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Premier Speedway Two SRA Sprintcar Series – 60 Plus cars
SRA Media
The twelfth and final round of the SRA Open Sprintcar Series is set to be decided this Saturday night at Warrnambool’s Sungold Stadium while also on the program will be the fifth round of the Pro Sprintcar Series ensuring there will be more than sixty Sprintcars in the pit area.
Gippslander Bobby Daly holds a strong lead in the SRA Open Sprintcar Series and will be keen to lock away his maiden series crown this Saturday night while his nearest challenger is Terry Rankin who’s consistently at the pointy end of the series standings.
The top five in the series standings is rounded out by teenager Parker Scott in third, former series winner Danny Pestka in fourth and Marcus Green in fifth.
All five drivers are among the thirty plus drivers that have signaled their intentions to run this Saturday night at Warrnambool and while the championship will be decided the number of drivers not fussed on the points include a number of the countries quickest.
Fresh from a fourth Victorian title last weekend at Simpson Speedway, Jamie Veal returns to his home track with scintillating form. The multiple track champ will once again be one to beat for the win.
Joining Veal in the strong field will be former national champion Jock Goodyer who’s form this season has been irresistible while also headlining the nominations is former Classic champ Brock Hallett.
A sensational group of drivers will be keen for success as the season nears its conclusion including Supercar star Cam Waters, Speedcar ace Kaidon Brown, the extremely quick Jordyn Charge, speedy Tasmanian Tate Frost and the ever-reliable Brett Milburn.
Easy to see whoever takes the win on Saturday night will have earnt the victory and will have beaten a great crop of Sprintcar stars.
Another great field of Pro Sprintcars will assemble on Saturday night with Dennis Jones currently leading the series points following the first four rounds of the C&H Trucking Series.
Sitting just behind Jones in the series are Sam Wren and the most recent round winner Josh Buckingham. All three drivers are nominated along with a host of contenders.
Exciting to see a number of drivers beginning to make their way to Victoria with the pending Australian Pro Sprintcar Championship set to be decided in April at Avalon Raceway.
Included in that conversation are Mark and Jamie Phillips out of the Northern Territory and both will be making an appearance at Warrnambool this Saturday night.
Among the strong field are also the experienced Shane Steenholdt, the ultra fast Justin Barton, local hero Matt Symons, Tim Van Ginneken who will make a popular return to Premier Speedway, regular contender Daniel Storer, speedy Gippslander Adam Greenwood, the always fast Andy Hibbert and local ace Harry Ross.
With the weather looking perfect for Saturday all is in readiness for a huge night of Sprintcar action at Warrnambool as both the SRA Open Sprintcar Series and C&H Trucking Pro Sprintcar Series take to the wide open high banks of Sungold Stadium.
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Daly Overcomes Early Night Drama to Take the SRA Series R9 Win
SRA Media Release
SRA Open Sprintcar Series point leader Bobby Daly took a quantum leap towards a maiden series title on Saturday night when he rocketed to a popular victory in round 9 of the series at Portland’s Southern 500 Speedway. Daly would cross the line ahead of teenager Parker Scott while Ashley Cook was awarded third place in the eventful main event.
Another large crowd turned out to support the Portland event that produced plenty of stories of good fortune and as always there were numerous heart breaking stories for those chasing the feature win and also the championship points with only 3 rounds remaining.
Daly pieced his night together perfectly after he scraped into the Bronze Shootout in 8th position before he sped his way out of the Bronze, then through the Silver before eventually securing the third starting spot in the 30 lap final behind the front row of Grant Stansfield and Ashley Cook at the completion of the Gold Shootout.
Despite the win, Daly’s A-main run was a game of patience when the initial launch saw Ashly Cook jump to the lead ahead of Stansfield before the potent VA36 surprised everyone when it jumped out of gear exiting turn 2 only a handful of laps into the final. Cook was able to refire and re-join albeit at the tail of the field.
At the drop of the green Grant Stansfield looked set for a strong finish before a flat right rear tire sent him infield during a yellow light stoppage only a handful of laps later.
As the race resumed Daly inherited the lead and sped off into the distance before traffic allowed local hero Daniel Storer to eat into the lead held by Daly and eventually execute a pass for the lead only to be demoted two positions by SRA officials for gaining an advantage using the infield.
From here Daly never put a foot wrong as he withstood every challenge to cross the line ahead of Parker Scott who earlier in the evening suffered a fuel leak and the ultra-professional team elected to change motors as the team hastily made the change just minutes before his heat race. This would prove a master stroke as Scott quietly went about his business and recorded a brilliant result.
Ashley Cook was credited with third after he led early and went to the rear of the field and worked his way back into contention by race end. Cook crossed the line in fourth however former series champ Daniel Pestka was demoted 2 places by SRA officials post-race in a story similar to Daniel Storer.
Fourth across the line was Leigh Mugavin who raced well throughout the feature after starting position ten.
Fifth was Pestka while his team performed a chassis repair mid event following his second heat race ensuring Pestka would contest the Silver Shootout and ultimately the feature race.
