Tyler Peet Ends Eastern States Weekend on the Wrecker, Tanner VanDoren Makes History!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Middletown, NY: October 24, 2020: Eastern States Weekend has been regarded as a pinnacle race in the northeast. Even with the changes and precautions in place due the pandemic, Chris Larsen and his team worked hard to put on a great show for the 59th running of Eastern States Weekend! More than 200 drivers from across the northeast converged on The House of Power to put their skills to the test.

Promoters upped the ante this year. With no guaranteed starters, the importance of time trials and heat races were even more apparent. The roster held 74 sportsman drivers and each of them brought the best they could, leaving it all on the track. Well, most of it.

Tempers flared Friday night after the consolation races and words were exchanged between several teams. However, to be successful in this sport, you have to have a short memory and when the sun came up on Saturday, it was time to move forward to the features.

The calm before the storm in the pits is always interesting. Each pit stall has a different atmosphere. In the 12T (registered as the 12p for in Eastern States scoring purposes) pit, 17-year-old driver, Tyler Peet and his crew chief and best friend, Alex Yankowski, joked about outlandish changes they may or may not make to the car and like most teenagers, how to avoid going to the drivers meeting. Overall, it was low key and stress-free.

As Peet moseyed to the drivers meeting, his father and crew went to work making last minute adjustments and getting the car race ready. With Tyler’s return, the atmosphere changed. Game faces on. The team discussed strategy, what was said at the drivers meeting and Peet walked off about 4 miles of nervous energy before he strapped in.

Once that visor came down, it was go time! Peet lined up in the 23rd starting position and knew he had to make up ground quickly. As seemed customary for the weekend, the green flag dropped and was quickly followed by a yellow. From the drop of the second green flag, Peet was on the move! By lap 2, TP was up to 16th and set his sights on the top 10. Peet clicked off 3 more positions by ducking down and riding the inside wall, all before a lap 10 caution. During that time, Peet also had a drafting partner as Robert Bublak followed the young driver out of Lake Ariel, PA through the field. The restart went well and Peet picked up a few more spots!

His first real challenge came from the 8A of Mel Schrufer. The two battled for almost 10 laps, before Peet switched lanes and went to the outside clearing him off the turn. Unfortunately, the strong run carried Peet into the corner hard and he got jammed up behind the 69 machine. In an effort to avoid contact with Travis Green, Peet blasted the brake pedal, got loose and was along for the ride as Mel Schrufer shot up and over the front of the 12T. The lap 22 contact would put Peet back to the 32nd position.

Unfortunately, that was the beginning of the end for the 12T. After several attempts to get lap 25 on the board, the field was getting antsy and chaos ensued. As the field barreled down the front stretch a combination of sun glare and loose cars set the stage for a nasty caution that had race control putting out the red before half the field even passed the flag stand. Peet was one of those cars.

When the dust settled, the 12T sat on the front stretch with detrimental front-end damage. Peet took a ride back the pits on the business end of the wrecker ending his bid for an Eastern States win.

The disappointment was put on hold though as the TPR team watched young Tanner VanDoren take the win!! The 12-year-old has been turning heads all year, winning the OCFS Sportsman Track Championship, the pole at the Short Track Super Series Speed Showcase at Port Royal Speedway, and now the Eastern States 50!

Car owner, Pat Giuliano, made a great call putting Tanner in the 51 Hig-Fab! VanDoren started 3rd in the feature and showing the restraint and wisdom of a veteran driver, bided his time until lap 35. Tanner took the lead and did not look back! 15 laps later, the checkers flew and the young hot shoe cemented his name in the history books as the youngest driver to win at Eastern States!

A huge thank you and please remember to support our marketing partners: Yankowski’s, Shane Racing, Hig Fab Chassis, Swift Springs, O&E.H.M.R, Schneider’s Auto, Full 8 Sports, Edwards Logging, Phil’s Auto Body, A-1 Equipment cleaning, YRE shocks, Competition Carburetion, Henry’s Exhaust Systems.

Full 8 Sports is your sponsorship solutions and public relations go to for your race team! We are dedicated to assisting drivers and teams secure the resources necessary to be competitive in all levels and classes of racing. This is achieved through a marketing process that focuses on building and maintaining relationships with companies looking to brand their products and services in a unique way. We are your one stop shop for sponsor services and public relations across all levels of racing! As your dreams grow, so do ours and we will be with you every step of the way! We are never more than a text or call away to help guide you navigate the behind the scenes world of Motorsports! Your job is to race, let us take care of the rest!

Contact: Dani Seipp

Email: Dani@full8sports.com

Website: www.full8sports.com/tylerpeet