It was smashing time at the Prestige Pools Waikaraka Family Speedway on Saturday night, 16th December. The Kihikihi Krushers representing their South Waikato club took on the alternative Auckland Stockcar team, the Sinnerz, and got beaten.
Stockcar teams racing is unique to New Zealand. Two teams of drivers, representing their provincial clubs, go head to head with the object of crashing and smashing each other to a standstill. At the start Jamie Stanaway was driven hard into the concrete wall in the very first corner of the first lap of the race by the Auckland #996, Blake Brooks. Stanaway was left stranded atop the wall. Both cars took no further part in the teams contest, Brooks because his gearbox was wrecked and Stanaway as he had needed outside assistance to be removed from the wall. In the second lap Josh May of the Sinnerz used his car, numbered 969, to ram Kihikihi's Bejamin Ellis hard into the concrete wall. Both cars had serious damage and neither completed another lap although May, even without steering, kept trying to hit opponents and was effective in slowing opposition cars down by getting in the way.
The winner of a team's race is the club who can get one of their cars to the finish flag first. Although visitor Ben Ellis lead the first lap his car was wrecked before he could complete a second circuit and the fast Sinnerz car numbered 999 Josh Simpson took control of the race until, on lap seven, he was delayed and team mate Brad Simpson went to the front to lead the four cars (from the 10 that started the race) still turning laps. The 666 Sinnerz car lost the lead after a head on collision with Krusher Nigel Hazelton in pit bend. Hazelton's car was crippled and effectively couldn't be steered but the driver still managed to dive out in front of passing Auckland cars and caught the Sinnerz 666 by surprise in an attack deemed later by officials to be against one of the few rules of team racing and resulted in a subsequent disqualification. When the race leader was stopped by a head on collision the last remaining mobile Kihikihi car of Ayden McPherson slipped past into the lead. Alas that lead lasted less than half a lap as Auckland's Logan Peat although four laps down was still mobile and very effectively dealt to McPherson and allowed Josh Simpson, #999, to take the chequered flag, and finish the race as the winner. McPherson was second and the Sinnerz #666 was third, albeit a lap down.
Josh Simpson also won the Stockcar feature race. Heat wins went to 145a Jessica Peat and 66a Hayden Hart.
Also racing at the meeting was a field of seventeen Six Shooter Sprintcars who raced cleanly with only one major crash in four races. The open wheelers were racing the second round of their 0800Muscle $5,000.00 three round series. Heat wins all went to local racers, 47a Rose Halfpenny, 15a Chris McNeil and 19a Zane Cooper. The 20-lap feature saw a car wrecking series of rollovers by Mt Maunganui visitor 55m Paul Collins. Collins led the first 15 laps but a 360 spin saw him swallowed by the pack and a lap and half later he took on the concrete wall and crashed. Andrew Groshinski had what looked like a solid lead but when the field concertinaed whilst the remains of the 55m car was removed from the track the 11a was swamped at the restart, took another car in the side that bent his steering and was lucky to survive going into cemetery bend three wide and on the outside without also getting upside down. Zane Cooper in his Lucas Oils 19a led the final five laps and took the feature win.
