Peterborough, ON – It was Adam Racine who took the checkered flag and the trophy Saturday night as the Lucas Oil Can-Am Midgets supported Peterborough Speedway’s “Autism Awareness Night”.
Racine led the last two laps in the 25 lap Feature after the only caution of the night flew when the current race leader Adrian Stahle suffered mechanical failure shooting him up the track hitting the wall hard in turn three. Thankfully Adrian Stahle walkedaway uninjured.
Racine, feeling bad for Adrian, “didn’t want to win like this but I’ll take it’, he said as he recalls seeing Stahle go towards the wall.
Racine thanked four-time Lucas Oil Can-Am Midget champion, Mack DeMan, The Mackereths, the fans for their support, and his sponsors, Dettmer Tire, Tirecraft, T-Weber, Retail Design Group and Schwartz Incorporated.
Racine. who was renting the winning car from Mack DeMan and the Mackereths said it was his last race in this car as his own car is finally finished.
Racine said “he’s having a hell of a year as the car is a rocket”.
GALLERY: COURTESY PAUL HUSBY
Planning on racing his own car next week, Racine credited Stahle with the 10 to 20 hours that he dedicated helping him build his own car. He also thanked Austin Senkerikfor his help in the pits Saturday night.
Saturday night’s race was Racine’s fourth win this season with the Lucas Oil Can-Am Midgets.
Steven Murdock sat on the pole for the feature event followed by Daren Dryden, Ryan Fraser, Adrian Stahle and Todd Cresswell.
As the green flag dropped and the first lap was complete it was clear that Stahle was on the move forward taking third from Ryan Fraser. Adam Racine moved up one spot into fifth while Brandon Zavarella was able to take the seventh spot from Mack DeMan.
Steven Murdoch held onto the lead until lap six when Adrian Stahle made a pass to capture it from him. Once out in front Stahle took off like a rocket. With Murdoch holding the second spot, Dryden held third, Racine was in fourth and Fraser rounded out the top five.
Not settled with fourth, Racine battled Dryden for several laps before overcoming him on lap 9.
Lap 9 also saw veteran driver Barry Dunn take his car to the pits for the night. Earlier in the day Dunn’s throttle stuck sending him into the wall in the dreaded turn three then onto his lid during a practice session. Dunn’s car was severely damaged with a crushed wing and a bent front axle to say the least. Dunn was running in eleventh when he left the race.
At the half way point, Stahle had an eight car lead over the field; Racine was battling Murdoch for second, Dryden held the fourth position and DeMan was passing Fraser for fifth.
Two laps later, Stahle had caught up to the rear of the field and started lapping cars. Racine had gotten past Murdoch for second, Dryden and DeMan held onto their fourth and fifth spots.
The field ran single file with positions unchanged until lap 23 when the leader, Stahle, had his left front radius rod snap which sent him into the wall bringing out the only caution.
Stahle had mentoned that he could feel a change in the way his car was running laps previous to his crash, saying he could feel his car “yanking to the inside” and when he touched the breaks “it shot him off right”. Stahle hand an amazing strong and fast car all day long.
When the field took the green, Racine found himself the leader with Dryden in second, DeMan in third, Murdoch in fourth and Fraser in fifth. The field remained unchanged as the last two laps passed quickly. As Racing took the checkered flag he was credited with his fourth win of the season.
The Lucas Oil Can-Am Midget Heat races were won by Adrian Stahle and Darren Dryden.
I’d like to take a moment to give a shout out to the Lucas Oil Can-Am Midget club. Each week this fine class of gentlemen and a lady battle on and off the race track whether it’s fighting for position or batting an ill handling car, trying to make the right adjustments to make it better, these drivers, owners, and crews do not hesitate to offer their help and expertise in getting a fellow competitor back on the track. Whether it’s extra parts teams have or just their time this Lucas Oil Can-Am Midget club is just amazing. A huge Thank you goes out to all who helped Barry Dunn fix his car getting it ready for the Feature.
The Lucas Oil Can-Am Midget Feature finish at Peterborough Speedway on June 24, 2017 was…1. ADAM RACINE, 2.Darren Dryden, 3. Mack DeMan, 4. Steven Murdoch, 5. Ryan Fraser, 6. Todd Cresswell, 7. Brandon Zavarella, 8. Dominique Smith (R), 9. Lucas Munsie (R), 10. Adrian Stahle, 11. Barry Dunn.
The Lucas Oil Can-Am Midget top 10 in Driver points are as follows…1. ADAM RACINE…865, 2. Mack DeMan…837, 3.Adrian Stahle…749, 4. Ryan Fraser…737, 5. Darren Dryden…720, 6. Barry Dunn…694, 7. Steven Murdoch…668, 8.Dominique Smith (R)…558, 9. Lucas Munsie (R)…524, 10. Jeff Blackburn…378
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