SPEEDWAY: Locals dominate internationals

SHANE HURNDELL
It may have been promoted as the International Modified Lights Spectacular but the locals not only dominated Saturday night's round at Meeanee ... they're also on target for overall honours.
Driving his 1100cc dwarfcar against the 1200cc Modified Lights, Taradale's Tony Meechan relished his home track at ZM Meeanee Speedway to take out the round with two seconds in the heats and a win in the feature. He will go into this weekend's final round in Gisborne (the first round was raced in Palmerston North on Wednesday night) five points behind his Hawke's Bay clubmate Justin Power and his father Nick Meechan is third.
"I would like to think I can make up the difference ... I'll be going for it in Gisborne. I was the only dwarfcar keeping up with the modifieds in Palmerston," Tony Meechan said.
"In Palmerston they started the modifieds off the front and the dwarfcars behind. At Meeanee it was the other way round ... hopefully in Gisborne it will be a mixed grid draw," he said.
Of the internationals expected to compete in the series, American Sherman Baumann was the only one to front - at Palmerston North and Meeanee and he didn't feature among the major placegetters on Saturday night. The two Aussies - the Queensland pair of John Tyson and Marty Warburton -"went walkabout," said series sponsor Adrian Kramer of Napier-based Kramer Engineering.
The Meechans' chances of success at Meeanee received a huge boost when Palmerston North's Ian Easton, who like Power and Baumann drove modifieds, crashed out of the round early in the first race.
Saturday night's other feature attraction was a 30-car demolition derby. Napier's Garrett Browne took home the $500 after collecting his second win, seven years after his previous one, in 50 attempts. Thirteen-time demolition derby winner, Steve Dagg of Taradale, joined Browne and four other drivers as the only ones rotating after 11 minutes of the 15-minute event.
"It was just luck ... that's all it is," said Browne, who drove a front-wheel drive Mitsubishi Sigma.
At the other end of the experience scale, 12-year-old Takapau School year eight student Randal Tarrant was the talk of the ministock class after he collected two wins in what was just his fourth meeting.
Once again there was no shortage of hits and rolls. Hawke's Bay Super Stock driver Paul Demanser fully deserved the driver of the night award for his class. He not only collected two wins and a third placing but he also put clubmate Nigel Cooper on his roof, and that's no easy feat.
Hawke's Bay stockcar driver Jacob O'Riley was involved in a memorable roll and Bay saloon driver Barry Maunder was also flipped. Cooper, O'Riley and Maunder all left their cars without serious injuries.