DRIVERS HONOURED On Saturday, November 10th, Peterborough Speedway held their end of season banquet to signal the culmination of the 40th anniversary of racing at Canada’s Fastest 1/3 Mile Oval. It marked the end of what truly was a ground-breaking season at Peterborough Speedway, as the track saw some remarkable changes over the course of the year. For the first time ever, the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series stopped at Peterborough Speedway as a new dirt track was built behind the asphalt oval. Also, teaming up with Gateway Powersports and Marine, Peterborough Speedway hosted three days of snowmobile, ATV, and dirt bike grass drag races and speed competitions, the last being held this past Sunday, November 11th with a record attendance of over 50 sleds and bikes from all over Ontario! Furthermore, Peterborough Speedway’s annual tradition, the Autumn Colours Classic was the largest ever this year, celebrating the event’s 15th anniversary with well over 200 cars and record attendance despite poor weather! The drivers, crew members, staff, and sponsors were treated to a feast put on by the Old Smoke House Catering Company, before track owner and operator, J.P. Josaisse, began the awards ceremony. Throughout the season, Peterborough Speedway hosted nearly a dozen different series’ of stock cars, and had three which were well represented virtually every Saturday night: the For Fun Class, Peterborough Hyundai Mini Stocks, and the Late Models, and awards were presented to drivers from these classes throughout the night. For ‘Top Appearance’, Donna Anderson took home the hardware for the For Fun Division, Robert Kerr for the Mini Stocks, and Nick Oram for the Late Models. Bernie Vanderzwet was awarded ‘Sportsman of the Year’ for the For Funs, while Scott Jacobs and John Pollock won the same award for the Mini Stocks and Late Models respectively. ‘Rookie of the Year’ awards went to Anderson in the For Funs, her husband Riley Ekins for the Mini Stocks, and Larry Crowe Jr. for the Late Models. The ‘Most Improved Driver’ awards, sponsored by Jones Brown Motorsport Insurance were awarded to Mike Nelson, Wyatt Harvey, and Crowe Jr. for their respective divisions. The most prestigious awards came last, the ‘Top Point’s’ winners for each division. In the For Fun class, Anderson finished third, Harvey second, and it was Vanderzvet who finished the season with the most points in the division. The Peterborough Hyundai Mini Stocks had the most exciting finish to their season in decades! Only a couple of points separated leader Kerr from second place Jack Hannah heading into the final race of the season. Hannah wound up winning the race, with Kerr finishing fourth; however, it was too little too late for Hannah, and Kerr held onto to the lead, winning the division by a single point – the closest margin of victory in the forty year history of racing at Peterborough Speedway! Ekins finished third in the point’s standings for the Mini Stocks. In the Late Model division, fan favourite and Speedway veteran Don ‘The Hit Man’ Hart fought off Guelph native Tim Tolton to finish the season atop the standings. Tolton settled for second place, and Pollock finished the season in third. Throughout the season at Peterborough Speedway, there were also five installments of the Cathcart Trucking Enduro Series Race. Each race is 250 laps long with between 30 and 65 cars competing for top spot. Dave Caldwell finished the Enduro season with the most points, narrowly beating Colin Winslow and Dan Cooper who finished second and third respectively! Peterborough Speedway would like to thank all the drivers, crew members, staff, sponsors, and fans for helping make the 40th season of racing one of the finest ever at Peterborough Speedway! By: Jordan Burnie