King Country Stockcars 2010

A field of 35 cars turned up on a scorcher of a day at Kihikihi Speedway for the 2010 version of the King Country stockcar title. Also on the programme was the same title for Saloons attracting a field of about 20 cars. 48a Phil Towgood is pretty hard to beat on a normal day but when he is 'in the zone' like he was for this meeting, then really the other competitors are fighting for second place such was his dominance. The same couldn't be said for the Stockcars who produced three heats of great racing, plenty of contact particularly from my 'driver of the day' Tyson Wootten who went on a seek and destroy mission from the very first lap in the 96a car.

Defending champ 95a Gary Lonergan was pretty much eliminated after a tangle with 3nzs Chris Flett just short of the finish line in heat 2 that ruined both their chances which meant we would have a new champion most likely from Rotorua with all of the leading cars on the points table from Paradise Valley. After two rounds 13r Grendon Beazley was leading on 65pts, Bill Keijzer out of retirement for this event in the 86r had 60pts along with 94r Shaun Stewart and brother Brent Stewart 95r tied with 81r Damian Orr on 59pts. Jemma Palmer in 6th place on 57pts and 28h Justin Hutchby the only non Rotorua contenders in with a chance.

Heat three was full of action courtesy of Tyson Wootten who managed to eliminate 86r Keijzer although local 916k Ben Bowen bore the brunt of the hit having been stuck in the wall for a few laps and needing to be removed from the track for medical help. I thought 35m Eben Young had managed to take the third heat win but it was credited to 13r Beazley who ended up with a 10pt lead over nearest rival 14b Gemma Palmer who took second place and 94r Shaun Stewart one point back in third place for the podium. Grendon Beazley well deserving of the title and the new King Country champ.

Some great racing with good commentary and points updates throughout the day, quite different from the rain affected meeting last time this title was run. A fairly good sized crowd turned up and during my stroll around the pits before the meeting I had the good fortune to run into Blu Rawiri one of my favourite drivers in the stockcar class, who was such an awesome guy to talk to, very friendly and approachable. I of course asked him when are we going to see him back on the track but unfortunately it wont be for a while with other committments putting the racing on hold.

Sorry this is not an indepth review but I actually just enjoyed watching this meeting and going right up to the fence on the pit side of the track, seeing all the goings-on which you can do at KK and even a few visits to the pits to see the work happening between races. Its great that you can still get that access sometimes. Only downer is that there are only a few meetings left this season and some tracks have already shut up shop. Basking in the sunshine and being well entertained at a meeting like this just makes that thought even worse!

Meeting rating : 7/10

Barry Butterworth 40 Lap Classic

It's not often the crowd is stunned into silence at a speedway meeting, but this one will be forever remembered for 11a Shayne Alach's scary exit from the track that could so easily have been another headline grabbing media frenzy. During an incident filled 40 lap feature for the Barry Butterworth Classic that had already seen some of the major contenders taken out early (we were robbed of the Pickens v Mosen battle sadly), Alach's car appeared to accelerate, make contact and start wildly flipping towards the fence in turn 3. As we now know, the car carried on over the fence and hit a truck inside the pits. Thankfully no one was badly injured, the midget car perhaps not so good but still one of those freaky accidents that hopefully wont happen again too soon. I guess part of the shock was that it seemed inevitable that someone would be badly injured. The fact that no one was, and also that this part of the pits is usually occupied by the Ministocks also added to the 'what if...' scenario that ran through your mind before the commentary team gave the all clear.

That incident was just part of a very good nights entertainment from the Midgets, a class that really seem to turn it on when they race at WP and with excellent prize money on offer and a good size crowd you could hardly go wrong. A few new ideas also being brought to the meeting by the promoters with the drivers parade on Harleys before their interviews, the grid draw for the final with each driver choosing the driver to start ahead of them (done in front of the main grandstand) which was a great new initiative and something I hadn't seen before - well done. There were other things mentioned like the 'Calcutta' and 'Flowerbox start' that went over my head but I guess we are talking 'old dog, new trick' here. Good to see something fresh I guess.

As to the actual race, 81a Michael Kendall pretty much took control about a third of the way into it, Carl Worboys and Michael Brunt taking the other podium positions. Not quite as good as last seasons Classic but still a great race and worthy of the Butterworth name. One thing I do enjoy about this meeting is that like a lot of the people in the crowd, I'm not a regular open-wheel fan so you get more of a sense of what Joe Public feel like coming to a speedway meeting and I think most would have left the Park well satisfied.

