The night started with qualifying, and Jay Doerr and ‘The Crowd Pleaser’ Kelly Balson tied for the pole position with times of 14.99 seconds, while the top seven drivers were all within 11/1000ths of a second on the timing systems in the competitive session.

Doerr was able to take an early lead in the first of two 50-lapper while Balson was shuffled back in the pack. 2008 Series champion Shawn McGlynn was the first to apply pressure to Doerr before a caution slowed the field on lap seven.

The restart from that caution would prove to be the only one of the night, as Josh Wood passed McGlynn to take second position. As the green flag run wore on, Wood tried to get by Doerr numerous times, almost succeeding while working heavy lapped traffic late in the race, but having to settle for a second-place finish to Doerr at the end of the 50-lap affair. Balson clawed back to third, getting by McGlynn late in the event, shuffling McGlynn back to a fourth-place finish. Dave Connelly would round out the top-five.

Doerr spoke about his first career win in the Lucas Oil Sportsman Cup, saying, "Our car was on rails in the first 50-lapper. It’s been over three years since we won a feature so this has been a long time coming. We had some good runs to close the season last year when we first got the car, but couldn’t finish the deal. We started to lose the brakes late in the race, and I had to back the corner up to make sure I wasn’t going to get beat coming off, but Josh raced me really clean and we had a lot fun racing."

     The inversion was made at the start finish line as Doerr drew a five, which would put Connelly on the pole for the second half of the twin bill, and McGlynn beside him on the initial green flag.

     Connelly grabbed the early lead with McGlynn in tow, but it was Wood that was on the charge again, moving to second shortly after a lap 19 restart. Wood looked like the biggest challenger until a flat tire forced him to pit road under green just after the halfway mark. Doerr was the next to challenge Connelly until a late race restart when McGlynn moved to second-place past Doerr, but Shawn was unable to do anything with Connelly as Dave picked up his first career Lucas Oil Sportsman Series victory, with McGlynn second, and Doerr rounding out the podium.

Balson finished fourth, with Jason Meyer rounding out the top-five.

     Doerr leaves Peterborough as the point leader, and is thrilled to be in that position, "It’s been a long time since we’ve led any point standings, but we’ll take it and get ready for Sunset Speedway next weekend."

Unofficial Points Standings after 1 of 7 events – 1. Doerr – 103 points, 2. Balson – 98, 3. Connelly – 97, 4. McGlynn – 96, 5. Meyer – 84.

     For more information please visit www.lucasoilsportsmancup.com, www.peterboroughspeedway.com, or www.sunsetspeedway.ca. Or contact Dave Alexander at dalexand@sympatico.ca.

Release prepared by Jamie Maudsley. For more photos visit www.maudsleymotorsports.com.