Sept 27th Capital City Speedway

The Giant Tiger race team was in Ottawa for the second Friday night in a row, to close out the regular season of racing. After another last place start in the heat race, Paul once again finished in second spot. The feature race brought a 6th place starting position, and by lap 3 Paul was attempting to pass for the lead. He was very careful to not make contact with the race leader. On lap 7 we made a move to the inside and started to take over the lead, only to have the # 66 car cut down on the straightaway, and Paul could not avoid him or the crash. We had to go to the rear of the field on the restart, and we were able to get back up to third place by the last lap,but ran out of time to move any further. The Giant Tiger team feel they were robbed out of a feature win , but will have to get it back next season.

Sept 19th Capital City Speedway

It was the re-scheduled Canadian Nationals that had been rained out on Sept.6th. We started last in the heat race, and finished second. Then the Giant Tiger car started the 30 lap feature from 4th place.Paul spun out while passing for second place. After starting from last place after the spin, and surviving two direct hits from behind we managed to finish in 2nd place at the end of the feature. We now have a win, a third, and a second in the 3 years that event has run. There was a second feature that night, and Paul was able to come from the second last starting spot to finish 3rd at the end.

Peterborough Speedway Aug 23

After a good run in Kawartha last night the team has travel a few km up the road to Peterborough Speedway. After the first practice we changed the gear in the car and lined up for our first heat. Paul drew pole position for the first heat and managed to stay ahead of the pack for his first Ontario Legends Series heat win. The second heat was a reverse of the 1st and Paul started last and was able to make his way up to 7th place. At intermission the speedway held a Fan Appreciation night and allowed all the fans on the track to get autographs and see all the cars close up. Paul started 6th in the feature race. 10 laps into the race the red flag came out and all cars were stopped on the track while the ambulance tended to someone in the pits. Once the ambulance was back in position the race resumed. 8 laps later a serious accident occurred and the red flag came out again. The #33 car of Paul Peirek spun between corners 3 and 4 , Paul Dejong just missed him as he was directly behind Peirek as he started to spin. Peirek touched the infield and caused a huge cloud of dust and the number #15 car of Rick Cook slammed into the drivers side door of Paul Peirek. The race was red flagged at at that point as they tended to both drivers. It took so long to separate the 2 cars that the tracks 11pm curfew had been exceeded and the race was called at lap 19. Paul finished 6th. Both drivers appeared to escaped any serious injury but Paul Peirek has a hopefully minor leg injury as you see the bars of the drivers door completely collapsed and contacted the seat and pushed it in on him.

Kawartha Speedway Aug 22nd

The Giant Tiger race team was in the Peterborough area for a weekend double header at Kawartha and Peterborough speedways. Friday night we were at the fastest track the Legends run on , Kawartha speedway. Paul drew a 7th starting spot in his 1 and only heat and made his way through the field to finish 2nd. That earned him a 6th place start for the 25 lap feature in which he made his way to 4th place at the end. I good result considering the quality of the field tonight. Tomorrow we will be a Peterborough speedway.

August 9th Capital City Speedway

The Giant Tiger team was back in Ottawa this weekend racing as part of the ACT tour weekend race. As usual, Mother Nature appears to dislike auto racing. Practice and heats were to start at 2pm but a steady rain kept all cars of the track until just after 6pm. That forced the organizers to cancel all heat races and we drew for a starting spot. Paul started 17th of 19 cars. Paul quickly started to move through the field but with a shortened race of only 20 laps there wasn't much time. Paul was running 4th and was right on the bumper of #20 Frank Johnston for 4 or 5 laps. Paul made his move on the white flag lap entering corner 3 and got by Frank , but a couple of lapped cars (deja vu from Barrie)were at the wrong place and the wrong time and caused Frank to have to move high just as Paul was passing him. They touched wheels and Paul spun. Paul was able to get going and finished 12th. A great race to watch but with a disappointing result. Our next race is another double header weekend Aug 22 at Kawartha Speedway and August 23 at Peterborough Speedway.