Behind Pestka in sixth was Matt Symons followed by Daniel Storer, Josh Buckingham, impressive rookie Michael McDonald and Steve Loader.
A number of high profile drivers failed to finish the final including Harry Ross, Terry Rankin while running strongly, Phil Micallef, Jordy Langdon, Stansfield, the returning Tim Van Ginneken, Shaun Lyness and Michael Tancredi who unfortunately was involved in a turn 1 incident at a restart suffering contact from behind sending the V29 over and out of the race.
The last chance B-main was won by Josh Buckingham followed by Terry Rankin, Phil Micallef, Harry Ross, Michael McDonald and Jordy Langdon in the final transfer position. Unfortunately, David Dennison and Stephen Spark were the only two drivers who didn’t transfer into the A-main.
Heat race wins went the way of Ashley Cook, Grant Stansfield, Daniel Storer and Michael Tancredi.
Qualifying kicked off the night with Ashley Cook and Grant Stansfield both recording the quickest time in their respective groups.
Round 10 of the SRA Open Sprintcar Series continues this coming Saturday night, February 10 at Heartland Raceway, Moama.
Points
1st – Bobby Daly - 2306
2nd – Daniel Pestka – 1761
3rd – Terry Rankin – 1716
4th – Parker Scott - 1585
5th – Jamie Veal – 1475
6th – Tate Frost – 1461
7th – Cameron Waters – 1261
8th – David Dennison - 91253
9th – Ash Cook - 1217
10th – Marcus Green - 1214
11th – Dane Court – 1168
12th – Brett Milburn – 1145
13th – Grant Stansfield - 1098
14th – Glen Sutherland – 1070
15th – Jy Corbet – 1044
16th – Grant Anderson – 1026
17th – Chad Ely – 1009
18th – David Aldersley – 1003
19th – Brock Hallett – 956
20th – Rusty Hickman – 872
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Kingshott leads series after Round 11
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2024
Dayne Kingshott has maintained his lead in the 2023-24 Maddington Toyota Sprintcar Series after Rd11 was contested on his home track of Bunbury Speedway last night.
Kingshott went into the latest round on 1686 points, 22 points clear over defending series champion James Inglis on 1664.
Kingshott started fifth last night at Bunbury and dropped back to eighth, while Inglis started from p8 and moved up one spot to cross the line in seventh, with the margin now 20 points.
Brad Maiolo, thanks to his win over Andrew Priolo and Taylor Milling, has consolidated his place in third.
Maiolo started from p4 and took the win after a great battle with Priolo, who started on the front row with Milling.
Jamie Maiolo, who started and finished sixth, has moved up from fifth to fourth overall in the points.
Jason Kendrick, who started from p10 and limped home in 15th with a flat right rear tyre, has moved from sixth to fifth in points.
Andrew Priolo, thanks to his podium placing, moved from eighth to sixth.
Kris Coyle, who started seventh and finished fourth, still holds down seventh.
Kaiden Manders, who was fourth heading into the latest bout, dropped down to eighth after he crashed hard in the A Dash, and didn't take a start in the final, with the W60 heavily damaged.
Milling's third has pushed him from 10th to ninth, while Ryan Lancaster, who started p11 and finished ninth.
Round 12 of the Maddington Toyota Sprintcar Series will be held at the Perth Motorplex next Saturday night, being the second night of the Australian Mr. Sprintcar Nationals, which starts on Friday night.
Maddington Toyota Sprintcar Series top 25 points after Rd11 of 18 rounds: Dayne Kingshott 1820, James Inglis 1800, Brad Maiolo 1746, Jamie Maiolo 1712, Jason Kendrick 1684, Andrew Priolo 1650, Kris Coyle 1650, Kaiden Manders 1628, Taylor Milling 1620, Ryan Lancaster 1610, Jason Pryde 1594, Trent Pigdon 1512, Callum Williamson 1438, Jaydee Dack 1334, Kye Scroop 1308, Cameron McKenzie 1184, Jack Williamson 1154, AJ Nash 1152, Mitchell Wormall 1150, Ken Sartori 1136, Brock Kenny 940, Rico Abreu 936, Brenten Farrer 882, Brad Sweet 852, Brock Zearfoss 818.
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Brad tames the Bunbury bullring
Maddington Toyota Sprintcar Series
Sunday, February 4, 2024
Brad Maiolo claimed the LJM Grand Prix at Bunbury Speedway on Saturday night from Andrew Priolo and Taylor Milling.
He claimed the event, supported by his family's business and race team, which was round 11 of the 2023-24 Maddington Toyota Sprintcar Series championship.
The younger of the two Maiolo brothers who was contesting the round, started from p4 and pounced in the first lap to move up to second and settle behind Priolo who started on the front row with Milling.
He kept in touch with Priolo in the first half of the race as they opened up a gap on the rest of the field and worked their way through lapped traffic.
With seven laps remaining Maiolo mounted the first of his challenges and hit the lead, only for Priolo to switch back to the front on the next lap and from there they traded lines.
After a caution period with five laps remaining, Maiolo led from Priolo and in the run to the checkers, he set up the comfortable win.
