From Archerfield Speedway
Brisbane, AU — (April 5, 2014) — World Series Sprintcars Rookie of the Year Jamie Veal took full advantage of the lead on a juiced-up, super-fast race track last night, for round 13 of the KRE Race Engines Sprintcar Series at Supercheap Auto Archerfield Speedway.
There was no doubt Veal had the speed (fourth fastest in qualifying) and he put in a stella drive to cross the finish line almost half a lap in front of nearest rival. However, an incident on lap 12 took out the top two contenders in the action packed 30 lap feature race.
Earlier, the battle for the lead between Quick Time winner Dave Murcott (11.705 seconds) and pole sitter Brent Aprile (second fastest in qualifying) came to an abrupt halt as the pair encountered a crash in lapped traffic and were left with nowhere to go. Both cars sustained front end damage and Aussie champion Murcott was livid to finish on the infield again but it was actually a damaged air box that forced Aprile to retire.
Luke Oldfield continued his stealth run to put the JB Automotive car into second from his sixth place start and Bryan Mann soldiered from 11th to finish third; hard work for all in the racy conditions.
KRE point’s leader Andrew Scheuerle was experimenting with a new configuration of his Cool chassis but the team found set-up to finish fast in fourth. Peter Lack has shown great pace recently and did again last night to round out the top five.
2013 Aussie champion James McFadden appeared unsettled all night but worked the high line well in the feature, coming on strong at one point. He ended up finishing well down the order but no doubt has learnt a thing or two in preparation for the Easter Tri-City Shootout.
Heat wins went to Melissa Boyes, Anthony Lambert, Darren Jensen (2), Kevin Titman and Terry Bracken, the latter two managed to transfer from the B-Main along with Lambert and Matthew Butler. Jamie Veal won the Bronze Shootout, Murcott triumphed in the Silver and of course Brent Aprile won the Gold.
It was a similar finish in the Compact Speedcar feature as Darren Vine also won by half a lap; a fitting way to finish in the Paul Messer Memorial. It was a close encounter in the minor placings, Wayne Corbett and Gary Hudson weaved their way through lapped traffic to finish second and third respectively.
A handful of restarts in the Wingless Sprints feature reduced Scott Thomsen’s lead but he totally dominated the race ahead of Shane Heathcote and Rob Hamilton who finished third. Stock Car numbers have swelled and it was Dudley Ward who ploughed his way through the field to take out the feature win last night as did David Tookey once again in the FordvHoldenvSigmas.
There’s nothing like a Demolition Derby to draw a crowd and that it did; enthusiastic fans flocked to the fence line and cheered as the green flag dropped on the ‘Blues vs Maroons’ grudge. Duwayne Willis was the last left standing and claimed the win for the Maroons who have now won nine years in a row.
While Sprintcar competitors now shift focus to the Tri-City Shootout – the Archerfield round will be staged April 19 – we shift focus to next weekend. The Midgets return for round 9 of the Polar Ice Series and the V8 Dirt Modifieds are back too. It’s a huge line-up of support divisions including AMCAS’s, Lightning Sprints, 360 Sprints, Microsprints and the Brisbane Sedans so come feel the rumble and join us next Saturday night. Check www.brisbanespeedway.com.au and www.facebook.com/archerfieldspeedway for details.