Peterborough, ON (july 05, 2017)- With a busy Canada Day weekend on deck for Maltese Motorsports, there were some highlights, as well as a couple things the team would rather forget.
Starting off the adventure at Sunset Speedway on Saturday night, Paul Maltese would qualify ninth for the first 35-lap feature. He would move up a couple spots early, running seventh as of Lap 4. He’d run there till Nick Goetz completed the pass on him for the position eight laps later. He was able to get back up to seventh around the halfway point, though ultimately crossed the finish line in the eighth position after being passed in the late stages.
Starting up front for the second 35-lap feature, he ran fourth in the early stages, though fell back to fifth by the seventh lap of competition. He was able to avoid an accident ahead of him with 26 laps to go, allowing him to jump back up to the third position. He would fall back a spot on the restart, followed by falling back to sixth by Lap 18. Unfortunately, his strong run came to an end on Lap 20 when he was spun in turns three and four by a fellow competitor.
Restarting at the tail of the field, he was unable to make up much ground before the checkered flag, crossing the finish line in 12th.
Making the trek to Peterborough Speedway on Sunday, he started off the afternoon well with a third and a fifth in his pair of qualifier heats.
Starting eighth for the 60-lap feature, he made up ground early to run fourth with just two laps on the board. He would avoid a spin by the race leader to move up another position to third with 52 laps to go. He got a good restart to remain third till he was passed by Ryan Kimball for the position on Lap 25.
A mid-race caution for a single-car spin reset the field up for the second half, which didn’t pan out to Maltese’s liking. The battle for fourth between himself and Mike Bentley did not play out as warranted with contact resulting in both drivers going around, and some slight damage for Maltese.
Restarting at the back of the field, he ran 12th shortly after the restart, moving up to 11th when a fellow competitor headed down pit road done for the event. He then avoided a spin by a fellow competitor with 10 laps to go to move back into the top-10. He continued to gain positions, moving up to ninth when Jack Horner went around with four laps to go. Unfortunately, the restart didn’t go as planned, as contact between himself and Taylor Holdaway resulted in both drivers going around in turn one.
Restating at the back once again with three laps to go, he was unable to make up much ground, crossing the finish line in the ninth position.
While there have been some rough notes throughout the year, he has posted six top-10 finishes to date, including a pair of top-fives. He will look to continue running strong on July 8 in the next night of competition at Sunset Speedway.
Maltese and team are proud to be supported by Presto Appliance Repair, Delmeade Construction, Paragon Office Installations, Leitch Performance . Blue Sky Contracting and Landscape, Ontario Steel Sales, Essies Poultry Farms, Auto Trim Design, and OAS.
Be sure to keep up with Maltese Motorsports all year by joining the team’s facebook group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/111504045528057/.
By: Ashley McCubbin/AM Marketing – ashleymccubbin17@gmail.com
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