MOUNT FOREST, ON- Multi-time Autumn Colours Classic champion Shaun McWhirter has had more than his fair share of big moments at Peterborough Speedway. The Late Model veteran will look to add another accomplishment to his resume on Saturday night, when the upstart APC United Late Model Series rolls into Peterborough for Round 5 of the 2015 tour.
“I’ve never raced fulltime at Peterborough, but every time I haul into the pits there, it feels like home,” explains McWhirter. “There’s just a familiarity at that track – it makes me incredibly confident entering this weekend. We have a lot of laps there. A lot of experience”
“It’s a place you need to respect. Because if you don’t, you’ll need the flatbed,” continues the former ALSTAR Super Series standout. “There’s not really any other way to explain it. It’s a tough spot to get around. And I think there are a few guys on this tour that haven’t been there yet that could be in for a rude awakening”
After narrowly missing the field in the opening round of the tour at Sunset Speedway, McWhirter has steadily improved in each of his three appearances with the Pro Late Model series. Most recently, he tallied a top-10 finish at Flamboro on July 1st.
“We’re due for a good run,” says McWhirter. “My guys have worked nonstop this season to make this car better. We came away with a 7th place finish at Flamboro and that made a world of difference for our confidence. You gotta work long hours in the shop to run on a tour like this, and when you’re coming off of a top-10 finish it just makes it easier to put that kind of time in”
“I think we’ve got our bad luck out of the way,” continues the Streamline Race Products founder. “I might be cursing myself by saying that – but I really do feel positive heading into Peterborough. We haven’t taken a step back all year. This car keeps getting better, and I know that we have the resources to unload with an absolute rocket ship at Peterborough”
When asked if he hopes to apply a particular strategy throughout the 100-lap event, McWhirter explains all he will be looking to do through the early stages of the event is survive.
“Circumstances are going to take some good cars out. That’s just racing, you know?,” shrugs the outspoken veteran. “We just have to hope we can dodge whatever happens and be there at the end. If we can live to see lap-90 then I think we could make things interesting. Win or lose, we’ll make it exciting, I promise you that.”
Details for Saturday’s 100-lap APC United Late Model Series event can be found at www.PeterboroughSpeedway.com.
Shaun McWhirter’s 2015 campaign is made possible thanks to the support of BLM Transportation, Grand American Race Cars, Auto Trim of Barrie and Streamline Race Products.
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
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