From Premier Speedway
A hard-fought third placing has seen Shaun Dobson pocket $10,000 for first place and be crowned the 2013-14 champion in the Eureka Garages and Sheds Championship at Sungold Stadium last night supported by Go Traffic.
Dobson of Tasmania was in superb form from the outset and and set up his tournament win with a sixth placing in time trials, he franked that with a win and a fifth in his two earlier heats and started the 30-lap final from fifth.
Eureka series round 12 race winner Daniel Pestka, driving for Matt Eastham was the other highlight of the evening pickpocketing the A Main from 10th position after sensationally passing race leader James McFadden in turn three on the final lap. A lapped car held McFadden on the low line while Pestka raced around him to record a deserved victory.
All eyes though were on the final three series contenders, and going into the final round Jeremy Cross held a 38 point lead from Brett Milburn with Shaun Dobson a further 23 points back but things took a dramatic turn of events for Cross early. He started his night in disastrous fashion when he spun on the opening lap of the opening heat and was relegated to rear of field and then spun six laps later and was lapped by race winner Mike Van Bremen. Cross then started the C Main from 14th and would miss a transfer spot to the B Main after finishing fifth.
Milburn would finish 10th in the final and secure second overall in the Eureka series in a ultra consistent season in the tournament and was a worthy place getter in a battle all the way to the end with the leaders.
A nice touch prior to the A Main being flagged away was when the final field let Van Bremen lead the the four-wide salute on his own in his second last race meeting when announcing his retirement from racing after 19 years.
It was Van Bremen who raced to an early lead from the ever-improving Ryan Davis and McFadden. On lap nine McFadden quickly went past Van Bremen for the lead and moments later bad luck hit Van Bremen when he broke a rear axle.
At the restart McFadden lead a flying Pestka who had swooped into contention while Dobson, Veal, Davis and Nash rounded out the top six, while Jamie Veal climbed from 13th to fourth in another brilliant drive from the newly crowned World Series rookie.
On lap 22 the cautions were on again when Mitch Foster rolled to a stop after thinking he had a flat tyre, he didn’t, and again McFadden led them away from Pestka, Dobson, Veal and Davis. Two laps later Luke Nash rolled in turn two and was out. The final laps were a battle of two when Pestka gained quickly on McFadden and the result was a heart-stopper.
“It’s a pretty cool feeling. We just never gave up. It’s been a great year for us all and I wouldn’t have done this without the great support from Freddy Walsh, my dad, my sister, James Mugavin and my car owner Harry Droste and his family. I’ve met people this year I’ve never met before and we really targeted this series and it’s paid off,” Dobson said.
Earlier in the vital time trial shakedown it was veteran Van Bremen who was the fastest of the 47 car field. His best lap was in a time of 10.975 seconds from Nash 11.001 and Darren Hickman 11.003. Cross could only a manage a time of 11.354 and was placed 17th, while Milburn was 27th.
Heat wins went to Mike Van Bremen, Shaun Dobson, James McFadden, Steven Lines, Daniel Pestka, Jamie Veal, James McFadden, David McKay.
McFadden’s efforts have seen him take the lead Parr Motorsports GF1 Chassis Track Championship. McFadden has 375 points and he currently leads Trevor Green and Jamie Veal both tied on 295 points with Darren Mollenoyux on 220.
The final points will be on the line in the final night of sprintcar racing for the season during the final night of the Easter Trail on April 20 when the winner takes home a magnificent GF1 Chassis and Panel Kit.
In the Go Switch Go street stocks final it was former national champion Brad McClure who made a late pass on Anthony Beare during the final lap to win a thrilling race with Mick Clark in third.
The next meeting at Sungold Stadium is on April 5 with the Lucas Oil Southern Speedcar Tour final and the final of the Parr Motorsports Wingless Sprints and V8 Dirt Modifieds.