After a finger injury sidelined Peter Britten and dismantled a strong season last year, the Aussie is eager to forget 2023 and regain consistency with the Super DIRTcar Series this year.
“I’ve made my bed with it,” Britten said. “Unfortunately, you can’t change the past. Obviously, it was disappointing. I feel like we were definitely building toward something in every aspect. We were probably one of the more consistent cars up front behind (Mat) Williamson and (Matt) Sheppard.
“At the time, it was really frustrating to me and everyone that helps me. But it’s in the past now, and hopefully we can get back going how we started last year and try and crack off a couple of wins.”
Britten opened last season with five top fives and six top 10s in the first eight races and sat third in points – well within striking distance of Williamson for second entering last year’s Canada swing. Then, a finger injury kept him out of the car for a month. He’ll have his chance at another consistent start when the Super DIRTcar Series kicks off its championship season at New Egypt Speedway on Saturday, March 30.
But for the “Batman” to be consistent, Britten said he needs to find a rhythm.
“I’m not the guy that walks around beating his chest saying I’m going kick all of your asses,” Britten said. “I’ve always got that quiet confidence about me that if we do the job, we know we can do, we’re every bit capable of success. Obviously, there’s a lot of people who think the same way, and that’s what makes our sport great.
“I have all the confidence in my ability. Racing is such a rhythm thing, and once you get rolling and get some good runs under your belt, I think your confidence builds. And you kind of take that confidence into every place you race. It’s just a matter of us going out and executing.”
To execute that successfully, he said he must improve his long-distance racing. Most Super DIRTcar Series Features are 75 laps or longer – more than double the laps he races weekly at Albany-Saratoga Speedway and Land of Legends Raceway.
“It seems like the longer the races are, the more time it gives the cream to rise to the top,” Britten said. “I’ve led plenty of races at Lap 20, Lap 30, and Lap 40. And unfortunately, I only have three Super DIRTcar Series wins. For me, that’s a little disappointing.
“If you’re going to win one of those races, you’re not going to walk into it. You’ve got to earn it, and you’ve got to hold off the best in the business to do it.”
Leaving 2023 in the rear-view mirror, Britten has a clear goal for this season and knows what it’ll take to return to Super DIRTcar Series Victory Lane for the first time since 2022.
“It’s easy to say (getting) a couple of track championships and wins or whatever,” Britten said. “But sometimes it’s situational too. You can have second place runs where you feel like the best car out there, but you don’t have the luck. Maybe you sneak into a couple of wins, but the rest of the time, you’ve been pretty ordinary.
“My goal is to just be consistently in the hunt as a starting point and see where it goes from there. You’re not going to win races or track championships if you’re not consistently in the hunt. I just focus on that, and the rest takes care of itself.”
Britten begins his chase for his first Super DIRTcar Series title when the Series begins its 2024 Championship Season at New Egypt Speedway in New Egypt, NJ, on Saturday, March 30, for Power in the Pines—the first stop at the Garden State venue in a decade.
If you can’t make it to the track, watch all the action live on DIRTVision, either online or with the DIRTVision app.
