Crowds and racers flock to Stratford for national speedway championship

Racing was fast and furious on both nights of the Five Star Liquor New Zealand Stockcar Championship. Photo / Contact High Photography

Running the Five Star Liquor New Zealand Stockcar Championship this month at Stratford Speedway was no small feat and required lots of volunteer work behind the scenes.

All of us at the Taranaki Stockcar Club were proud to have the opportunity to run this event and bring it to Taranaki. It was the chance to provide the opportunity for our local drivers to showcase their skills and to bring visitors in the form of drivers, crews, families, supporters and fans to the Stratford township and Taranaki as a whole.

The motels were full of race cars, there were people everywhere wearing team and speedway shirts, and there was a true buzz in the air throughout the township.

Taranaki Stockcar Club president Kim Sharpe led the charge on the organising of this event that started well before racing even began for the season.

It started with sponsorship, then entry forms, track upgrades such as pit lighting, extra seating, upgraded seating in the grandstand and so on, before culminating in long days of logistical planning and configuring in the weeks and days leading up to the event start.

Stratford Speedway is very fortunate to have an excellent pool of volunteers and staff who were able to come together as a single team unit and deliver an event that ran smoothly and provided a good show, from the pre-racing activities of the fan zone right through to the drop of the last chequered flag on Saturday night.

Kim says she thanks everyone involved for all their hard work, time and effort.

“Our committee, subcommittee, staff and volunteers are all true legends, and we cannot run our club without them. There is never enough thanks or appreciation shown to you all, but you are the glue that makes everything stick. The track staff who were still on sight prepping the track at 3am Saturday, thank you.”

Many individuals need thanking, she says.

“Everyone played their part, and I am so proud of what we produced over the two days. To all the drivers from near, far and wide thank you for entering the New Zealand Stockcar event, this would have been nothing without you all. Thanks to your crew and family for keeping you all on the track.”

Kim says the event wouldn’t be possible without the support of sponsors.

“We are lucky to have so many fantastic businesses backing us. To our spectators, thank you for making the trip to the track. There is no point doing the hard work if no one comes to watch the show and we certainly had good numbers on both nights. As the president of the Taranaki Stock Car Club Inc (Stratford Speedway) I couldn’t be prouder of what we all put together over the last two days and what our club is today.”