The supporting races included Stockcars who had a fairly quiet night perhaps saving their best for Kihikihi on Sunday. The ex 1p tank of Peter Rees made its debut raced by Billy Neill (who's own car I was told has apparently sold to another Auckland driver) and the tank showed it will be a potent addition to the local ranks. 95a Gary Lonergan took out the feature on the eve of defending his King Country title at KK. I'd also like to mention the printed programme that had some good articles and a 'Barry Butterworth timeline' listing some of his incredible achievements over the years compiled by James Selwyn. He really was an incredible talent and I think WP can be proud of the meeting they put on in his name. Funny thing is the woman sitting in front of me had quite an exchange with the people sitting around her when she said "Ted Tracy was a better driver" and suddenly the whole TT v BB debate started, it felt like we were back at Western Springs...

Meeting rating : 7.5/10

Footnote: There is mention in the programme of a book about Barry Butterworth called 'One Tough Dude' that is being written by Allan Batt which should be finished late 2010. If you want updates on progress email: ajbatt@hotmail.com

A link to the Shayne Alach incident caught by Petrolfumes is here.

Updates coming...

Reviews and photos from the Barry Butterworth 40 lapper at Waikaraka Park and the King Country Stockcars from Kihikihi in the next couple of days.

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A write up by Paul Hickey in the Daily Post for the World of Stocks meeting. Friday March 26, 2010.



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Gaining Momentum

World of Stocks, Rotorua

I went to this meeting last year and was underwhelmed by the qualifying on the Friday, but the finals night was fantastic. This year I couldn't afford to take Friday off work so it kind of worked out okay in the end I guess. Not too sure how qualifying went but the first race of the night for me was the repercharge which ended in a very close and as it turns out controversial finish between 218h Aaron Alderton and 14b Gemma Palmer. Palmer was awarded the win and a place in the finals and the wildcard I thought would be a no brainer going to 84b Mike McLachlan but not so, 48r Ivan King got it. I'm guessing his performance on the Friday must have been impressive and behind the decision.

Anyway, as we have seen in so many championships recently the main event threatened to be upstaged by the non-qualifiers. 'Stockcars in Paradise' offered the winner an automatic entry into the finals for 10/11 and after the first heat you wondered if any cars would front for the next two heats! Heat 1 of the World of Stocks seemed a little bit tame in comparison but by nights end we were well and truly entertained with some brutal racing and a third heat that had so many changes in points leader, it was as if it had been scripted and rehearsed. Up until about 3 laps from the finish it was looking good for a Palmerston North win; both 15p Rob Miers and 1p Peter Rees were in the box seat but a concerted effort by the locals (not reknowned in recent years as great at backing their clubmates in similar situations) managed to despatch any non R car and local boy 94r Shaun Stewart took the title. 46v Alan Levien got home for a very hard earned second place and joining him on the podium was Baypark racer 82m Brent Haynes in the borrowed 48h Gallop car. Special mention to 88h Justin Hutchby who dared to not only take on the Rees tank, but put it up the wall and end his title hopes. Good luck and God bless! 74r Mike Hohneck picked up the automatic qualification from the non-qualifiers winning the Stockcars in Paradise title from 86r Richard Keijzer and 36h Mark Caldwell in third.

This meeting is into its forth year now and I was a little bit surprised at the crowd size. It was a fairly good crowd but not what you would expect for a meeting of this calibre. Add into it the fact the the support programme included the BOP Superstock title (won by 135r Scott Hewson) and it is a bit of a mystery. You should definitely pencil this one into your calendar for next season, the Stockcar class really know how to turn up the action and they deserve a massive crowd and the atmosphere that comes with it. One of my only criticisms though would be the amount of time it takes to get the field ready for the "Start your engines" routine before the first heat, instead of building the atmosphere it ironically does quite the opposite and for the first time in a long time, the normally great track surface was not the best with holes developing in the corners that did cause problems.

As I mentioned earlier, there is one driver I haven't seen much of the past few seasons because I hardly ever make it to Meeanee and that is 84b Mike McLachlan. He has quite a reputation and after watching this guy on Saturday night I can confirm it is well earned. How that car keeps going is beyond me but he alone is worth the price of admission. Perhaps not a driver you would pick at the TAB for a podium but I bet you more eyes were on him than who ever was leading any of the three heats he took part in. Huge respect.

Meeting rating : (Saturday night only) 8/10