August 2 Barrie Speedway

The Giant Tiger race team was in Barrie to race with the Ontario Legends Series. Practice was delayed an hour due to ...what else..rain. The team fought a loose race car during practice and made many changes to get the car right. Paul started 7th in the 1st heat and made his way through the field to finish 2nd. Paul started 3rd for the 2nd heat and made his way to second just behind the #88 car for the second time tonight. Paul qualified 3rd for the feature race but they inverted the top 4 meaning Paul started outside pole. Paul took the lead with a good start and lead for 4 laps. The #88 car slid by on the bottom, and the #24 was right there. Two laps later we were in third and now had to fend off a very aggressive Tim Fernandes in #77. Paul was still in third after getting the two laps to go flag. On lap 23, when a lapped car let the first two cars through, and then slid high at the last moment and blocked us. We tried to cut to the bottom, but Tim and Adam Cuthbertson shot by on the bottom to push us back to fifth place on the last lap. It was a disappointment to have a lapped car cost us two positions, but the Giant Tiger team had a great race anyway. The next race is this Sat. Aug. 9th in Ottawa at 2:00 pm.

July 13th Kawartha Speedway

Sunday we were at the high banked Kawartha Speedway in Fraserville as part of the ACT Summer Sizzler 200. We struggled for speed earlier in the day and changed a gear and then struggled with handling as the temperature got very hot in the afternoon. A huge field of over 28 Legends cars showed up for the race. After struggling all afternoon and a bunch of changes for the feature, Paul started 16th and raced his way to 11th place just behind Frank Johnson. Video is opening few laps of feature race.

July 12th Mosport Speedway

The Giant Tiger race team made it's way to Mosport Speedway's fast 1/2 mile track this weekend as part of a 2 day , 2 race trip. As with the the last couple of races at Mosport, mother nature was the eventual winner as all but one heat race was washed out with rain. On the card that night was the super fast Osscar Outlaw Super Late Models.

June 29th Capital City Speedway

Rain date from June 28th at CCS. A good field of 19 Legends cars showed up for some Sunday racing. Paul won his first heat and ended up finishing 3rd in the 35 lap feature race.

June 4th Capital City Speedway

The Giant Tiger Legends race team was at Capital City Speedway for the second time this year. The car worked well in practice, and we backed it up by winning the first heat race again. Paul survived a first lap bumping incident, to go on for the win. The feature saw us start in third place and jump to the lead on lap one. On lap 3 there was a caution, and Paul had to be very careful on the restart due to oil dry on the inside of turn one. The # 55 car passed us on the outside, and with 5 laps to go the # 77 of Tim Fernandes used the "push to pass " bumper and Paul finished in third place. It was a good night of racing, and the Giant Tiger car was in the mix the entire time. Our next race will be on Sat.June 28th in Ottawa as part of the big June Jam Night Of Thrills____________________

Mosport May 31st

The team did not travel to the fast 1/2 mile track due to terrible weather conditions. Next Race is June 5th in Ottawa at Capital City Speedway.

2008 gets underway!!!!!

Racing went well this Friday night. 17 Legend cars were there to start the season off. Paul started the heat in 6th, and made some great passes and was in the lead by lap 3 and checked out. A late caution caused a restart but Paul got a good restart and grabbed the checkers. Paul started 15th in the feature, lots of crazy traffic to deal with and by just past half way was passing Frank for second place !! Paul got by him into second place in corner 1, and then Frank and Paul got together and Paul spun out. Back to the rear with only 5 laps to go. Paul was on a mission, and he passed Frank at the checkers for 4th place, but that was all she wrote. The #16 Giant Tiger Car was great all night and only a little fender and running board damage to fix. The stands were packed with fans, and it was a great start to the season.

Sept 22nd - Barrie Speedway

Saturday Sept 22/07 was our last scheduled Ontario Legends Series race with Paul planning to attend the Asphalt Nationals at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in October. Paul was doing double duty this weekend as he was also driving the #37 Late Model for Valley Full Throttle Racing. Getting the late model up to speed meant little time to practice the Legends car. Paul was running 3rd in the first heat and had to spin to the infield to avoid an accident late in the race. Paul ended up 9th. Off to the Late Model car and they were running a double feature so the first race of the day was a 35 lap race. Early on the car inexperienced major brake problems that resulted in several spins . Paul eventually parked the car until repairs could be made. Paul's 2nd Legends heat did not go much better with handling problems resulting in an 8th place finish. We made some major chassis changes for the feature in an attempt to get the Legends car back up to speed. The legends feature (see video) went much better with Paul starting 18th and finishing in 9th place. The Late Model's had a 50 lap feature and after the brakes were repaired and some chassis adjustments Paul drove the car from a last place staring position to a 13th place finish in his first day in the car.

