Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour: John Peters
Beech Ridge/Oxford Plains Race Preview
THE STORY
WESTBROOK, Maine – John Peters of Westbrook, Maine, and the Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour hit two key Tour stops with the fifth race of the 10-race VIP Thursday Thunder Series at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Maine, on Thursday, July 18, and a 25-lap feature event as part of the 40th annual TD Bank Oxford 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Maine, on Saturday, July 20. Peters has won two of the first four Thursday Thunder races this season and sits second in the current standings, and he is also fifth in the overall NELCAR standings as a rookie. Peters finished sixth after leading late in the race in his last appearance at Oxford in early June, and he is poised to collect a victory on one of his favorite tracks on the circuit.
THE FACTS
WHO: John Peters, Westbrook, Maine
CREW CHIEF: Greg Peters, Westbrook, Maine
TEAM: No. 51 Cash For Clunkers/Derek Kneeland Racing Sedan
SPONSORS: Cash For Clunkers, Derek Kneeland Racing, Digby’s Variety, Top Gun Construction, Traxside Racing Supplies, Beaulieu Construction
BEST CAREER BEECH RIDGE MOTOR SPEEDWAY FINISH: 1st (June 2013)
LAST RACE AT BEECH RIDGE MOTOR SPEEDWAY: 8th (July 2013)
WHAT: VIP Thursday Thunder 25
WHERE: Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Scarborough, Maine (.333-mile oval)
WHEN: Thursday, July 18, 7 p.m.
BEST CAREER OXFORD PLAINS SPEEDWAY FINISH: 6th (June 2013)
LAST RACE AT OXFORD PLAINS SPEEDWAY: 6th (June 2013)
WHAT: Amsoil NELCAR Legends 25
WHERE: Oxford Plains Speedway, Oxford, Maine (.333-mile oval)
WHEN: Saturday, July 20, 7 pm.
Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour
LAST RACE: July 6, Wiscasset Speedway, Wiscasset, Maine (4th)
NEXT RACE: July 25, Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Scarborough, Maine (.333-mile oval)
CURRENT POINTS POSITION: 5th
DID YOU KNOW?
John Peters won his first career Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour race at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway on the opening night of VIP Thursday Thunder on June 13. He followed that with another win at Beech Ridge on June 27.
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 is just 15 points out of the Amsoil NELCAR Legends Thursday Thunder Series point lead with two wins and four Top-10s in four starts.
John Peters sits fifth in the overall Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour standings, the highest-ranking rookie in the field.
John Peters Motorsports fields a new No. 51 Cash For Clunkers/Derek Kneeland Racing Sedan 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 Sedan, On why Oxford is such an important stop on the NELCAR schedule: “It’s a big race. I’ve always grown up around racing, and everyone knows the biggest race of the year is the Oxford 250. We’re running on that weekend, and there’s some sort of prestige that goes along with that. All the people that are going to be there, people who are going to be watching that race, people from down South, they don’t always get to see NELCAR. You get in front of new eyes this weekend, and I think that makes it more meaningful than any of the other races we have.
“The first race (at Oxford) was a bummer because we missed it with that motor issue. The second time we went – it’s a track that’s pretty close to Beech Ridge, so we have confidence going in there. My dad always said when he was racing, that if he thought he could be competitive at Oxford, he could be competitive anywhere. Even though some of it doesn’t apply to Legends, it’s always a track we’ve looked forward to. The last time we were there, we had a fast car. Probably one of the best-handling cars we’ve ever had.”
On the Thursday Thunder championship battle at Beech Ridge: “Where I have such stiff competition going with the 38 car for the points lead, it adds pressure to the race. It’s a cat and mouse game right now. We’re going to do everything we can to come out on top. It’s going to be tough.
“Week 1 there, we had a pretty decent car. I got lucky with where I started. From there on, we’ve just kept on making some good improvements on it. We started making some progress up through the field at time, and it builds off every race.”
On how much things change from week to week at Beech Ridge: “Even with the Thursday Thunder season being so short, it does change a lot from week to week. It’s not as much about getting more speed in the car each time out, but it’s about the fact that the competition gets stronger and the cars get better. That’s the biggest thing.”
UP NEXT
John Peters joins the Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour as it begins a more intense focus on the VIP Thursday Thunder Series at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Maine… The next four consecutive events after this weekend on the NELCAR schedule are all slated for Beech Ridge’s VIP Thursday Thunder Series.