50th Year Sees A Different Look Pitside At Peterborough
Story By: JIM CLARKE / PETERBOROUGH SPEEDWAY – PETERBOROUGH, ONT – The 2017 campaign at Canada’s Toughest 3rd of a Mile Paved Oval has all the makings of being a season of change. Not only will the popular facility celebrate its 50th Anniversary. Season of action, when the green flag flies to kick things off, fans at Peterborough Speedway will see some exciting changes when their favourite drivers take to the track.
Shortly after last year’s Autumn Colours Classic, several teams began working on plans that would see them acquire new equipment to allow them to move into a different racing division, or take their existing program in a new direction.
Just a few days after concluding the 2016 season, Brandon Feeney closed a deal to purchase one of the best-known cars to ever race at Peterborough Speedway, when he bought ‘The Bus’ from Crowe Brothers Racing. The move marked the end of the Orono, Ontario native’s time in the Battlefield Equipment 4Fun division, where he’d raced since 2014 and earned a best point finish of 7th in 2016. Feeney will take the first green flag of the new season in the reworked machine, as he joins the Paul Davis Systems Thunder Car ranks.
His resume includes time in an ACT Late Model while running weekly at Kawartha, as well as travelling with the OSCAAR Modified and Lucas Oil Sportsman Cup Series tours. After a brief layoff, Tim Burke returned to the short track wars for 2015 in the Renegade Truck division at Peterborough Speedway. The Bancroft, Ontario resident had a strong season and finished 2nd in points, but he relinquished the driving duties to good friend Stephen Bierworth after just one year. The lure of competition will bring the veteran runner back to the sport in 2017, as the #99 machine is set to return to action as part of the 50th Anniversary Season at the tight, tricky bullring on Mount Pleasant Road, west of the Liftlock City.
Its been about 6 years since Jeffrey Remington turned a lap at Peterborough Speedway, but the 34 year-old will be back – if only for a limited schedule – in 2017. This season, he’ll switch from the Renegade Truck field and return to the Paul Davis Systems Thunder Car ranks. The former Adam Scott Collegiate and Vocational Institute student says he’s looking forward to putting his equipment through its paces again.
On the other side of the coin, after recording a pair of feature wins during the month of June, a grinding crash late in the 2016 season may keep Brandon Hannah out of this year’s action. The pilot of the #47 machine in the Jiffy Lube Mini Stock field had his ride severely damaged, with only the engine, transmission and a set of tires salvageable after the wreck. The 26 year-old says he has some irons in the fire, but knows it could be an uphill climb to get back on the track.
Staff and officials at Peterborough Speedway are working hard to put together an exciting 50th Anniversary Season. From the first green flag of opening night, to the final victory lane celebration of the 25th Annual Autumn Colours Classic, 2017 will offer an action-packed calendar.
The official schedule won’t be released until the Motorama Custom Car and Motorsports Expo – March 10th to 12th – at the International Centre in Toronto, but the promotional team has confirmed that the popular Toonie Spectator Grandstand Admission/Fan Appreciation Nights – presented by Pepsi – will return Saturday, June 3rd, July 8th and August 19th.
