis Systems Thunder Car heats, with Rob Warnes, John Baker Jr. and Gary McLean rolled into victory lane with OSCAAR Modified checkered flags.

Bullring bullet points: Enjoying a great day of racing at the Autumn Colours Classic paid-off for Ronald Henrie of Gatineau, Quebec who walked away with almost $1100 in the 50/50 draw…At an event like Autumn Colours, similar car numbers are commonplace. The Thunder Car last chance qualifier had 7 starters and 3 of them carried the #31…As competitive a sport as racing can be, its also good to have friends. Chris Mitchell and friends were quick to lend a hand to OSCAAR racer Derrick Tiemersma and invited his team back to their shop when the #7 Super Late Model experienced mechanical issues during the Friday night show. The team was back in action for the Saturday night program.

Sunday, October 9th the agenda is reserved for feature events, with the finals for the Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun, Jiffy Lube Mini Stock, Paul Davis Systems Thunder Car, Earl Ireland Auto Sales Late Model, INEX Ontario Legend, Pro Late Model and OSCAAR Modified and Super Late Model ‘A’ mains set to roll. Pit gates open at 10:00, with spectator grandstands unlocked at 11:30 and the day’s first green flag at 12:30.

Full schedule details for the annual Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing – along with up to the minute news and results – are always available at www.peterboroughspeedway.com and selecting ‘Autumn Colours’ from the drop-down choices. You can also like the track on Facebook or follow it on Twitter. Fans can download the free Peterborough Speedway app for their Smartphone.