Peterborough, ON (May 28, 2017)- The second week of 50th Anniversary Season action rolled to the starting line on Saturday, May 27 at Peterborough Speedway, as the Ontario Modifieds Racing Series, Ontario Pro Challenge and OSCAAR Midgets & Pro Midgets joined the home track Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun, Jiffy Lube Mini Stock and Thunder Car divisions.
The Jiffy Lube Mini Stocks kicked-off feature race action, with Ember Junkin and Kevin Strutt on the front row. Junking would hold an early advantage and began lapping slower cars with less than a handful of laps in the books, but her time at the front of the field was short-lived. After taking the green flag in 5th spot, James Townsend took a lead he’d never surrender after a restart with 5 laps on the board. Donovan Price, Junkin, Strutt and Kent Missons completed the top 5.
With 20 laps on the agenda, the Ontario Modifieds Racing Series hit Canada’s Toughest 3rd of a Mile Paved Oval for the first time in 2017 with the father and son duo of Rick and Rob Warnes on the front row. The pair showed the rest of the field the fast way around, but Brad Stevenson’s #77 was the class of show and took the top spot just 5 laps into the run. Rob Warnes would hang-on to the runner-up spot and was chased across the stripe by his father. Opening round winner Duane Cinnamon was 4th, with Randy Hollingsworth 5th.
With Jeremy Kelly and Ryan Oosterholt showing the way, the Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun field rolled from the staging area. As he had a week earlier, Oosterholt elected to start from the tail of the field, putting Keith Parkes alongside Kelly for the initial green flag. Parkes would have a strong run at the front of the pack as the leaders caught the backmarkers with about 5 laps on the board. A pair of yellow flags would shuffle the deck and put Kelly in control for a late race shootout with Sean Kennedy. Last year’s champion got the better of last week’s winner, as Kelly headed for Dart Heating and Air Conditioning victory lane. Jake Kelly, Baden Powell and Dylan Wills completed the top 5.
Dwight Lavoie and defending track champion Howie Crowe brought the Thunder Car field to the Great Canadian RV green flag for their 20 lapper. Crowe’s refurbished #28 took an early lead and was still in control with half the laps complete. A restart, with only 5 circuits remaining saw Dan Archibald at the front of the pack and he’d hold on for his first win of the year. James Townsend, Rob Richards, Bailey Jacobs and Anthony DiBello would complete the top 5.
Mike Johnson and Bryan Stevanus brought the Ontario Pro Challenge machines to the line for their 30 lap feature tilt. Stevanus and Kyle Batty broke away from the field and were running nose-to-tail at the front of the pack, when the pair came together in the middle of the backstretch. The incident also collected Tim Norris and Peter Hattin, who were running 3rd and 4th at the time. All drivers were unhurt, but only Norris and Batty were able to return to action. Norris kept challenger Rick Seeley at bay for the win. Ken Lillycrop, Tim Shanahan and Batty finished-out the top 5.
Nigel Buttivant took the OSCAAR Midget main event. Jordan Hanna claimed the Pro Midget checkered flag.
Earlier in the evening, James Townsend and Neil Hannah split the Jiffy Lube Mini Stock heats, with Brad Stevenson, Mark Gordon, Rick Warnes and Duane Cinnamon sharing the Ontario Modifieds Racing Series qualifiers. Jeremy Kelly, Ryan Oosterholt, Sean Kennedy and Keith Parkes took the Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun preliminary rounds. Thunder Car qualifying saw Dan Archibald with a pair, Anthony DiBello and Howie Crowe take the checkered flags. Daniel Hawn and Jordan Hanna split the Pro Midget qualifiers, with Bryan Stevanus and Kyle Batty each taking a pair of the Ontario Pro Challenge heats.
Bullring bullet points: The night’s 50/50 draw paid close to $600 to a lucky race fan…James Townsend picked a great night to do double-duty, winning the Mini Stock feature event and finishing second in the Thunder Car ‘A’ main…Brandon Feeney had an adventure just getting to the track. The rookie of the year hopeful in the Thunder Car division needed to rent a cube van to tow his car to the speedway…After winning the 2016 OMRS title, John Baker has endured a couple of frustrating weeks on the tour. His reworked #63 machine suffered mechanical issues during practice for the second straight event.
Action at Canada’s Toughest 1/3-Mile Paved Oval resumes with the year’s first Fan Appreciation/Toonie Spectator Grandstand Admission Night – presented by Pepsi – Saturday, June 3rd. The show will feature a special 50th Anniversary 50 lap main event for the Organics & Glass Late Models, along with action for the home track Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun, Jiffy Lube Mini Stock and Trent Lakes Complete Plumbing Renegade Truck divisions; plus, the Trailers Plus.net Eastern Ontario Legends Series. Pit gates will open at 2:00, with the spectator grandstands unlocked at 4:00 and racing at 5:00.
Full schedule details and the latest news can always be found by logging onto www.peterboroughspeedway.com, liking the Peterborough Speedway page on Facebook or following the track on Twitter. Fans can also download the free app on your Smartphone.
Prepared by: Jim Clarke, Clarke Motorsports Communications/First Draft Media
clarkemotorsports@hotmail.com, www.facebook.com/clarkemotorsports
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