It may have taken a little longer than first anticipated, but a solid crowd was still thrilled to be part of the year’s final Double Toonie/Fan Appreciation Night – presented by Pepsi – Saturday, August 24th at Peterborough Speedway.
First to answer the call for the night’s main event action was a 20-lapper for the Battlefield Equipment Rental Bone Stocks. Christen Lavalle and Johnnie McIntyre III brought the field to the Great Canadian RV green flag. Lavalle took the lead, with a hard charging Kyle Novis pushing the No. 21 Mini Cooper toward the front of the field. Novis moved into the lead with 3 laps on the scoreboard and was pulling away as Tegan Stanley started to work on the outside line. Wheeling ‘Rhonda the Honda’ fought a good fight on the top side but was still running outside of the top 5 at the halfway point. Novis built-up a straightaway lead and was working through the tail-end of the field with 16 laps complete. In a car he told his crew was ‘perfect’ at the start of the show, Novis scored the win. Jake Kelly, Stanley, current point leader Sean Kennedy and John Bates were next across the line in the headliner that ran without a yellow flag.
Kelly Balson and Bobby Cousineau held the front row starting spots as the KOD Disposal Late Model teams got ready for a 25-lap feature tilt. Balson led the early laps, with some heavy traffic working its way toward the lead. The pace was slowed with 7 laps on the scoreboard for an early yellow flag. On the restart, Jacob Mercer got stuck on the outside line and dropped to 5th spot, while defending track champion Ryan Kimball and multi-time titleholder Dan McHattie took over the 2nd and 3 positions. Another caution – for a solo spin in the 1st turn – slowed the pace again. On the restart, the lead duo was deemed to have jumped the start and officials moved both cars back a row. James Horner took the late race lead and the win. Balson, Mercer, Cousineau and McHattie completed the top 5.
Front row starters Adam Chatten and Mark Gordon set the pace as the Trent Lakes Complete Plumbing Renegade Truckers locked-in for a 20-lap feature tilt. Gordon was the early race leader with his teammate and current point leader Howie Crowe sliding into the runner-up position. The pair broke away from the field, with Stacy Switzer’s No. 37 in 3rd spot. Switzer began closing on the frontrunners with about a handful of laps remaining but could only get close as the checkered flag waved. Gordon was the race winner with Crowe – who swept the earlier qualifying rounds – 2nd. Chatten and Scott Jacobs joined Switzer in chasing the lead duo across the stripe in the caution-free feature.
Donovan Price and Clayton Reed led the way as the Jiffy Lube Super Stock pack rolled from the staging area. After scoring a qualifying event win earlier in the evening, Price was having a strong run as the driver of the No. 96 machine led the first half of the 20-lap ‘A’ main. A 4-car fight for the lead developed as teams saw the crossed flags from the starter’s stand. Miles Tyson took over the top spot, just as the yellow flag waved for an issue in the 2nd turn. On the restart, Reed moved into the runner-up spot with Nick Oram taking 3rd. At the front of the field, Tyson was showing the strength his No. 49 ride brought into the 2023 schedule and claimed the win. Reed, Oram, Sean Walker and Kyle Gordon rounded-out the top 5 positions.
Dave Inglis and Russ Couture led the way as the Outlaw Midget Series hit the venue known for Making Memories for Life to a run a 20-lap headliner. Inglis was the early leader, with Jason Metcalfe taking the position as the pack started working through some of the slower traffic. Mike Homewood, who was the race winner the last time the Midget Series rolled into Peterborough Speedway became the event’s next and final race leader with a pass early in the 2nd half. Metcalfe scored the runner-up finish, with Kevin Spiesz, Inglis and Couture following Homewood across the line.
A pair of holdover feature events from an abbreviated July 27th show were next, starting with a 25-lap Late Model headliner that had Jacob Mercer and Steve Powell on the front row. From the drop of the green flag, Mercer ran the bottom of the track, as if his No. 81 ride was tethered to the lower lane. With Dan McHattie and Ryan Kimball on his tail, the only deviation from his chosen line was when the pack started to work through slower traffic. McHattie slipped by with a lap 19 pass, while Kimball claimed the 2nd spot in traffic a lap later. They held their spots for the balance of the event, with Mercer finishing 3rd. James Horner and Steve Powell completed the top 5.
Paul Boundy and Kyle Gordon were on the front row as the Jiffy Lube Super Stocks ran their holdover feature tilt. Boundy was the early race leader, with the No. 25 and 52 teams of Kyle and Mark Gordon in his rear-view mirror. Just when it looked like Kyle Gordon was getting close to the leader, the driver of the No. 08 found some extra speed and pulled away in another of the night’s caution free feature events. Paul Boundy claimed the checkered flag, with Kyle and Mark Gordon next in line. Donovan Price and Clayton Reed continued their solid nights with 4th and 5th place showings.
All finishing positions are unofficial and subject to scoring review and post-race technical inspection.
Saturday, August 24th tech notes: Despite being the 2nd car to take the checkered flag in the 20-lap feature event, Jake Kelly’s No. 8 car was disqualified. The defending Bone Stock track champion refused mandatory inspection.
Bullring bullet points: Defending Super Stock track champion Miles Tyson returned to the venue known for Making Memories for Life for the first time this season…The No. 35 Renegade Truck – this week driven by Brad Stevenson – was once again sidelined by engine troubles and was unable to answer the call for qualifying heats or the main event…Shawn Murray was slated to start on the outside of the front row for the Renegade Truck main event. The track safety crew discovered a fluid leak under the No. 55 truck just before the green flag and sent him pit-side…A couple of impromptu storm cells blew into the area midway through the night and disappeared as quickly as they’d arrived. Other than a short delay prior to the start of the Renegade Truck feature, they created no lingering affect on track conditions…Donovan Price scored a win in one of the night’s Super Stock qualifying heats and dedicated the victory to the memory of his good friend Joe Craven who had passed away earlier in the month.
Action for the 2024 regular season wraps-up Saturday, August 31st with the annual Championship Clash. Weekly home track Bone Stock, Mini Stock, Renegade Truck, Super Stock, Late Model and Junior Late Models will decide their overall titles. Also on the docket will be the OMRS Modifieds and the Non-Winners Races. Pit gates will open at noon, with grandstand admission at 3:00 and a special start time of 4:00.
Find everything you’ll need to get the most out of Peterborough Speedway’s regular season finale by checking www.peterboroughspeedway.com and the track’s social media platforms and pages.
