Fans were treated to a free corn roast at the Cottage Country Bash on Saturday, August 2, to launch the final month of the 2025 regular season at Peterborough Speedway.
Nineteen starters came to the line for the 20-lap Bone Stock feature, with Shannon Cappuccitti and Matt McMartin on the front row. As racers battled fiercely throughout the field, Victoria McLenon moved into the runner-up spot from her starting position on the inside of row two. The leaders began to encounter lapped traffic just as the race’s first caution flew with seven laps on the board. On the restart, Alex Dallaire took over second, followed by Tegan Stanley, Sam Arnott, Jacob Stavropoulos, and Kali Dearmer. Dallaire grabbed the lead with 12 laps complete, while Stavropoulos wrestled second away from Stanley with just three laps to go. Dallaire held strong in the closing stages to record his first career feature win. Stavropoulos, Arnott, Stanley, and Dearmer were next across the line.
Following post-race inspection, a tuned ECU was discovered on Arnott’s No. 04, resulting in a disqualification. Additionally, Stanley was disqualified pending review of a post-race pit area altercation involving the No. 23 car. The revised top five featured Dallaire, Stavropoulos, Dearmer, Mark Griffin, and Cappuccitti.
Front-row starters Ryan Kimball and John Owen led the Late Model field to green for their 25-lap main. Kimball jumped out front early, but a yellow flag flew with just a single lap complete. An incident on the restart brought out the red and required extensive cleanup. Once back under green, Kimball continued to lead, with Owen and Steve Powell in close pursuit. Newcomer Ollie Ferguson advanced to fourth with 10 laps to go, before debris on the frontstretch prompted the race’s final caution. Kimball held on to take the win, followed by Owen, Powell, Ferguson, and Tyler Junkin.
Avery Kirkpatrick and Brayden Cappuccitti brought the 19-car Junior Late Model field to green for a 15-lap feature. Cappuccitti led the opening circuits before invader Oliver Gibbons grabbed control just two laps in. By lap four, the leaders were working through slower traffic as Kirkpatrick, Lucas Finnegan, Brody Coates, and Cappuccitti continued to battle. While positions deep in the field shifted over the final laps, Gibbons took the win. Finnegan, Cappuccitti, Landon Sellers, and Coates completed the top five.
Kirkpatrick was involved in a crash on the final lap of the Junior Late Model feature. After being assessed on-site for neck and back pain, she was transported to a local hospital for further treatment. She, along with Savannah Strawn and Owen Ephgrave, was later cleared by medical staff.
Oliver Gibbons (No. 10) opened the new month of action with a win in the Junior Late Model feature at Peterborough Speedway. CREDIT: Jessica Blair/Follow Me PhotographyNext up was the marquee 50-lap Mini Stock Invitational, with John Lavalle and Matt Young on the front row. Lavalle, second in the points standings, took the early lead before Doug Butler moved to the point on lap three. Lapped traffic became a factor just a lap later, as Butler and James Townsend, a home track regular, set the pace. A lap seven red flag halted action when Mike Nelson’s car climbed the third-turn wall and nearly exited the track. Nelson was uninjured, but his night was over. Butler resumed the lead on the restart, with Townsend, Lavalle, Young, and Ryan Babin close behind. Another yellow slowed the action, but Butler held off the field to take the win. Townsend finished second, followed by Young, Babin, and Lavalle.
Due to time constraints, the scheduled Renegade Truck feature was postponed and will be made up as part of the Saturday, August 16 Fan Appreciation Night.
In heat race action, last week’s Bone Stock feature winner Jacob Stavropoulos scored a pair of victories, with others going to Tegan Stanley and Alex Dallaire. In Late Model qualifying, wins went to Ryan Kimball, Steve Powell, Dan McHattie, and Ollie Ferguson. Junior Late Model heats were claimed by Oliver Gibbons, Owen Ephgrave, Lucas Finnegan, Lyla Sikma, and Landon Sellers (driving in relief of his brother Hudson). In Mini Stock preliminaries, Mike Nelson took a pair of wins, while Doug Butler and Mike Thomson claimed the others.
All finishing positions are unofficial pending scoring review and post-race inspection.
Bullring Bullet Points:
- With his wife Amanda competing at another track, Kelly Balson relinquished the driving duties of the No. B10 Late Model to Sean Walker.
- Peterborough Speedway’s promotional team officially welcomed Nadeau’s Collision and Towing as the title sponsor of the track’s Junior Late Model division. Landon Sellers took a turn behind-the-wheel of the No. 38 car in place of his brother Hudson, who was seriously injured in a Bandolero division crash a couple of weeks ago.
- After experiencing some mechanical issues during practice with his own No. 55 Truck, Shawn Murray was offered a seat in the No. 61 by regular driver Dwayne Batty.
- The 50-lap Mini Stock Invitational – originally scheduled for a $350 winner’s payday – received a $150 boost from racer Brandon Feeney. Additional contingency payments came in the form of $50 from Clarke Motorsports Communications for the highest-running Peterborough Speedway regular at the halfway point and a random $200 draw by Dart Heating & Air Conditioning for a racer finishing 10th or worse.
