Missing an event is the last thing on any racecar driver’s agenda, but even though he’d planned to skip the Saturday, July 25th event at Sauble Speedway to enjoy a long overdue vacation, Mike Beyore knew that he was in no shape to get behind the wheel. During an event at Delaware Speedway a few weeks earlier, the second generation speedster from Whitby, Ontario suffered the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning and needed to get out of the car.

“In all my years in the sport, it was one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever had to make,” said the driver known as ‘The Whitby Warrior’. “The car was running great, but I wasn’t up-to-speed. I felt tired and out of sorts. There was no way that I could stay in the car, so before the green flag came back out after the red, I pulled into the pits. There was no point in putting my own health or the safety of any other drivers in the field at risk.”

Unfortunately, the symptoms experienced that night in the racecar continued through the anticipated vacation. Back home, there was prolonged treatment in a hyperbolic chamber while the date for Peterborough Speedway’s Touring Chase for the Colours event remained pencilled-in on the shop calendar.

When the driver of the #54 OSCAAR Super Late Model rolled through the pit gate at the venue known as Canada’s Toughest 3rd of a Mile Paved Oval, Beyore was both excited and nervous about what lay in store. Once he took his first laps on the track, a feeling of confidence replaced any trepidation that may have been there before.

“It felt good to get back behind the wheel,” said Beyore. “The car was fast and although we needed to address an issue with it being loose coming off the corners, we put our game plan into effect and made some adjustments with the shocks. The track felt a little greasy because of the bright sunlight and heat, but it wasn’t anything we hadn’t experienced before in the middle of the summer.”

With a pair of qualifying heats to run before taking his spot in the feature line-up, Beyore finished 3rd in the second preliminary round and claimed the checkered flag in the fourth. Starting 4th in the 50 lap ‘A’ main, the team struggled on the outside line, before being able to get to the bottom groove. Taking the car into the pits during a mid-race yellow flag, the crew made some changes to the set-up before sending their pilot back onto the track.

Only about a handful of laps remained on the scoreboard, when Beyore made solid impact with the retaining wall in the second turn. The car hit hard, then snapped-around; nearly clearing the Jersey barrier. The race was immediately red-flagged, while track safety and rescue crews rushed to the scene to check on the driver.

“I think that was the hardest hit I’ve ever had,” said the driver via an on-line chat the next day. “I’m tired and sore, but the safety equipment built into the car did its job. I’m thankful to the crews at Peterborough Speedway for their quick response and to everyone who took the time to call or message to check on me.”

Follow Mike Beyore throughout the season on Twitter via @54buck and at www.beyoreracing.ca.

Mike Beyore’s 2015 OSCAAR Outlaw Super Late Model tour is supported by Stemac Machinery & Industrial Tools, Millennium Crane, Metals Plus, CNC Custom Machining, Praxair, MGS Performance, Mayhew Graphics, Vista Engineering Corporation, Lesco Industrial Restoration and Hoy’s Garage, with promotional and media services by Clarke Motorsports Communications.