Waikato Stockcar & SSCAR Titles, March 16
PlaceMakers Huntly Speedway
Four titles packed into one nights racing usually means good viewing and that's how it panned out at PlaceMakers Huntly Speedway on Saturday night. The class that got my attention and entry fee was of course the Stockcar title but I knew the SuperSaloons would deliver and despite a few missing big names due to suspension, the racing in this class really did steal the show. 7m Brent Emmerson, 21w Donald Gregory, Grant Flynn in 24a Ben Harding's car and 5b Steve Flynn providing most of the fireworks. Donald Gregory taking the final race and Brent Emmerson the overall title for the Burger King SSCAR series seemed a fair outcome. Grant Flynn driving Harding's car though was the highlight for me, if that's what he's capable of doing in an unfamiliar car, the imagination runs wild should this become a permanent arrangement!
I wasn't 100% sure of the format for the Stockcars, but 36 of them were split into two groups for two qualifying heats and 30 cars fronted for what I thought was a one heat final but the all-in last race of the night might have become a second finals heat for points. Overall the title went to 48h Scott Gallop. Auckland cars were given a pretty rough ride as per usual which is part of the attraction of this title, good local rivalry between these two clubs. 34a Mark Wearing, 29a Scott Tennant and 95a Gary Lonergan all impeded at some stage by 55h Neville Hazelton while 5h Andre Stenson also proving a nuisance to Kihikihi and Auckland cars. 49h Tony Van Lieshout unlucky to be fed into Stenson's car in turn four for one of the bigger hits of the night. Gallop adds his name to an elite group of Waikato drivers to have won this title but two previous winners fell at the last hurdle; 218h Aaron Alderton was a contender for the title until 38a spun him late in the race and despite winning the final heat, 88h Justin Hutchby didn't have enough points from the first heat to repeat his win of 2011.
2013 48h Scott Gallop
2012 Not held
2011 88h Justin Hutchby
2010 81h Rodney Smythe
2009 218h Aaron Alderton
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