Cardwell closes 25-year career in style

MOTORSPORT By COLIN SMITH
WITH retirement looming, New Zealand super saloon car champion Tony Cardwell (Auckland) will contest his final major title meeting this weekend at Baypark Speedway.
He's entered the North Island Champs at Baypark on Saturday night - a title he's rarely contested and never won in a racing career that has spanned quarter of a century.
Cardwell drove his new Ford Mustang to victory in Dunedin this month to claim his fourth national title, and soon after announced he would be retiring at the end of this season.
"Winning at Dunedin was a nice closure to my career. But I was going to retire anyway because it's time to do it," says Cardwell.
The fourth national title equalled the record set by Taranaki's Blondie Chamberlain.
There's a reason why Cardwell has never enjoyed North Island title success.
"I'm really a South Islander," he says.
Between 1983 and 1998 Cardwell won the South Island title a record seven times before moving his racing supplies business to Auckland several years ago.
The North Island Champs are the biggest event remaining on Cardwell's racing calendar before he calls time on his career.
"But I'll still be around because I'm involved in the business side of the sport," he says.
Cardwell says he may even retain the title-winning Mustang and adopt a car owner role in the future.
"I may decide to do that. It's one option that's open," he says.
It will be Cardwell's first Baypark appearance this season and there will be tough opposition, including Tauranga's four-time North Island champion Dean Waddell (Corvette), defending champion Brent Emerson of Levin and this summer's Baypark pace-setter, Shane McIntyre.
Yesterday there had been 28 entries received, with several late entries still possible.
The quality of the field will test McIntyre's record of winning every feature race he's contested at Baypark this season.
His string of consecutive wins extended to six on Boxing Night, before taking his new Pontiac to the big South Island events in early January.
"It will be good to get back on a fast track again after the tighter tracks in the South Island," said McIntyre.
"We got through the five nights down south without any major problems and spent a few nights last week tidying up panels and bumpers on the car.
"It's just the routine stuff and we're all set to go again."
Along with Waddell and Emerson, the field includes former North Island champs Donald Gregory (Wellington), Murray Pierce (Stratford), Martin Halcrow (Wellington), Kevin Moore (Tauranga), Geoff Fletcher (Cambridge) and Lance Jennings (Auckland).
And of interest will be the first Baypark appearance of a new VE Commodore super saloon in the hands of former NZ champion Peter Hemi (Waiuku).
The North Island Champs has a $15,000 total purse with the winner of the 20-car final over 25-laps taking home a $3000 cheque.
Super Stocks in Paradise
Rotorua's Paradise Valley Raceway will again host the World Invitation Super Stocks Champs in 2009.
A January 16-17 date was announced for the 2009 event during last weekend's 2008 edition of what has become the signature event for the Paradise Valley venue. Now in its fourth year at Rotorua, the World Invitation event has become established alongside some major improvements at the track, including new terracing and an expanded pit area.
This year's title attracted 56 starters on Friday night including seven South Island cars, plus the six invited overseas racers and defending champ Shane Penn.
A near capacity crowd of 9000 watched the Saturday night racing.
By winning the event, Eketahuna's Peter Bengston gains automatic entry to the equivalent event in England - the World F1 Stock Car Final in September.