John Peters Motorsports: NELCAR Legends Tour
Beech Ridge Motor Speedway Race Preview
John Peters of Westbrook, Maine, will make his Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour debut when the tour heads to Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Maine, for a 50-lap event on Saturday, September 15. The annual extra-distance race is part of the PASS 400 weekend at Beech Ridge, where Peters, 15, became the youngest champion in track history this summer in the entry-level Beetle Bug JV division. The race will be Peters’ only appearance in a Legend car this season, as he takes aim at the series on a regular basis in 2013.
THE FACTS
WHO: John Peters, Westbrook, Maine
TEAM: No. 09 Cash For Clunkers/Digby’s Variety Sedan
CREW CHIEF: Greg Peters, Westbrook, Maine
BEST CAREER BEECH RIDGE MOTOR SPEEDWAY FINISH: N/A
MOST RECENT BEECH RIDGE MOTOR SPEEDWAY FINISH: N/A
WHAT: Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour 50
WHERE: Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Scarborough, Maine (.333-mile oval)
WHEN: Friday, September 14 – Practice, 12 noon; Saturday, September 15 – Qualifying, 12:15 p.m.; Race, 4 p.m.
Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour
LAST RACE: September 8, Speedway 95, Hermon, Maine (N/A)
NEXT RACE: September 22, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, N.H. (.25-mile mini-oval)
CURRENT POINTS POSITION: N/A
DID YOU KNOW?
John Peters won the 2012 Beetle Bug JV VIP Cup during the 10-week Thursday Thunder series at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, becoming the youngest driver (15) ever to win a championship at the track.
John Peters won two races and posted seven Top-2s and 10 Top-10s in 10 races in the Beetle Bug JV division at Beech Ridge this summer.
John Peters finished on the podium in his first-ever start in a stock car in June of 2012.
John Peters is a sophomore honor roll student at Westbrook High School, where he is also on the golf team.
John Peters joined his brother, Chris, as a Thursday Thunder champion at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway this summer. Chris won the Beetle Bug Varsity championship.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
JOHN PETERS, Driver of the No. 09 Cash For Clunkers/Digby’s Variety Sedan, On his goals for this weekend’s Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour debut at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway: “I’m still trying to be realistic about this. I’m trying to be humble about it, which isn’t too hard when it’s your first Legends race against a lot of good guys – you’d be a fool to think you could go in there and win your first time out.
“We really want to go out and just finish on the lead lap this weekend – that would be like a win for us. That would be huge.”
On what it takes to get around Beech Ridge Motor Speedway: “It’s definitely all about momentum. You’ve got to make sure you enter the corner correctly so you can get through it and then get down the straightaway with some speed. As (Super Late Model driver) Bobby Timmons likes to say, ‘You’re in like a gentleman, out like an animal’ there.
“It’s probably more so in the Beetle Bug car than in the Legend, but it does still apply.”
On how different a 50-lap race will be at Beech Ridge versus the 15-lap features he ran over the summer: “It will be a lot different. I’ve asked guys that race there weekly (in Legends) what it will be like, and they say the track does change. In these 50-lap races, you have to remember that it’s not a mad dash to the end like in a Beetle Bug car. It’s a long time, and it’s all about saving your stuff and not abusing it.
“I know that on this particular weekend, there’s going to be a lot of Hoosier rubber down from all the PASS cars practicing all weekend. The cars will be a little out of control.”
On his comfort level in making this Legends debut at a track where he has a lot of laps: “It’s really helpful. There were guys that wanted me to make my debut at Star Speedway or Speedway 95 or Loudon, but that would be difficult. It wouldn’t be as easy a transition.
“Being at Beech Ridge will help me make this a little easier. If went to a place like Loudon, I would be a fish out of water – not really knowing the cars, the track, the tires, any of it. It would be like a chain reaction.”