Brisbane, AU — (May 25, 2013) — Australian champion James McFadden was unstoppable at Supercheap Auto Archerfield Speedway again last night (Saturday, May 25), securing his third consecutive feature race victory in round 13 of the KRE Race Engines Sprintcar Track Championship, presented by Ausdeck Patios and Roofing. It was far from easy on this occasion though as McFadden trailed Todd Wanless for much of the event, only hitting the front in the closing stages of the race.
With Wanless backsliding after contact with the wall, Danny Reidy snared second spot ahead of Andrew Scheurele and Kevin Titman. A red light restart with just three laps to run, following a big wreck from Brett Thomas, enabled Wanless to effect repairs and salvage a fifth-place finish in advance of Brodie Tulloch, Darren Jensen and Dan Murray, with Steven Johnson and Mark Pholi completing the top ten. In a race that ultimately produced a few casualties, Craig Stevenson was the only other driver to make the finish.
The action began on the opening lap when front row starter Jason Kendrick looped in front of the field and was slammed hard by Peter Lack who, along with David Muir, took no further part. At the same time at the back of the field, Anthony Lambert somehow found himself upside down and out of action. With Kendrick banished to the back for the restart and McFadden promoted to the front row, there was a reasonable expectation that the national champ would simply charge away into the distance. However, both Wanless and Reidy got the better of the start and led McFadden through the opening laps. McFadden soon disposed of Reidy and set sail in pursuit of Wanless. The ensuing dice saw the duo swap the lead on several occasions with Wanless refusing to concede and bouncing back each time to reclaim the lead. It wasn’t until lap 26 that McFadden finally made the pass stick and assumed control while Wanless, having tagged the wall, soon fell into the clutches of Reidy, Scheuerle and Titman before proceedings were interrupted for a final time when Kendrick, who had been making solid progress from the rear, spun again in turn two and sent Thomas skyward. Others who failed to go the distance were Adrian O’Connell and Brent Kratzmann, who tipped over in turn four on lap 15 while running strongly inside the top six.
McFadden, as he does consistently, cut the quickest lap in time trials, stopping the clock at 11.505 on this occasion. Kendrick was next quickest, with Muir, Reidy and Tulloch, who impressed throughout the night, the only others to clock under 12 seconds.
The six heat races, presented by Right Price Exhausts and Lucas Oils, were won by Murray, Thomas, Johnson, Jensen, O’Connell and Kratzmann. Kendrick earned pole position for the feature when he trumped Wanless, Reidy, Lack, McFadden and Muir in the Spanloc Dash.
O’Connell took out the East Coast Logistics B Main, leading Johnson, Murray and Lambert in transferring to the main event. Brad Ayers and Terry Bracken were next best ahead of former Dirt Modified racer Mick Sauer, who looked very solid on debut.
The Super Sedan feature race was a very close, albeit somewhat processional, affair that saw South Australia’s Dave Gartner secure a rousing reception from the large crowd when he slipped underneath Wayne Randall on the final lap to snatch victory. Gartner, who had spent the previous 29 laps attacking Randall from all sides, was rewarded for his determination and tenacity when he edged ahead as they swept under the white flag. Mark Pagel finished in third spot ahead of series leader Craig Torr, who expanded his points advantage with another solid result, with Tasmania’s Steve Latham rounding out the first five.
Greg Maher was next best in advance of Brett Randall, David Musch, Kyall Fisher, Josh McLaren and Colin Moss. After a slow start, Darren Kane was running fifth until contact with Latham on lap 13 resulted in flat tyre and an early exit. Unfortunately for newly-crowned Queensland champ Mick Nicola, his race ended before it really began and he was soon joined on the infield by Sean Black and Tim Smith.
No surprises in the AMCA nationals feature race with Nathan Durston leading all the way to defeat David Ohl, Matt Hardy, Andrew Robinson and Jason Molle.
In Junior Sedans, Carter Armstrong survived a series of challenges to win the Feature event in advance of Hayden Turner, Jacob Jolley, Joel Berkeley, Brandon Heintjes and Damon Johnston.
The racing continues at Supercheap Auto Archerfield Speedway next Saturday night with a diverse program of events featuring 360 Sprintcars, Wingless Sprints, Late Models, Lightning Sprints, Compact Speedcars, Stockcars and Australian Championship events for BIS Sedans, Open Sedans and Ford versus Holden versus Sigma.