Sept 8th - Capital City Speedway

Story to follow, Huge field for the Legends Regional Qualifier Frank Johnston and Shannon Stiles waiting to race Legends Heat 1 Race: Monster Truck Action:

Aug 15th Capital City Speedway

more to come

August 11th Peterborough Speedway

The crew arrived at Peterborough Speedway 4 hours early in order to try to fix the car in the parking lot on another very hot day. After major front end repairs the car was taken out in hot laps, and it actually drove fairly well, even though the frame is bent. We started at the back of the first heat, and moved up to seventh at the finish but the car was very loose. After an adjustment to tighten it up, Paul started on the outside of the front row, but fell back to 8th at the finish. More adjustments were made to try to improve the car for the feature. Starting 13th, Paul was up to 10th on lap 4 when it all went wrong again ! Paul had to swerve hard to avoid the # 02 car and he spun out into the grass. The caution came out for Paul's spin and then the # 7 car of Matt Marshall crashed into the # 33 car and rolled several times end over end, and over the wall into the spectator fence. He was knocked unconscious, and the car was destroyed, but he walked away in a few minutes. They say it was the worst crash in quite a few years, and our team wishes Matt a speedy recovery from what appeared to be only minor injuries. The car was not handling well after the restart, and Paul finished near the back of the pack. The team will try to repair the car in order to race it on Wed. Aug 15th at Capital City Speedway, and Jeff will also return behind the wheel of the # 18 car for a two car assault.

Aug 10th Kawartha Speedway

The team headed to Kawartha Speedway this hot Friday night. The #16 car would draw a last place start on this fast 3/8 mile oval in the first heat. A great start would see Paul get to 4th place on lap 2, only to see the position evaporate as Paul spun the car entering turn 2. We finished 10th in the heat. The 2nd heat saw Paul start on the pole, and he lead every lap en route to his first heat win in the Ontario Legends Series! It was a slippery race due to an oil down in the late model race. Paul started the feature in 13th place and was running 7th on th last lap when disaster struck. Paul crashed into the # 21 car very hard, while trying to get around two other spinning cars. We received major front end damage, and had to be towed to the pits resulting in a 17th place finish.The crew had to work for two hours to get the damaged car back in the trailer.More work would be required in order to race Sat. night in Peterborough.

Aug 8 Capital City Speedway

Wed night was the first of three races planned in 4 nights for the Giant Tiger team. Jeff took the night off, and Paul would drive the older car which allowed the new car to be ready for the weekend. It was like re-uniting with an old friend, as Paul charged from 10th starting place to a second place finish in the first heat. The car was great, and we followed it up with wins in the 2nd heat and the feature ! That made it two feature wins in a row for Paul in two different cars. It was also the first night for our new associate sponsor , TZ Hair Salon in Petawawa. Welcome aboard and thanks to Darrel and Theresa. The car # was adjusted to reflect Paul's familiar # 16, but it will return to #18 when Jeff retakes the wheel on Aug 15th at Capital City.

July 25th Capitial City Speedway - 2 outta 3 ain't bad

Both Giant Tiger cars were back in Ottawa this week for the Wednesday night races. In the first heat , Paul started deep in the field and quickly made his way to the lead. Right from the start Jeff's car didn't appear right and soon had to drop out with a failed clutch. Paul was leading with 2 laps to go when the number 77 car tried to make a pass for the lead and was hit by the #5 car which turned the 77 into Paul and they they locked bumpers. Paul had to start 2nd last with a green/white/checkers restart and in 2 laps managed to get back to third place. In the 2nd heat ,Paul put on a show by quickly taking the lead and never giving it up to take the win. Jeff missed the 2nd heat while the crew were busy replacing the clutch in his #18 car so he could get back on track for the feature. The feature went just like the 2nd heat for Paul , he quickly made his way to the front and then held off a few attempts by the 77 car and then put some distance between himself and second place and easily took the feature win. Jeff got tangled up with the 21 car early in the race and had to come in to the pits for some bodywork to be removed and then returned to the track for a solid 5th place finish considering the right rear rim and trailing arm were badly bent from the earlier contact.

July 14th Mosport Speedway

Mother nature decided this race - we were rained out.