Invercargill Stockcars on the rise again

I had noticed on Facebook recently the rise of Stockcars again in the deep south at Riverside Speedway which featured the South Island Stockcar Title a few weeks ago when Crowell were unable to run the event. I spoke to Daryl Shuttleworth who has been reviewing meetings and providing reports from the track if he had any info on why the class has suddenly come back to life? He sent me this info and put me in contact with Debra Race who kindly sent me some photos from a recent meeting and a list of current competitors.

Daryl wrote " I spoke to Steve Clements who was the first down here to buy one, he was having his house rewired by former Riverside Speedway President Baron Kelman who mentioned he was building one (it hasn't hit the track yet). Steve said he would love one so he went out and bought a car. The next to buy one was Daniel Harper who works for Steve Clements, he is also a former sidecar rider, then Rob Mitchell and Shannan Knight who were in Streetstocks also purchased cars so they started the season with four cars. They have since had a few new cars pop up throughout the year and there were 10 at the Southland Champs although two of these were from Eastern States. They are expecting numbers to be in the mid teens next season, so about 14-15 cars minimum. They have already had approaches from other clubs in the South Island wanting them to do a teams deal, some sort of South Island teams event, but nothing confirmed yet. They are keen to have a crack at teams eventually."

When I was at the NZ Stockcar title in Nelson this season I noticed Rob Mitchell in the 91i Rees chassis and was impressed with his speed and aggression. Sidecar competitor Erwin Tree is the latest to join the ranks in the 95i machine and the ex-Hadleigh Smith tank from Greymouth is now in the hands of Kelvin Lawson. Here is a list of the drivers that Debra could think of and its a great roster to get the class really pumping for next season. I believe the Stockcar rep is Glen Fraser if you are keen to join this growing class. If you have anymore info on Invercargill Stockcars, have one in your shed or plan to race next season let me know and I'll add it to this posting with photos, thanks.

  8i Aaron Borthwick
14i AJ Lapsley
22i Daniel Harper
25i Steve Clements
29i Shannan Knight
36i Dylan Mountney
38i Daryl Crack
84e Mark Taylor
91i Rob Mitchell
95i Erwin Tree
96i Kelvin Lawson

Thanks to Debra Race for the use of her photos, her Facebook page is HERE, and to Daryl Shuttleworth for the information about the class, his Facebook page is HERE. The Rock Riverside Speedway Facebook page is HERE.