Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour: John Peters
Speedway 95 Race Preview
Oxford Plains Speedway Race Preview
THE STORY
WESTBROOK, Maine – John Peters of Westbrook, Maine, heads to a twin bill of Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour racing this weekend, when the series holds 25-lap feature events both Speedway 95 in Hermon, Maine, on Saturday, April 20, and Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Maine, on Sunday, April 21. Peters posted a career-best finish of seventh – the highest finishing rookie in the field – in the NELCAR season opener at Wiscasset Speedway two weeks ago, and he’ll be making his first visit to both tracks in a Legend car this weekend.
THE FACTS
WHO: John Peters, Westbrook, Maine
TEAM: No. 51 Digby’s Variety/Cash For Clunkers Coupe
CREW CHIEF: Greg Peters, Westbrook, Maine
BEST CAREER SPEEDWAY 95 FINISH: N/A
LAST RACE AT SPEEDWAY 95: N/A
BEST CAREER OXFORD PLAINS SPEEDWAY FINISH: N/A
LAST RACE AT OXFORD PLAINS SPEEDWAY: N/A
WHAT: Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour 25
WHERE: Speedway 95, Hermon, Maine (.333-mile oval)
WHEN: Saturday, April 20 – 2 p.m., practice; 5 p.m., qualifying; 6 p.m., race
WHAT: Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour 25
WHERE: Oxford Plains Speedway, Oxford, Maine (.375-mile oval)
WHEN: Sunday, April 21 – 10 a.m., practice; 2 p.m., qualifying; 4 p.m., race
Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour
LAST RACE: April 6, Wiscasset Speedway, Wiscasset, Maine (7th)
NEXT RACE: May 4, Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Maine (.333-mile oval)
CURRENT POINTS POSITION: 7th
DID YOU KNOW?
John Peters won the 2012 Beetle Bug JV championship at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, making him the youngest driver in track history to win a championship at the 65-year-old oval.
John Peters previously competed at Oxford Plains Speedway in a “Beetle Bug”-type car in an entry-level division at the track.
John Peters Motorsports fields a new No. 51 Digby’s Variety/Cash For Clunkers Coupe in 2013 after running an older sedan model in his NELCAR debut in 2012.
In addition to racing, John Peters is an avid golfer and member of the golf team at Westbrook High School.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
JOHN PETERS, Driver of the No. 51 Digby’s Variety/Cash For Clunkers Coupe, On the challenge of running races on back-to-back days this weekend: “I wouldn’t say it’s a huge challenge, but the cars aren’t too high maintenance, which is a good thing. We’ll get to the track Saturday and race, and as long as we don’t wreck or break anything, we’ll load up and head to Oxford and do the same thing on Sunday. It’s like playing a doubleheader in baseball. It can get tough having back-to-back races on back-to-back weekends, but it’s not too bad early in the season like this.”
On heading to Speedway 95 for the first time: “I’ve been getting a lot of tips from (former NELCAR champion Evan Beaulieu) and others on how to run (Speedway) 95, and I’ve been watching GoPro videos online to try and figure the place out. It’s not like Oxford, where we did get a chance to practice last weekend and I have laps in the Beetle Bug before. I’m not totally new to Oxford – so I’m not as worried about that one as I am (Speedway 95).”
On how his goals have changed since finishing seventh in the season opener: “I think they’re still about the same. Where I wanted to be and where I ended up finishing were pretty similar. I would expect nothing less going into this weekend. I’d like to get a couple of Top-7s, Top-8s – finish in the top third of the field. I’m not sure how many cars will be at (Speedway 95), but I expect a lot of cars for Oxford.”
On what surprised him about the racing at Wiscasset: “Coming out of Thursday Thunder at Wiscasset, you had 15-lap races, so there was no chance to catch lapped cars. At Wiscasset, we were coming up on lapped cars every other lap. That was really tough. It’s tough to run double-groove racing in these cars. You get to the outside and you lose your grip. It was definitely a different experience.
“It was a lot more hectic, I’d say.”
UP NEXT
John Peters joins the Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour for a trip to his home track with a 25-lap feature event at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Maine, on Saturday, May 4… Peters, who became the youngest champion in track history last season, made his NELCAR debut at Beech Ridge last September and finished 10th.