Wanless Extends His Run Of Podiums

From jak industries.media

ABC Auto Gear Racing team driver Todd Wanless extended his run of podium finishes in Sprintcar competition to five with a solid second place in the penultimate Round of the 2009/10 Qld Speedway Spares Series at Titan Garages Brisbane International Speedway last Saturday night.

It was a fairly successful night at the track for Wanless and the ABC team with Pete Thorley also finishing in the top five and retaining his lead in the Series Championship ahead of the final event of the season in Brisbane on June 5.

Driving the #2 Tyrepower/Self Serve Auto Parts J&J, Wanless timed in second quick behind his team mate and went on to place third and first in his Heat races to be top qualifier for the Dash. Wanless paced the field in the six lapper, winning the start and posting the fastest lap of the race on his way to securing pole position for the night’s twenty-five lap Feature event.

However Pete Thorley’s progress through to the Feature wasn’t as smooth as Todd’s. After setting quick time in the #51 Tyrepower/Action Metal Recyclers Eagle with an 11.950s lap – the only driver to dip into the eleven second bracket during the timed sessions – Pete got caught up in a incident in his first Heat race and rolled the car before crossing the start line. With damage mostly confined to the wings and a flat left front tyre, Pete was granted a restart in the race from the rear and he kept pace with the pack to finish in eighth position. Despite the crash, Pete still qualified for the Dash on the back of his time and a sixth place finish in his second Heat while also securing vital points towards his tilt at the Series crown.

The Feature itself was a reasonably uneventful race for both drivers, with Todd getting out-jumped by eventual winner Allan Woods on the initial start and chasing the back of the #28 for the entire distance. Todd did manage to draw alongside Woods at one point and momentarily took the lead only for a race stoppage to negate the move before the lap was completed. Likewise, Pete ran sixth for much of the first half of the race and was involved in a good battle for position with Kevin Titman and Richard Morgan before crossing the line in fifth at the end of the twenty-five lap journey.

“Woodsy was just a bit too good for us tonight, he got us on the start and did a good job out in front and deserved the win” is how Todd summed up his second place finish. “I thought we had him mid-race when we were in traffic but the yellow came out and he then made the best of the restart. We’re happy with another podium though, course it would have been nice to win tonight but it shows that we’ve got a fast car here on a regular basis and we’ll see if we can get the win in the last race of the season in a couple of weeks time.”

With just the one Round of the Series remaining, Pete continues to lead the Drivers Championship although his lead over Richard Morgan has been cut to just twenty-nine points following last Saturday night’s event. Timing in well, consistency through the Heat races, qualifying for and finishing the Feature in the Final Round will be paramount to Pete’s chances of securing a maiden Series Title to go with his Qld Title success of 2008. And, as an added bonus, ABC Auto Gear Racing is also in line to collect the Car Owners Championship if Pete can clinch the driver’s Title on June 5.

ABC Auto Gear Racing Team Results:

Q2 Todd Wanless: Timed in 2nd quick, Heats 3rd/1st, Dash 1st, A-Main 2nd.

Q51 Pete Thorley: Timed in 1st, Heats 8th/6th, Dash 5th, A-Main 5th.

Team Partners And Supporters:

ABC Auto Gear Racing thank the following companies for their continued and valued support of their racing program:

ABC Auto Gear
Tyrepower
Action Metal Recyclers
Action Tyre Recyclers
Self Service Auto Parts
Grove Truck Sales
Rocklea Truck Parts
Aljon Manufacturing
Benic Enterprises
Lucas Oil Products
MHF Equipment Finance
MAN
KRE Race Engines
Pro Yamaha
Colorcorp
Jak Industries
Amazing Signs
PWR Performance Products
Wanless Enviro Services
Brisbane Truck Centre
Western Star Trucks
Wanless Truck Parts
B&B Caravans
Baron Media

—— ends release ——

Attached Image:

ABC Auto Gear Racing team driver Todd Wanless in action at Brisbane International Speedway. (Photo: Baron Media)

Team and Information Websites:

For additional information on the ABC Auto Gear Racing team, news and results on the internet, we invite you to visit the following websites:

Todd Wanless – toddwanless.com.au

Sprintcars Qld – sprintcarsqueensland.com.au
Sprintcar World – sprintcarworld.com.au
Performance Wholesale World Series Sprintcars – worldseriessprintcars.com