HI-TEC OILS ULTIMATE SPEEDWAY CHALLENGE IS BACK SATURDAY NIGHT
19 Late Models, 20 Speedcars and 48 Ultimate Sprintcars have entered this Saturday night's fourth round of the Hi-Tec Oils Ultimate Speedway Challenge at Sydney's Valvoline Raceway Parramatta.
With the points battle really heating up in all three classes series leaders Cameron Pearson (Late Models) and Kaidon Brown (Speedcars) will look to extend their respective leads while second placed Ultimate Sprintcar Championship racer Marcus Dumesny looks to vault into the lead after this weekend.
Pearson ran second to local hero Ryan Alexander at our sister track Murray Machining & Sheds Murray Bridge Speedway last weekend - the 20 year old from Healesville in Victoria has yet to score a major win like the 'Challenge' at Parramatta but he certainly has the equipment and the drive to turn that around this time.
Looking for some serious redemption is Tasmania livewire Callum Harper who had a disappointing weekend at 'the Bridge' by his own standards but returns to VR where he's a proven winner.
Fellow Tasmanian Brad Smith was one of the absolute standouts of last weekend and he was without question one of the fastest cars on track all night - a feat he'll look to continue this weekend.
Robbie Farr was a casualty early in the night in his Late Model and missed his second heat and A-Main so he'll be itchy to get back at it at VR where he was a last start winner in both Late Models and Sprintcars. Farr's misfortune at Murray Bridge was not limited to the Late Model where he crashed out of the Ultimate Sprintcar A-Main.
Previous VR Ultimate Speedway Challenge main event winner Clayton Pyne (Late Models) returns to attempt back to back and it's good to see Camden veteran Darryl "The Grim" Grimson back in the saddle.
Ben Nicastri also returns after missing the first round and second year racer Aaron "Driving Wheels" Barnes make his 2019/2020 debut.
Victorian Peter Nicola is hopping for his best result yet in the Challenge with a break through podium or better.
Speedcar gun Matt Jackson has been trying to source a mystery engine ailment that has prevented him running at 100% and the team hopes that by Saturday they can solve it in order to give him the best chance of preventing Kaidon Brown from scoring a rare 'four-peat' of successes after dominating his last three starts.
South Australian Speedcar speedsters Todd Wigzell and Robert Heard are both looking for redemption after Wigzell had qualified on the front row for the last round in Sydney but tragically hurt the motor.
Heard was fast again but had a big rollover on the back straight that will see him back this Saturday night to avenge that DNF.
Marcus Dumesny was rapid last weekend in Murray Bridge but one of the biggest impacts was that of Australian Sprintcar Champion Andrew Scheuerle who picked up a podium result and comes into this Saturday night with a third place spot in the points.
Central Coast racer Alex Orr was frustrated with his debut at 'the Bridge' but still sits in fourth place in the series heading into tonight.
Ben Atkinson will look to build on his impressive podium here for the last Challenge round as will fellow Rocket Industries supported racer and defending USC NSW Champion Sam Walsh.
The Sprintcar field is a wonderful collection of wide eyed throttle heavy rookies and steely gazed seasoned veterans with the runs on the board.
There are dozens of possibilities A-Main wise in the line-up with most looking for their first ever success and still many looking to build on a career that is already littered with success.
Qualifying for Late Models will commence at 4.45pm. Qualifying for Speedcars is set for 4.55pm. Qualifying for Sprintcars is set for 5.05pm.
Main racing and the national anthem together with a tribute to Mike Raymond OAM will commence from 5.30pm.
If you can't make it to the track don't forget to log on to www.clayperview.com in Australia and NZ and www.dirtvision.com in North America and Canada!
Entries for Saturday night are:
Late Models: V2 Peter Nicola S10 Mat Crimmins T22 Callum Harper N17 Lachlan Onley N11 Nathan Disney V10 Cameron Pearson T6 Brad Smith S7 Robbie Farr N5 Robert Carrig Q7 Bruce Mackenzie N9 Clayton Pyne N12 Darryl Grimson N51 Michael Hickey N55 Aaron Barnes N67 Edwin Borg N81 Bradley Giffen N90 Katelyn Hickey N92 Andrew Espener N99 Ben Nicastri
Speedcars: S57 Robert Heard S88 Todd Wigzell N97 Matthew Jackson V97 Kaidon Brown V71 Domain Ramsey N3 Darren Jenkins N4 Robert Jackson N8 Cameron Malouf N11 Jay Waugh N15 DJ Raw N26 Jamie Hall N32 Daniel Paterson N34 Jeffrey Burns N42 Gary Rooke N43 Glen Arnold N54 Alan Day N57 Harley Smee N62 Dan Biner N66 Ben Morgan N78 Troy Jenkins
Ultimate Sprintcars: A1 Andrew Scheuerle D2 Ben Atkinson N3 Denis Farr NS4 Jake Baines V5 Max Dumesny Q6 Michael Rowell NQ7 Robbie Farr N9 Lachlan Caunt N10 Luke Stirton NS11 Adam Hourigan N12 Thomas Jeffrey NS15 Daniel Cassidy N16 Daniel Sayre N18 Guy Stanshall N20 Troy Little NS21 Jordyn Brazier N22 James Thompson N24 Blake Skipper N32 Warren Ferguson NS35 Kaitlyn Anthony N39 Jeremy Cross N40 Chris McInerney N41 Jeff Lawler N43 Alex Orr N47 Marcus Dumesny N48 Jackson Delamont NS48 Blake Darcy N49 Jamie Matherson N52 Mark Attard N53 Jessie Attard N54 Grant Tunks N56 Mick Saller NS56 Kris Johnson N57 Matt Dumesny N61 Mick Matchett N68 James Duckworth NZ69 Brett Sullivan NS71 Michael Stewart N72 Coby Elliott N73 Darren Salmon N81 Graham Lagerlow N83 Peter O'Neill N86 Ben Atkinson Jr N92 Sam Walsh N95 Daniel Needham N96 Bruce White V96 Andy Caruana NS97 Luke Geering