Speedway: Standring wins 101st feature race

Baypark Speedway produced a racing surface full of vicious ruts and deep holes for its season finale on Saturday night.

And to re-engineer a sporting cliché, it was a case of "when the going gets rough, the tough come out of retirement" as veteran Graham Standring scored a milestone feature race victory.

Thirty years of speedway experience proved the decider in the demanding conditions as Standring (Auckland) made a last lap move to deny Hamilton's Jared Wade victory in a race he'd dominated since the second lap.

"I think that was one of my smartest races," said Standring, the former national champion who has raced only on an occasional basis since the first of multiple retirements from the sport four years ago.

"I waited and waited and just took each opportunity as it came," said Standring.

"I had nothing for Jared but I knew if there was a yellow I might get a chance."

That caution came with three laps to go and regrouped the survivors of an incident-filled race. Standring squeezed past Wade on the final lap to notch up the 101st feature race win of a speedway career that began in 1982. Auckland-based US racer Ricky Logan was third.

"It was really hard. I even used some of my old motocross experience out there because the track changed every lap," said Standring.

"All you can do is think about racing the track. You don't think about racing each other."

It was only the fourth time Standring has raced a midget this season as most of his speedway activity these days is as a track commentator and television expert.

"I'm setting a world record for retiring. I retire after every race now and I think I'm up to my 18th retirement."

While Standring's win was number 101 in feature races - achieved in Midgets and TQ Midgets in New Zealand, Australia and the USA - he still has a way to go to catch the man who's car he was driving. For car owner Danny Lendich it was feature race win number 140, of which 98 were achieved with US legend Sleepy Tripp.

Only nine of the 18 starters completed the race, shortened from the scheduled 30 lap to 15. Aucklander Chris Gwilliam had looked on track to end the season by repeating the success he achieved at the Baypark season opener in October, winning both heat races but crashed out early in the feature race when he ran over a slower car that jumped out of a rut into his path.

Aucklander Michael Pickens won the final night sprint car feature - contested over a shortened 12 laps - leading home Tauranga's Rodney Wood and Tokoroa's James Dahm.

"It wasn't ideal but it was the same for everyone," Pickens said of the track conditions.

"I understand the track was under water a few days ago and the base was just too soft. You just had to do your best with it."

The Baypark victory follows up a recent win at Palmerston North and confirms Pickens as a major force in the sprint car ranks as well as the reigning New Zealand midget car champion.

At the end of next month, Pickens switches his attention back to the midget cars embarking on a 12-race campaign in the USA with BSL Racing teamed with Brad Mosen.