SPEEDWAY: Five out of six for son of a gun

SHANE HURNDELL
Don't be surprised if the national Superstock title returns to Hawke's Bay this summer with the current champion's son.
While Hawke's Bay-based Palmerston North-contracted national champion Bryce Penn remains undecided about defending the title at the Auckland-hosted nationals at Waitangi Weekend, his son Shane, who drives for the Hawke's Bay Speedway Club at ZM Meeanee Speedway, continues to enhance his reputation as a serious contender for the title.
Shane, 38, won all three races in the class at Saturday night's meeting to take his tally to five wins from six starts at Meeanee to date this season.
"Yes it was flying and I was pretty happy. I hear the new paint job looked good too," said Shane, who copped a bit of flak from fellow competitors for not having his ex-Tony Mac Silver Bullet painted in time for the Labour Weekend opening night.
Shane, who has been racing for 16 years, doesn't intend to travel out of the Bay to too many meetings this summer but has targeted the Wanganui-hosted North Island Championships on January 1 and 2 and the nationals. He finished second at the 2002-03 season's nationals and is a former North Island and New Zealand Grand Prix champion.
"I know it took Dad 32 years to win his first national title. Hopefully it won't take me as long," said Shane, who runs Hydraulics Hawke's Bay in Napier.
It shouldn't take as long for Shane if he continues to perform like he has during the first three weeks of this season.
While Penn and co were producing the speed in the superstock class, apart from one hit which saw John Hynd put fellow host club driver Nigel Cooper, up on the wall in the feature race, the stockcar class drivers were providing plenty of hard-hitting action. Host club drivers Jason O'Brien and Michael McLachlan shared the $200 prize for producing the first roll over after they rolled Gisborne visitor Shane Malcolm in the feature race which was won by Hawke's Bay's Tony "Shiny" Palmer.
Malcolm was the driver of the night for the stockcar class and Hawke's Bay's Matt Demanser picked up the award for the Superstock class.
Efficient Carrying Company sponsor the prizes for the feature races in all classes and once again one of their TQ team, Craig Todd, took out the feature in his class. This was his second win of the evening and his teammate and uncle Steve Todd, who was the driver of the night for the class, won the other race.
Their clubmate Darren Warren, who is in his first season out of the ministock ranks, did well to collect a third placing in this highly competitive class.
His sister Amanda collected the driver of the night award in the ministock class after winning the feature race for what was again the biggest class of the meeting.
Host club saloon car driver Steve Flynn matched Shane Penn's effort of three wins on the night including the feature race in which he pipped his brother Grant. The Flynns clubmate Barry Maunder continued to impress with his improvement and his third placing in the final heat earnt him the driver-of-the-night award for their class.
A member of the Napier Pirate Rugby and Sports Maddison Trophy-winning rugby side, Wayne "Biff" Melling took out the feature race for the streetstock class after earlier collecting two second placings. Fellow host club driver Richard Houston, who collected first, second and third placings, was judged the streetstock driver of the night.
A 10-minute Danks Fireworks Spectacular ended the night.