After winning a 12-round battle with Mother Nature just a day earlier, racers, fans and staff were welcomed by bright sunshine and temperatures expected in the upper teens on Sunday, October 12th for the final day of the 32nd annual Autumn Colours Classic at Peterborough Speedway.
The day’s first order of business was the 2025 running of the Late Model Electric City 167, with Jake Sheridan and Dale Shaw leading the 26-car starting field to the green flag. Sheridan held the lead through an early race string of yellow flags, as the field started working through some slower traffic with 14 laps on the scoreboard. The driver of the No. 52 car showed his strength and built-up a straightaway advantage before the next yellow flag waved on Lap 26 for an issue in turn two.
Sheridan continued to lead up to the halfway break and restarted the second portion of the main event with Shawn Chenoweth, Dustyn Mombourquette, Shaw and Ryan Kimball completing the top-five. Sheridan’s car was the piece to beat in the Late Model showdown. Others got close, but he’d dominate the entire event. The lead group marched through the field with their sights set on the back bumper of Sheridan’s car. He scored the race win over Rick Spencer-Walt, Shaw, Mombourquette and Dan McHattie. Eight of the 26 starters finished on the lead lap.
Bone Stock teams came to the line for a 40-lap Autumn Colours Classic headliner, with Phil Givens and Chris Allard showing the way. An early yellow flag – with just a couple of laps complete – slowed the pace and set the tone for the balance of the event. Givens took control of the show and waged a race-long battle with Jo Lawrence. The frontrunners caught the tail end of the pack with just over 10 laps on the scoreboard, as battles continued throughout the field. Lawrence got close to the leader near the halfway mark, but the No. 0 machine was able to hold off the challenge. Like Sheridan, Givens led every lap for the race win. Lawrence held on for the runner-up finish. Jordan Willms, Spencer Riddell and Austyn Jennett completed the top-five.
The 40-lap OSCAAR Hot Rod ‘A’ main had provincial racing veteran Tom Walters and six-time series champion Tyler Hawn on the front row. Without even a single lap on the scoreboard, racers saw the yellow flag displayed for an issue in turn three. Hawn took the lead on the restart and, with Walters in tow, built an advantage of nearly half a track over third-place running Dan Archibald as the lead duo started lapping the back of the pack. Another yellow flag – for an incident on the backstretch – brought the field back together, with Hawn still in control. Archibald and Walters were locked in a battle for the runner-up spot when a late-race caution created an all-out fight to the finish with just over a handful of laps remaining. Hawn took the win over Mark Gordon. Luke Gignac, Archibald and Walters chased the lead duo to the checkered flag.
In memory of former Peterborough Speedway racer Melissa Bullen, the 67-lap Mini Stock finale had Matt Young and James Townsend leading the field of 28 starters from the staging area. Townsend – who ran a limited schedule at Peterborough in 2025 – took the race lead, with the season’s track champion Mike Nelson, Doug Butler and Young in close pursuit. The pack was working through lapped traffic when Butler took the lead near the 20-lap mark. A caution for an issue on the frontstretch slowed the pace with 41 laps complete, but Butler remained in control of the field. Another front straightaway crash brought out a red flag with 47 circuits on the scoreboard. All drivers involved were able to walk to the ambulance. Butler held on and was able to park his yellow No. 10B machine in victory lane. Townsend, Jacob Sutcliffe, Shawn Taylor and Will Gibbons were next across the line.
A 50-lap Super Stock feature was next as 2025 Peterborough Speedway track champion Paul Boundy and Daniel Hawn brought the starting field to the line for the headline dance. Boundy was the early race leader and, along with Todd Davenport and Hawn, was working through slower traffic with just a handful of laps on the scoreboard. Hawn took the lead following a yellow flag for an issue on the backstretch, with Shawn Chenoweth and Connor James making up the top-three runners. Another yellow – just past the halfway mark – saw Chenoweth take a lead that he’d hold for the balance of the race distance. Hawn, Marlie Owen, Lane Zardo and Kyle Gordon completed the top-five at the checkered flag.
It would take 50 laps for the OSCAAR Modifieds to settle the score for their 2025 Autumn Colours Classic winner. Former Peterborough Speedway Late Model champion Amanda Balson and 2025 Sunset Speedway modified track champion Wally Wilson led the pack to the stripe for the penultimate feature event of this year’s Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing. After a couple of failed attempts to get things rolling, Balson took the lead, with former series rookie of the year Max Beyore and Wilson close behind. TJ Edwards was marching to the front and moved into third when the caution flag waved with 19 laps on the scoreboard. Edwards got as high as second, before Beyore reclaimed the spot with just over a handful of laps remaining. Balson took the checkered flag, with Beyore, Edwards, Jason Keen and Luke Gignac completing the top-five.
Note: The No. 16 of Amanda Balson was disqualified in post-race inspection, moving the rest of the finishing order up a position in the rundown.
With an Autumn Colours Classic title and a season championship up for grabs, Ontario Legend Car Series teams closed out Central Ontario’s spotlight motorsports event. This year’s Rookie of the Year Jake Spencer-Walt and former series champion Parker Traves were on the front row for the 40-lap affair that saw 26 cars come to the green flag. The hard-charging freshman wheeled his No. 31w ride to the lead, with title contender Mitch Wright in his rear-view mirror. Wright grabbed the lead with eight laps on the scoreboard and held it for the rest of the event’s distance. A restart, after a caution just short of the halfway mark, saw Wright’s championship rival Dawson Drimmie join a three-car breakaway that included Traves. A late-race reboot saw Drimmie take second, with a move that was enough to clinch the series crown, even with Wright earning the race win. Traves, Adam Cuthbertson and Spencer-Walt rounded-out the top-five.
All finishing positions are unofficial, subject to scoring review and post-race inspection. Peterborough Speedway will host its annual program of Radar Runs and Grass Drags for snowmobiles and ATV’s on Saturday, November 1st. Pit and spectator gates open at 11:00 a.m., with racing at 12:30 p.m.
Peterborough Speedway management, staff and officials thank racers and fans for their support during the track’s 2025 schedule. Please keep checking www.peterboroughspeedway.com and the various social media platforms and pages for news and information on a new season of action at Canada’s Toughest 3rd Mile.
