Peter Britten Enjoys Fun In The Sunshine State With Great Runs During DIRTcar Nationals
Story By: BOBBY CHALMERS / PETER BRITTEN RACING – WEEDSPORT, NY – Peter Britten’s mission heading into the DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park was to get things in order for his team so he can hit the ground running when racing starts full force in the Northeast in April.
Mission accomplished.
Britten, whose worst finish during the four nights of racing was a 12th on opening night, continued to gain strength throughout the week and very nearly put the Troyer / FK Rod Ends #21A in victory lane on two occasions.
“On several of the nights down there, I felt like we were better than the results showed,” Britten said. “We didn’t test like a lot of the other teams had before Florida so the first night was like shaking the rust off. From that point on, we were on a mission.”
On night one, the cold weather changed the way the cars handled and track conditions threw a bit of a curveball to teams. Britten and his team worked hard and were able to overcome all obstacles to finish 12th.
Thursday night was Peter’s best performance as he battled tooth-and-nail for the top spot with two of the top drivers in Modified racing, Stewart Friesen and eventual winner Matt Sheppard.
“We were dialed in to a much better balance on the car Thursday,” he said. “Matt and Stewart are definitely at the top of their game when it comes to Super DIRTcar Series races. I feel like they were just a tick better than I was but I feel we were very close to their pace.”
Friday night saw another strong showing as the Australia-native rocketed to another top five finish…this time a fourth place run to winner and Nationals Champion, Larry Wight.
“I actually feel like the car was better on Friday than it was Thursday,” Britten said. “We were overall fast-time in qualifying and we won our heat race. I just couldn’t catch a break on restarts but once we got going, our car had a lot of speed.”
Saturday night’s 50-lap series finale was another good run for Britten and team 21a as the veteran racer was able to bring his car home in the eighth spot after starting 12th.
“I normally get better as the longer races go on,” he said. “Saturday, I charged from 12th to fifth really quick. I thought we had something going but after a long caution, the car seemed to fade. I might have pushed it a little too hard too early and used up my tires.”
All in all, it was a very successful trip south for Peter and the team, as the group finished fifth in DIRTcar Nationals points. However, they gained a lot of knowledge they can use when racing starts in the Northeast in April.
