After about 3 weeks off due to bad weather, it was really great to finally get back into the sprint car and do some racing. Round 1 of the East Coast Logistics Sprintcar Series took place at Archerfield Speedway on Saturday 5th November 2022.
Qualifying was split into groups – I was in group 2 and we were the 4th group out on track (which was good as it was a bit wet). I did 3rd fastest time in my group and our group was the fastest overall meaning I was 3rd fastest overall. That was a decent start to the night!
Heat one was inverted, which it always is at Archerfield. They ran their standard race format which puts on great racing all night, with the fastest qualifiers all off the back in the heats. So, I started 6th and only managed to pass one car finishing 5th.
Heat two I was 1st in points overall which meant starting off the rear again, so I started heat two from 6th and again only managed to gain one spot finishing 5th. With a couple of the other drivers crashing out and not moving forward meant that I was 1st overall on points for the night and I was in the dash starting from 1st.
For the dash, I had to pick out of three numbers from a bucket and the numbers were 1,4 & 6. Whichever number I picked meant I started from that spot. I was lucky enough to pick out number 1, so we all stayed in the same positions. I started the dash from 1st place and came home 2nd.
Feature time and I was starting 2nd which was still good, and I was quite happy with that. We started the race and 1st place got out on me and I was in 2nd place quite comfortably. We caught up to the rear of the field by about lap 6-7 and it was tough getting by them. As I started to get by a couple, someone spun in the middle of turn 3-4 and then another drivers’ front right hand wheel came off the car (bouncing in the air) and then he spun facing me as I came into the corner.
I slammed on the brakes and went to the high side, but he kept sliding up the track and I had nowhere to go and crashed into him, bending my front axle and also getting a flat tyre on lap 9 of the race. This meant I was out of the race so ended up DNF in the feature, which was a shame as I was just in a groove and cutting laps – but that’s racing, so they say!
Results Below:
Hot Laps time: N/A
Time Trials: 11.999 3rd overall
Heat 1: started 6th finished 5th
Heat 2: Started 6th finished 5th
Dash: started 1st finished 2nd
B-Main: N/A
A-Main/Feature: started 2nd finished DNF
So, onto next week at Toowoomba and we will see how we go. Toowoomba Speedway is one of my favourite tracks and I didn’t have a great finish there last time, so hoping to redeem myself this time around.
Hope to see you all trackside next Saturday night!! As always a big thank you to my sponsors and crew for all the help each and every one of you give me.
Sprint Shack
Englis Race Engines
