Welcome back, everybody, to the grand opening of the Lucas Oil Superstock and Super Saloon Series at Robertson Prestige International Speedway!
It’s hard to believe it’s been 218 days since we were here last. And what a spectacular night it promised to be, with hotdogs fresh and hot, and the sauce ready to be poured!
Youth Ministocks
First out for the season were the Mentor Youth Ministocks. How great it is to see some of these new bees buzzing around the track, having the time of their lives!
Race 1: Great to see so many familiar names from last year! First place went to 185p Blake Murphy, followed by 47p Olly Hopkirk in second and 18p Aiden “Black Panther” Waihi in third.
Race 2: Gibbs took the chequered flag, followed by 6p Ruby Garth and 57p Ashton Dame.
Race 3: Lovely to see 23p Kobe Dorn out in front with his pedal to the metal! Coming in close behind were 21p Mason Taylor and 53p Callum Tootell.
Race 4: Garth took the win, followed by Dame, with 86p Kaylie Petersen in third place.
Race 5: First to take the flag was 48p Keaton Hercoe, with second place going to Dorn. Rounding out the pack was 66p Blake Preston.
Minisprints - Little Things with Wings
Next on the programme were the little things with wings: the Minisprints! I must admit, the graphic designs and colour schemes on the Minisprints always look immaculate. I’m not sure if 42p Todd Philps knew which class he was in, as he rode the wall and successfully came off it like a stockcar driver on a mission!
Race 1: First across the line was 97p Jordan McLeod, with 53v Dylan Smith coming in hot on his heels. Third place went to 8p Glen McCutcheon.
Race 2: 1nz Karl Uhlenberg took the flag, followed by 7s Bronson Pierce in second and 10s Jonathon Noonan in third.
That brings us to the feature, where Uhlenberg was once again too quick for the pack, followed by McLeod and 3nz Daniel Nickel.
Superstocks - The Big Boys’ and Girls’ Toys
Next up were the big boys’ and girls’ toys: the Superstocks! The first race of the night saw major damage to the side rail of 797p Cory Dame’s car. 166v Hayden Hart had a great first race, taking the win ahead of 172p Daniel Burmeister, whose new paint job looked very smart. The glowing lights underneath his car are certainly giving people something to talk about! 156p Trent James rounded out the top three.
Heat 2: 34p Rebecca Barr’s brand-new car looked absolutely stunning, but boy, did she take a beating in this race! 7p Shane Mellsop showed her the wall by the pit gate. The next minute, she was trying to take a shortcut over the bonnet of 114p Harrison Cheetham’s car! What a competitor! But there’s an old saying that red goes faster, and I’m sure it helped 10g Peter Rees. His brand-spanking-new paint job looked amazing as he took the flag. Second place went to 28s Blair Uhlenberg, with 45p Dion Henderson in third.
Heat 3: The win went to James, followed closely by Uhlenberg, with 24p Ashton Dorn rounding out the podium in third place.
After tallying the points, Uhlenberg took out the opening round of the Lucas Oil Superstock Series, with Rees victorious over James in a run-off for second place overall.
Stockcars
Stockcars were out next, and how good was it to see 175p Kyle Lampp, a very skilled and seasoned driver, take the flag in the first race? He was followed by 43p Quentin “Hitman” Hammond, with 52v Mitchell Lockett in third.
Race 2: 135p Jaden Hall crossed the line ahead of 267p Karlin Painter-Dudley and 212v Blair Reeves-Smith.
Race 3: There was some good, hard racing between 76p Cameron Renwick and 48p Josh Mulcahy, with Lampp taking third place.
Race 4: The out-of-towners dominated, with Lockett taking the win ahead of 54w Daniel Pye. And thank goodness for 68p Keanu Wallace, bringing it home for Palmy!
Super Saloons
Super Saloons never disappoint at Palmy, and last night was no exception! We got to see 27s Joe Ingram, 97m George Crawford and 28b Jeremy Browne show us how to parallel park side-by-side in front of the grandstand! 44p Brendan Sharland’s car needed the help of two tow trucks to get back to the pits, but all in all, the racing was fast, smooth and very exciting.
Heat 1: Crawford got the job done, and in excellent fashion, followed by Ingram and, never far behind, 2nz Steve Flynn.
Heat 2: There was a huge battle between 58p Peter Bengston and 6p Grant Flynn. After all the ducking and diving, it was Bengston who managed to cross the line in first place. Third place went to 7m Brent Emerson.
If the battle in heat two wasn’t enough, you should’ve seen the battle in the feature! Crawford and Steve Flynn were like two men possessed, producing just about a photo finish. But it was Crawford who nosed ahead just enough to take the win, with Bengston rounding out the podium.
We look forward to seeing you all next week!
Word on the Street
By Nicola
Full results - https://speedhive.mylaps.com/Events/3762903
