Speedway: Hey, Jude, you make it better

QUIETLY CONFIDENT: Hawke's Bay's Steve Jude during the Grand Parade for the top 26 on Sunday night. PHOTO/ANDREW BRUNTON

Cocky is a word one would never use to describe Hawke's Bay superstock driver Steve Jude.

The popular Hastings mechanic has always been a quiet humble achiever over the years - whether he's racing for individual titles or as a member of the Hawkeyes team. And he wasn't being cocky during an interview prior to Sunday's second night of the BJs Bakery & Cafe Hastings North Island Championship at Hauraki Meeanee Speedway when he said he believed he was a top-three contender.

"I just felt it would be a good way to celebrate 20 years of racing for my Silver Bullet car. Finishing third was the perfect way to back up those words ... it's the first time on the podium at the North Island champs for me," Jude said after finishing two points behind Palmerston North winner Adam Joblin and Rotorua's Bryce Steiner who Joblin beat in a run-off for the title.

The Silver Bullet was previously raced by Wellingtonian Tony McLanachan and Hawke's Bay's retired two-time national champion Shane Penn who are both former North Island champions. Jude agreed his third placing was the ideal rehearsal for the Wellington-hosted national championships to be raced on Friday and Saturday nights.

"There's at least eight of us from the Bay going to the nationals. Hopefully we can work together like we did tonight ... I've got to thank the Bay boys for taking out some of the top runners so I could podium," two-time Autumn Nationals champion Jude said.

One of nine Bay qualifiers for Sunday night's top 26, Jude, finished seventh in heat one from grid six, eighth in heat two from grid 19 and sixth in heat three from grid 16. Three of the Bay's qualifiers, Adam Groome, Mike McLachlan and Dave Hatton, qualified with a top five finish in Sunday night's 16-car repechage.

The Joblin-Steiner run-off for the title reminded fans of the last North Island championship at Meeanee during the 2009-10 season which also ended in a run-off between Hawke's Bay's former national champion Joe Faram and Palmerston North's Wayne Hemi. While Faram won his run-off unopposed when Hemi withdrew Joblin had a couple of anxious moments during his start to finish victory over Steiner. "There were a couple of occasions when I thought I had over-cooked things," Joblin said afterwards.

Steiner praised his crew as well as the hospitality of Hawke's Bay driver Shane Warner for his success.

"It's awesome to give something back to the people who do all the work."

Two Hawke's Bay drivers, Regan O'Brien and Willy Rogers, made the podium in the Motorworks Hawke's Bay Challenge for non qualifiers in the 41-car championship. O'Brien finished second, three points behind Auckland winner Brad Ridland and Rogers two points behind O'Brien in third place. Just five drivers contested this title with the majority of the other non-qualifiers either fixing damage or saving their cars for the nationals.

In-form Hawke's Bay ministock champion Regan Penn won his second title in as many meetings when he won the 20-car David Jones Motors Trophy Dash with a green flag to chequers victory in the final. Penn secured pole for the final with two wins from three starts in his earlier heats.

Hawke's Bay saloon driver Steven Martin repeated his previous night's feat of two wins from three starts in a nine-strong class.

Three of Hawke's Bay's Melling brothers, Darren, Wayne and Shayne, all had wins in a nine-strong streetstock class.