@54buck • Peterborough, ON- Everyone was thinking about what could happen instead of talking about what would happen.
Peterborough Speedway’s Autumn Colours Classic had the OSCAAR Super Late Models as part of the show and it was the final point paying event on this year’s tour. The season championship had pretty much been decided, but there were a number of positions that were still up for grabs throughout the field.
Even though they weren’t scheduled to qualify until the next day, the OSCAAR Super Late Models ran a couple of practice sessions Friday afternoon on the venue known as Canada’s Toughest 1/3-Mile Paved Oval. Any concerns Mike Beyore might have had about changing track or weather conditions were quickly moved to the back burner by the confidence the second generation Whitby, Ontario veteran racer felt about his machine’s performance during the opening round.
“It was almost the best run we’ve ever had here at Peterborough,” said the usually soft spoken chauffeur. “The car was fast and worked really well through the corners. It didn’t seem to matter which line we used. The bottom, middle or top grooves were all the same. There’s another practice later in the day and we’ll try some different ideas, but this is the type of performance this team has been capable of all season long.”
During the second qualifying heat Saturday afternoon, ‘The Whitby Warrior’ took the green flag from fifth spot and wound-up finishing second. Still feeling great about the weekend’s effort, the #54 ride lined-up third in the fifth qualifier and again managed a second place showing.
With a pair of solid runner-up efforts to build on, there was time to relax and enjoy some racing with the other divisions before loading the car into the hauler for the night.
“Despite having just a pair of eight lap heat races to work from, I think it was a great weekend,” said Beyore while visiting with friends and fans Sunday morning. “We weren’t put into a position where we needed to replace any bent or broken parts and I’m comfortable with the car’s performance. I think it’s going to be a good day.”
Even when he was sent to the back of the pack following an opening lap incident, Beyore remained positive and did his best to settle into a rhythm, while pushing his machine to its limit in an effort to get back to the front of field. On most tracks, 50 lap main events will give a driver plenty of time to plan a strategy, but the lap counter at Peterborough clicks things off in a hurry.
When all was said and done, Beyore crossed the line in fourth spot. It wasn’t a checkered flag or even a podium finish, but everyone on the team was happy with the result.
“It’s easy to be sent to the rear and then get your butt handed to you on a platter on the way back through – especially at Peterborough – but our stuff was right on the mark today and we had an amazing run.”
In the pits: The #54 OSCAAR Super Late Model team finished the 2014 season sixth in the final point standings. Max Beyore managed a second place effort in the OSCAAR Modified finale. He was also second in the point standings and was named the division’s Rookie of the Year.
Follow Mike Beyore on Twitter via @54buck and at www.beyoreracing.ca.
Prepared by: Jim Clarke, Clarke Motorsports Communications/First Draft Media
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