Jeff Hanley Wins 5th OSCAAR Feature And The Points Battle Heats Up At Peterborough Speedway

A few weeks ago just after winning his 3rd feature race of the 2009 season, Jeff Hanley attributed his success to a lot of hard work and finally getting a bit of luck going his way. Both the hard work and good luck continued at Peterborough Speedway’s Autumn Colours as Hanley in the Raylene Racing #70 car picked up his 5th feature win of the year.

During the abbreviated practice session, Hanley clearly showed he had the quickest times on the track. So when the random draw was pulled in his favour with a second consecutive pole position, there was a collective groan from the teams and fans – it appeared that the race was finished before it started.

But there was one driver who came very close to altering the outcome. Brandon Watson in the Ken Mackinnon Construction #9 Outlaw challenged Hanley for nearly the entire race. Starting from the outside pole, Watson jumped out to a quick start and kept pace with Hanley into the first turn. But the outside groove was slick and he had to let up enough in turn two that Hanley was able to charge to the lead.

During the first half of the race and during the final few laps, Watson kept close to Hanley and on occasion would start the pass on the inside. But it wasn’t enough to complete the pass without making contact with Hanley. “I was hoping I could get a chance on the restart. I knew he wouldn’t mess up but I just tried to stay there in case he did” said Brandon, “He ran a great night and I just tried to stay with him as much as I could and I did, so it was good”. It was good enough for 2nd place and Brandon Watson’s best OSCAAR finish yet.

Racing with skill and maturity well beyond his 16 years of age, Brandon continued to receive accolades from the veteran drivers, in particular race winner Jeff Hanley. “That 9 car was good at the end of the race. It’s good to have him come out and I wish he’d come out more.” Jeff continued, “He’s a good little racer and he keeps us older guys on our toes. That was the hardest I had to run my car all year.”

The BTL Bridgelands Terminals / V&L Transportation Sales #88 car of TJ Woolsey was strong for the second race in a row and picked up 3rd place. “It was a pretty good day altogether. Congratulations to Brandon Watson on a great run and to Jeff for another win.” said TJ as he winced with pain. Not the pain of losing but from a back problem that barely allowed him to climb in and out of the car. Woolsey happily took the podium finish and climbed to within 22 points of 3rd place in the standings.

Jeff Dunford took home 4th place in the #7T Malcolm Wallace Automotive car. Dunford arrived at Peterborough after a long and trying week that would have caused many folks to pack it in and give up. But the determined racer must have used his trials as motivation and produced his best finish of the year. It also kept the 7T Team on track for 3rd in the points battle.

The big upset in the Championship hunt came for Derrick Tiemersma in the Wayfreight #7 Outlaw. Starting in 7th, Tiemersma was ready to hunt down the 22 car and gain some points. But then contact from the 77 car sent Tiemersma spinning and both cars to the back for the restart. Glenn Watson was the next target for the bad luck arrow when the 22 car puffed out smoke with apparent motor problems. Done for the day, Watson pulled off and took home 15th place. Motivated with an opportunity to gain some points, Tiemersma steadily worked his way to the front and crossed the finish line in 5th. Tiemersma closed the gap to only 46 points back from Watson and the 2009 Championship.

George Wilson made the 8 hour trek down from Sault St Marie to race at Autumn Colours with both his Modified and Super Late Model cars. Both cars were strong and if it weren’t for twice going to the rear of the field, Wilson would have had a top five finish in his #77 Outlaw car. Also returning to OSCAAR action was race veteran Bill Zardo who had an opportunity to jump in the #00 car of Wayne Isaacs. A lack of practice time and mechanical problems slowed him down a bit but he still had a good time racing.

It was also great to see Mike Bricknell back with his #69 “Nuclear Banana” Outlaw. The Team had repaired the motor allowing Bricknell to race for the first time since his last outing on August 2nd. Dwayne Baker returned to OSCAAR racing and picked up his first ever heat race win.

The APX Racewear Hard Charger Award goes out to Lloyd Ritchie in the Standing Arrows Smoke Shop #62 Outlaw. He moved up from 14th to finish 7th. The Hoosier Tire Award goes to Roy Passer in the Jenco Equipment #27 Outlaw.

Heat race winners were #7 Derrick Tiemersma and #48 Dwayne Baker.

Normally we would be talking about the OSCAAR Champion at this point in the season. However, the rained-out event at Flamboro was rescheduled to October 17th. So there is one more race on the schedule for OSCAAR drivers, teams and fans. Hope to see you all at Oktoberfest!

Race Report by Don McLeod

Photo Albums

Web albums can be viewed through these links:

• Dave Franks Photos
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Video on YouTube

Feature (Part A)

Feature (Part B)

Feature (Part C)

Post-Race

Heat 1

Heat 2

Results: Peterborough Speedway, October 10, 2009

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