Rookie Uses Bold First-Lap Move En Route To Dominating Victory
SCARBOROUGH, Maine – John Peters of Westbrook, Maine, led every lap to win the 25-lap NELCAR Legends Tour feature as part of VIP Thursday Thunder at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Maine, on Thursday, July 18.
The victory was the third of the year at Beech Ridge for Peters.
“I looked in my mirror with 10 laps to go, and I saw a gray car coming – and I knew who it was,” Peters said. “I knew (the No. 59) was fast, so I got back up on the wheel. A couple more laps, and we might have had a good race for it.
“It was exciting from the cockpit, that’s for sure.”
In 13 races thus far in his rookie season, Peters has three wins, eight Top-5s and no finish of worse than eighth.
“I wanted to get one win on the NELCAR Tour this year, and with 27 races I figured that might be possible,” Peters said. “I’m just so excited that (the wins) have happened here, because Beech Ridge is my favorite race track and the core of our season. I’m just so excited with how it’s gone, and we have another chance to get a VIP Cup. That’s just unbelievable to me.”
Peters started fourth in the 19-car field and jumped to the outside groove in the first turn to move into second. He then continued to roll the No. 51 Cash For Clunkers/Derek Kneeland Racing Sedan on the high side until he’d taken the lead before the first lap was completed.
At the midway point of the race, Peters enjoyed a full straightaway lead over his closest pursuers.
“I got lucky and I made a move on the outside going into (Turn 1),” Peters said. “I was able to get a really good drive up off of (Turn 2), and I was wheel-to-wheel with the leader already. I definitely didn’t expect that… That was really the key there. There were fast guys coming from the back, like there always is. I knew I had to get going. I’m just happy that everything worked out.”
With the win Thursday, Peters closed to within single digits of the NELCAR Thursday Thunder points lead with four races remaining.
“We were so good in practice today, honestly, I figured there was a chance that tonight could be our night,” said Peters, who won an entry-level division title in 2012 to become the youngest champion in any division in Beech Ridge Motor Speedway history.
“We were so good right off the bat in the first practice, it really speaks to how far we’ve come in the knowledge of the cars. My dad’s done an unbelievable job setting these things up, and the crew that always supports me – they do their job right and they do it well. I can’t thank them enough.”