Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour: John Peters
Wiscasset Speedway Race Report
WISCASSET, Maine – John Peters of Westbrook, Maine, finished seventh in the season-opening 25-lap feature event for the Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour at Wiscasset Speedway in Wiscasset, Maine, on Saturday, April 6. It was Peters’ first career start at Wiscasset in a Legends race sanctioned by NELCAR and marked his second Top-10 finish in as many NELCAR races dating back to last season. Track position played a huge role in the race’s outcome on the chilly afternoon, as Peters joined others in the struggle to find grip on a green race track that hasn’t been used regularly in several seasons.
WHO: John Peters, Westbrook, Maine
TEAM: No. 51 Digby’s Variety/Cash For Clunkers Coupe
CREW CHIEF: Greg Peters, Westbrook, Maine
WHAT: Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour 25
WHERE: Wiscasset Speedway, Wiscasset, Maine (.375-mile oval)
STARTED: 6th
FINISHED: 7th
NEXT RACE: April 20, Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour 25, Speedway 95, Hermon, Maine (.333-mile oval)
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JOHN, HOW WOULD YOUR RATE YOUR OUTING IN THE SEASON OPENER?
I’m definitely happy with it. It’s a little better than I expected, to be honest with you. We were lucky in that we finished third in our heat race and got to keep our starting position and not go to the rear of the field (by virtue of having competed with the Tour last season).
Going into the feature, I wasn’t hoping to finish in the Top-3 or anything like that. I knew how hard it was going to be to pass, especially on the outside. Once we got racing, the leaders kind of checked out and then it all became about track position.
JUST HOW IMPORTANT WAS TRACK POSITION ONCE THE RACE GOT ROLLING?
It was all about track position. It was so hard to pass. Early in the race I knew Bob Weymouth was going to get by me on the inside, so I just fell in line. We were single file pretty much after that. Once the Top-2 got away from us, there were a group of us from about third through eighth that were really right together for most of the race.
I was trying to get Terry (Kirk for sixth), but I had to go to the outside to try and make it work. There was just no grip out there. I was sideways off the corner whenever I got out there. It made for a difficult race.
DID THE TRACK CONDITIONS MAKE IT HARD FOR YOU TO LEARN ANYTHING?
No, I feel like I learned a lot. The first practice didn’t go very well at all – the car was a lot different than what I remembered form last year. We made a lot of adjustments, and we got better as the day went on.
I definitely learned a lot. I’m happy with how hard we worked to get better, and I feel like we’ll already be better off when we get to (Speedway 95) in a couple of weeks.