Peni Lalonde of Lake City, Mich., a former competitor in the Late Model division at Merritt Speedway, died Tuesday morning after a year-long battle with cancer. She was 44.

Lalonde’s death was reported by fellow Lake City driver and reigning Merritt champion Eric Spangler.

Lalonde was diagnosed last year with stage four lung and liver cancer and underwent chemotherapy treatments with the track and driver holding fund-raisers to defray medical expenses.