Jacob Mercer Ends July With a 5th Place Effort at Peterborough Speedway
Weekly racers don’t always need to win the race to enjoy a victory.
After running the gambit between weather cancellations, shock failures and just plain bad racing luck, Jacob Mercer’s 2023 schedule has been nothing like what the talented, young racer experienced during his freshman season in the Late Model division at Peterborough Speedway. Heading into the final show for the month of July, the 16-year-old 3rd generation speedster was 8th in the overall standings, but just over 50 points out of the overall lead.
“A single good night can’t change an entire season’s results, but it can be the first step in a different direction,” said Bryan Mercer, the driver’s father, coach and car owner. “Whenever you’ve had some bad breaks, just being able to roll the car into the trailer in one piece at the end of the night is as good as a win.”
In his first qualifying event of the night, Jacob Mercer and the No. 81 machine started and finished in the 4th position. The second heat race saw him start on the pole and cross the line 2nd at the checkered flag. Racing concluded with a 25-lap feature for the Late Model field. The team’s red rocket lined-up outside on the 2nd row and finished the nightcap in 5th place.
A sign of a change in team’s racing luck occurred when they missed a wreck in the 3rd turn that produced the show’s only yellow flag and saw one of the frontrunners cradled off the track by a pair of tow trucks.
For the 2023 season, the Mercer Motorsports team is proud to be supported by Sine’s Flooring, Durmach Precision Tooling, Courtice Septic, Facility Services, Beyond Signs & Design, Mediavandals, Highland Designs by Tracy Pattison, Kawartha Metals, Richter Law, Press Any Key Solutions, Lynch Rutherford Tozer Accountants, Cressman Tree Maintenance, BJ Tackle, Wilson Niblett Performance, Ross Funeral Chapel, K9ine Security, Dairy Farmers of Ontario, Cliffshore Excavating, Young Co Septic Systems and Clarke Motorsports Communications.
Next up for Jacob Mercer and the team will be the year’s final Double Toonie Fan Appreciation Night – Saturday, August 12th – at Peterborough Speedway. Fans can enjoy a full night of racing, including an on-track driver autograph session at intermission for only $4.00.
Follow the team at the track, through its Facebook and Twitter social media profiles or at 81mercermotorsports.com.