It was Maiolo's first feature race win in about two years and the night started off strongly when he was second quickest in his qualifying group.
In his first heat, he started and finished third and then took a second in the B Dash to start on the outside of the second row.
Priolo was fourth quickest in his qualifying group and then took full advantage of a front-row start in his heat race to take a win.
The second-generation sprintcar racer then won the B Dash to start alongside Milling who won the A dash.
Up to that point, Milling was third quickest in his qualifying group before taking a second in his heat race and a win in the A Dash.
Kris Coyle took fourth after starting from p7, while Callum Williamson crossed the line in fifth after starting from p12.
Jamie Maiolo started and finished sixth, while James Inglis started eighth and finished seventh,
Ryan Lancaster moved up two spots to take ninth, ahead of Jason Pryde who dropped back a spot to be 10th.
Kye Scroop moved up two spots for 11th, ahead of AJ Nash who moved up six spots to be 12th, Cameron McKenzie who moved up three spots to be 13th and Ken Sartori who started 15th and finished 14th.
Jason Kendrick, who started 10th and moved up to seventh at one point, dropped back through the pack in the latter stages with a flat right rear tyre.
Jack Williamson was the only other finisher, starting 14th and finishing 16th.
The start of the A Dash was marred by a Kaiden Manders crash on the main straight after he started on the front row with Pigdon.
Manders crashed hard and was out of the show after the front-end of the W60 was heavily damaged.
It ended what was shaping up as a big night for Manders who was fourth quickest in his qualifying group and then won his first heat race, setting up a front-row start for the Dash.
Feature: Brad Maiolo, Andrew Priolo, Taylor Milling, Kris Coyle, Callum Williamson, Jamie Maiolo, James Inglis, Dayne Kingshott, Ryan Lancaster, Jason Pryde, Kye Scroop, AJ Nash, Cameron McKenzie, Ken Sartori, Jason Kendrick, Jack Williamson. DNF: Trent Pigdon. DNS: Kaiden Manders.
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Gold Coast’s Lockie McHugh Claims Nailbiting National Title
By Sprintcars Australia – Jan 28, 2024
The 2024 Australian Sprintcar Championship delivered high drama, some big crashes, great racing and unfortunately a rain delay, but when it was all said and done it produced a new Champion with Queenslander Lachlan McHugh taking out his maiden National crown. After finishing second 12 months ago in Perth McHugh went 1 spot better as he crossed the line ahead of Jamie Veal and Jock Goodyer in a non-stop 40 lap finale at the Premier Speedway in Warrnambool.
“I can’t really believe it. A couple of years ago I lead the race for 30 something laps and just fell short and then yeah so close last year finishing 2nd and just fell short again and yeah can't really believe got it done this year, so really happy with it. It was probably the worst I've felt heading into Australian title for a number of years and then yeah funny how it works”
“Yeah I didn't really feel that good in the heat, we gained some spots in the heat race tonight but didn't really feel great but obviously the rain changed the track a lot and Nick (Speed) made the right calls with the car and we were able to get around high and low in that feature which sort of made the difference in getting around those guys which I think one is the race” commented the new Australian Champion as the team celebrated.
Second across the line was local favorite Jamie Veal, who collected his sixth career podium in the Australian Championship and his second runner-up finish in the last three Title events.
“We had a good car there while we were out front. My guys gave me a great car again tonight. I would like to thank all of my sponsors, Ryder Engines, Maxim Chassis, they all provide me with the tools I need to run up front. I got caught up behind a few lapped cars there and I think that really cost us and once Lockie got by me he was simply too fast”.
“It is what is. That’s Sprintcar racing. We will load up and go again and try and win another one next year. I think I proved to everyone out there that I can still drive these cars”added Jamie after the race.
After starting on the front row Goodyer did all he could to defend his Title, but he fell a couple of spots short as he finished a distant third, over 5 seconds behind the race winner.
“The rain prior to the main made it hard to move around the track and it was just hammer down, which was a shame. Losing the start put us back in a spot and the ground we lost was hard to make up. Congratulations to my mate Lockie, last year were on the podium together and here we are again this year. Thanks to my guys for the effort, they put in and now we look forward to getting the #1 at Murray Bridge, a track that I have a pretty good record at and really enjoy” commented Goodyer following the A-Main.
Fourth place went the way of young Victorian Jordyn Charge, who continued his recent run of good form. In fact, Charge was the last driver to complete the 40-lap distance as McHugh lapped up to fifth placed Grant Anderson. Preliminary night winner James Inglis, Alex Orr, Kerry Madsen, who transferred via the B-Main, Cam Waters and Luke Dillon completed the top 10in the 20-driver line-up.
Pole sitter and early race leader Brock Hallett was the main story of the race as he the driveline let go on the Q5 while pacing the field. With his retirement Veal took over the lead but with 12 laps remaining McHugh made the winning move.
Prior to the A-Main a brief shower drifted over the venue forcing a delay with the soaked racetrack requiring some track work and then pre-race hot laps. During the hot lap session former Champion James McFadden encountered an engine failure ruling him out of the event. Tasmanian Jamie Bricknell took his spot in the feature line-up.
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