Column By: BOBBY CHALMERS / RPW – WEEDSPORT, NY – He’s extremely likeable. He’s very personable. He’s a proven winner, and in 2021, Peter Britten was a contender in every DIRTcar Modified race he competed.
There were plenty of factors that led to Britten’s boost in performance this past season. The year had a lot of change for the driver from Brisbane, Queensland Australia. He made the switch from his Saturday night home of two seasons, Lebanon Valley, in favor of his former weekly stomping grounds, the Land of Legends Raceway.
That change paid dividends pretty quickly to the tune of three wins, a third place spot in track points and the attraction of a primary backer for his efforts in the form of Pepsi, through local distributor Geneva Club Beverage.
His weekly Friday night stop, the Albany-Saratoga Speedway, stayed the same in ’21 and he was in the hunt for the track title there as well, ultimately finishing fourth at season’s end with one victory.
However, probably the biggest change this season wasn’t where he ran but rather what he ran. Britten made the change to Bicknell chassis after years in the Troyer camp. From his first laps in February down in Florida until the final circuit he ran in November at Charlotte’s Dirt Track, Britten seemed like a revitalized driver behind the wheel of the Bicknell cars in his stable.
On the Super DIRTcar Series tour, “Batman” came alive in 2021 with six top 5’s and 12 top 10’s while capturing his second-career Series win at the Land of Legends on August 4th.
That confidence showed in Britten’s performance and brought the infectious smile back to his face yet again.
“Winning the tour race at Land of Legends was awesome,” Britten said. “It’s tough to win on the series, for sure. Any time you can get to victory lane against this crop of drivers is awesome.”
Knowing that the Series win came at his home track, where several hall of fame caliber drivers have been successful, was also a huge confidence booster for Britten.
“A lot of competitors have been good at Land of Legends for a long time,” he said. “I feel like that’s one of the harder places to get a win, even during weekly competition. I’m definitely proud that we’ve won there, for sure.”
Last season’s fourth place showing in Super DIRTcar Series points was a career best for Britten. In addition to the Canandaigua win, he set fast time and nearly pulled off a storybook victory in the Big Block Modified event during Super DIRT Week at the Oswego Speedway.
Britten’s stock is on the rise and the sky’s the limit for him heading into next season. However, with his recent success, Peter is realizing he’s becoming one of the veterans of Modified racing, no matter how much he doesn’t want to admit it.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time,” he said. “I don’t think of myself as a veteran but I’ve been on the series for 10 years now. My mom’s even told me that I’m not one of the young drivers anymore. I guess that makes me a veteran.”
To say Peter Britten’s got things rolling in the right direction would be 100% accurate. Come 2022, who knows. He could be challenging for a lot more wins and maybe even his first Super DIRTcar Series crown.