It can be difficult to find a great night of entertainment for just $2.00, but 3 times each season Peterborough Speedway hosts a Toonie Spectator Grandstand Admission/Fan Appreciation Night. Saturday, July 11^th a near capacity crowd saw an outstanding night of action with the Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun, Paul Davis Systems Thunder Car, Mini Stock, Earl Ireland Auto Sales Late Model and Ontario Modifieds Racing Series divisions.

Feature race action got underway with Ray Schroer and Brandon Feeney pacing the field of 21 starters to the Great Canadian RV green flag for the Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun 20 lapper. At the drop of the green flag, Terry Hubbard took the over the second spot early and by the time there were 12 laps complete, the leaders had caught the tail-end of the field. Sean Kennedy grabbed top spot a lap later and managed to hold-off a late race charge by Ryan Oosterholt to take his first win of the year. Schroer, Matthew Vanderbelt and Jeremy Kelly completed the top 5.

Bailey Jacobs and Steve Mayhew brought the pack of Paul Davis Systems Thunder Car pack to the stripe for their headline dance. Jacobs and Mayhew fought for the lead during the race’s early stages, while Howie Crowe looked for an advantage on the outside line. Daryl Fice – making his first start of the year – got the better of the front-runners before 10 laps showed on the scoreboard, but had defending track champion Anthony DiBello on his back bumper. As the pair worked around Eric Crowe, there was contact between the 3 cars that resulted in a red flag. With a 3 lap shootout to settle the score, Dan Archibald took the win. Howie Crowe, Mayhew, Dale Wood, in his first start of the season and Jacobs chased the #07 across the stripe.

With 20 laps on the table and a trip to Dart Heating and Air Conditioning victory lane waiting for the winner, Miles Tyson and Charlie Smith started on the front row for the Mini Stock feature tilt. Tyson had the dominant car early, but Tyler Junkin had moved into the runner-up spot with just a handful of laps complete. The lead duo ran up on a large pack of back markers with a dozen down and when Donovan Price hit the outside front stretch wall to create a green-white-checkered finish, Junkin grabbed the win. Brandon Hannah, Kyle Baker and Kevin Strutt finished-out the fast 5.

Travis Hallyburton and Paul Maltese had a pack of 14 hungry teams on their tail as the Earl Ireland Auto Sales Late Models rolled from the staging area for what would be an action-packed feature event. The yellow flag flew early when Jeff Toms cut a right front tire. Fellow invader Rick Walt took the top spot from Hallyburton with 5 laps complete and held the advantage until issues with a right-rear tire sent him pit-side late in the going. Hallyburton held back a charge from Dave Morgan for the win, with Tyler Betts, Mike Wallace and Amanda Connolly the top 5.

The final feature event of the night was a 25 lapper for the Ontario Modifieds Racing Series, with Corey Horner and Ryan Babin in control of the field. While Alex Lees and Babin were the class of the field early in the run, things tightened-up when Donny Beatty and Ryan Dick combined to bring out the first yellow flag on the 7^th lap. Just a couple of circuits later, the first turn turned into a parking lot after Babin hit the retaining wall. Josh Gruntz needed to take evasive action down an escape route and the race was red flagged to check on the driver. Back under green, all eyes were on John Baker Jr. The crowd favourite made it 2 wins in a row, with a victory over Brad Stevenson, Lees, Beatty and Rob Warnes.

Qualifying heat wins earlier in the night went to Ryan Oosterholt with a pair, Sean Kennedy and Jordan Desroches in the Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun. Dan Archibald with a pair, Luke Gignac and Howie Crowe in the Paul Davis Systems Thunder Cars. Kevin Strutt, Donovan Price with a pair and Miles Tyson in the Mini Stocks. Dave Morgan, Amanda Connolly, Travis Hallyburton and Bryan Sudsbury in the Earl Ireland Auto Sales Late Models. Donny Beatty, Corey Horner, John Baker Jr. and Brad Stevenson for the Ontario Modifieds Racing Series.

Bullring bullet points: The 50/50 draw paid $1266.00 to Patricia Barberstock of Belleville, Ontario…A number of Late Model teams including Travis and Thane Hallyburton, Rick Walt and Randy Bull made their first Peterborough Speedway starts of the season…Quick thinking by Art Rodgers during the Thunder Car red flag brought a fire under the hood of Tom Podd’s machine to the attention of track safety workers.

Next action at Canada’s Toughest 3^rd of a Mile Paved Oval is Saturday, July 18^th when the APC Pro Late Model Series checks-in for a 100 lapper. Also on the show will be the Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun, Paul Davis Systems Thunder Car and OSCAAR Midget divisions. Pit gates open at 2:00, with the spectator grandstands unlocked at 4:00 and the first green flag at 6:00.

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