Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour: John Peters
Oxford Plains Speedway Race Preview
THE STORY
WESTBROOK, Maine – John Peters of Westbrook, Maine, and the Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour return to the track this Saturday, June 1, for a 25-lap feature event at Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Maine. Peters posted his first career NELCAR Top-5 after finishing fifth in a 35-lap main event at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Maine, on May 4 – but weather and sanctioning issues have kept the Tour idle since then. Peters missed the first race of the season at Oxford after blowing an engine the night before at Speedway 95 in Hermon, Maine, and the 16-year-old high school sophomore hopes to compete for the first win of his rookie season at Oxford.
THE FACTS
WHO: John Peters, Westbrook, Maine
CREW CHIEF: Greg Peters, Westbrook, Maine
TEAM: No. 51 Cash For Clunkers/Derek Kneeland Racing Coupe
SPONSORS: Cash For Clunkers, Derek Kneeland Racing, Digby’s Variety, Top Gun Construction, Traxside Racing Supplies, Beaulieu Construction
BEST CAREER OXFORD PLAINS SPEEDWAY FINISH: N/A
LAST RACE AT OXFORD PLAINS SPEEDWAY: DNS
WHAT: Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour 25
WHERE: Oxford Plains Speedway, Oxford, Maine (.375-mile oval)
WHEN: Saturday, June 1 – 6:30 p.m., practice; 7 p.m., qualifying, 8 p.m., race
Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour
LAST RACE: May 4, Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Scarborough, Maine (5th)
NEXT RACE: June 8, Star Speedway, Epping, N.H. (.25-mile oval)
DID YOU KNOW?
John Peters won the 2012 Beetle Bug JV championship at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, making him the youngest driver (15) in track history to win a championship at the 65-year-old oval.
John Peters Motorsports fields a new No. 51 Cash For Clunkers/Derek Kneeland Racing 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 getting back to racing this weekend: “It’ll be nice. We’ve had bad luck with the weather and the sanctioning and things recently, so it will be nice not having stress going into the racing about whether or not we’re even going to get to race. I’m excited. I think we’re going to be pretty good, so hopefully things will go well.
“When we went to Oxford (to test in April), it was tough to gauge it because track was wet and it was my first time there. We did get a pretty good understanding of the track and what the car needed balance-wise, though, and we went to Beech Ridge for their test day and used it as a play day to try some different things out. Came out of that much quicker than we’d been, even when we raced there.
“I think we’ve advanced with the car. We’ve made a lot of improvements. I really think that where we are now is pretty far ahead of where we were when we tested at Oxford last month.”
On whether he feels like he can contend for a win on Saturday: “I feel like the car is fast enough, but so much of it depends on where you start. It’s only a 25-lap race, so there’s not a lot of time to come from the back. The outside groove is tough because it’s hard to keep the momentum up out there with these cars.
“It’s tough to pass on the outside at Oxford, but if you want to be good, you have to be good on the outside. A lot of people like the bottom, and it can be tough to get around guys in such a short race if everybody lines up on the bottom.”
On whether the nearly month-long layoff helps or hurts a race team: “It’s kind of hard to say. I haven’t really been in this kind of situation before. Time off, it gives you all the time in the world to play around with stuff at a practice day at Beech Ridge, so from that standpoint it’s easier than racing every weekend.
“I don’t know if it has much effect on a driver – it’s pretty hard to get rusty in such a short amount of time. It is easier to have the car ready to go, but it’s probably not a huge advantage.”
UP NEXT
John Peters joins the Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour head to Star Speedway in Epping, N.H., on Saturday, June 8… The race was originally rained out at Star earlier this season.