Memorial cup and demolition derby bring Baypark season to a close

A big field of stock cars will compete for the Harry Fredrickson Memorial Gold Cup at Baypark Speedway on Saturday night.

Autumn and the last weekend of April brings the 2022-23 racing season at Baypark Speedway to a close this Saturday night with two of the most anticipated annual events on the calendar.

It’s expected to be a bump-and-bang finale with Baypark’s biggest stock car contest of the year and the annual Metalman Recyclers Demolition Der-bay as the headline events.

The Harry Fredrickson Memorial Stock Car Gold Cup was first contested in the 2007-08 season and is Baypark’s most sought-after stock car prize. The event has attracted a 38-strong field.

Ready to challenge the Baypark regulars are strong visiting contingents from the Rotorua, Gisborne and Auckland tracks in a field that includes former winners Scott Fredrickson and Ryan Hunt.

Open wheel racing competition will be provided by the sprint cars and F2 midgets at the season finale.

Hamilton’s Dean Brindle has been the late-season pace-setter in the Sprint Car ranks and has already achieved a hat-trick of feature race wins at Baypark this season. His bid for a fourth win demands outpacing some strong opposition in a 20-car line-up which includes Baypark racers Rodney Wood and Max Guilford, Wellington’s Stephen Taylor and Tokoroa brothers James and Keaton Dahm.

The crowd-pleasing demolition derby ends the season with 30 cars entered for a battle to a standstill, with the added entertainment of a ramp jump thrown into the display of destruction.