SPEEDWAY: Meechan in for a smashing time

SHANE HURNDELL
As a rookie stockcar driver at Meeanee this summer Tony Meechan has yet to be smashed.
But Meechan knows the unwritten rule of being nice to first season drivers at Meeanee won't apply when he competes at the 122-car North Island championships in Palmerston North tonight and tomorrow night.
"Yes you're right. I haven't received the full treatment yet. I was nudged into the wall backwards at the last meeting and it could have been worse ... I know that will change this weekend," said Meechan who plays centre back for the Marist premier soccer side in the winter.
"I'll be aiming to gain more experience in the class. Obviously qualifying for the 30-car final heats would be a bonus but if I don't have a chance of qualifying I'll try and help some of the other Bay cars out," he said.
Meechan, 25, hopes the experience gained in Palmy will help him perform well in the following week's Hawke's Bay championships at Meeanee. His Carters-sponsored Rover 3.5 litre car won the Hawke's Bay title last summer with former driver Dennis O'Brien jnr at the wheel.
"Yes I'm starting to feel a little bit of pressure already," he laughed.
After seven years in the non-contact dwarfcar class Meechan is enjoying the change.
"I wanted to try something different and I've always been a fan of stockcars since I was six," said Meechan who won one East Coast and one Hawke's Bay title in the dwarfcar ranks.
"In dwarfcars we had no mirrors and we just focused on avoiding the cars in front of us. In stockcars there's people coming from all directions towards you ... there's definitely more action," he said.
The son of former dwarfcar driver, Nick Meechan, Meechan, was quick to notice the speed difference in the two classes.
"When I first put my foot down in the stockcar it felt like there was nothing there ... it's easy to see why the dwarfcar's average speed is three seconds faster. You definitely notice the weight difference too - I've gone from a 450kg car to a 1500kg one," he said.
The fitness gained from being a soccer player for the past 20 years and his physical job, a builder with Homeworx, is an advantage in the stockcar class. Another advantage is the advice he is receiving from the car's builder Dennis O'Brien snr.
"He just knows so much," said Meechan.
The rookie will need every advantage going for him this weekend as he takes on many of the country's best drivers. Meechan will be one of 14 Bay drivers attempting to qualify tonight for tomorrow night's finals heats. He is in the same group as Brent Burgess and Shayne Melling.
Melling's father Tony Melling and Ricky Kuru are in the same group. The McLachlan brothers, Mike and Richard join Andrew Powell as the Bay's hopes in another group.
An in-form trio of Keith Hingston, Regan O'Brien and Marty Cooke must all fancy their chances of qualifying and are in the same group. Jason Palamountain, who won a feature race in Wanganui last weekend, is in the same group as Kevin Jensen and Beatle Tarrant.