THRILLS AND SPILLS: No one was giving an inch or lifting their foot on Saturday evening.
Jayden Ward from Palmerston North is the new North Island Stockcar champion.
Ward, the current 2NZ and former New Zealand champion, survived two nights of brutal stockcar racing action at Oceanview Speedway to take the spoils on Saturday evening.
Friday night saw 77 cars try to qualify for the 26-car finals field, with Ward showing glimpses of what was to come in topping his group.
Other group winners were Damien Orr (99R) and Michael Rumney (72R), while Mark Woods (517S) and Dion Mooney (6V) were tied at the top of the Red group.
Notables to miss the finals were Gary Lonegan (55A) who punctured a tyre in the final qualifying heat, rising talent Todd McLachlan (55W) and George Frear (32P) who looked certain to qualify before being caught up in someone else's argument, and being towed off.
There was a three-way tie for the final two places between Randall Tarrant (66B) and locals Blair Lockett (89V) and Mark Johnston (78V) but Lockett had mechanical issues and couldn't make the run-off. His weekend was over.
A large crowd poured into Oceanview on a clear and cool Saturday night, being treated to some red-hot action.
The final 26 comprised nine Palmerston North drivers, five each from Rotorua and Stratford, two each from Hawke's Bay, Wellington and Whanganui, and the lonely Dave Moore from Huntly.
It was clear that team tactics would be the order of the day.
Ward took the opening heat from fellow Palmerston North driver Stu Rackham in 29P. But behind them there was plenty of carnage.
Alec Wilson (67P) hit the wall hard on the opening bend.
Then one of the favourites to win, William Humphries (94P), came together with Brendon Tye (669P) exiting the southern bend and both cars rolled in spectacular fashion.
Mooney escaped the carnage to finish third, followed closely by Kyle Lane (91W) and Tyler Walker (33S), while Walker took the second heat, slipping past Mooney in the closing laps.
Ward finished third, but was relegated one position by the Speedway New Zealand stewards for a race infringement, leaving Johnston in third place.
After two heats, Ward and Mooney were tied on 49 points, with Walker a point further back on 48. Next of the best were Rackham on 44 and Shane Davis (7W) with 42 points.
Davis victoryDavis was on the front row of the grid for the final heat, with his bright orange car covered in black tap in an attempt to be invisible. It worked, and he streaked away for the win from team-mate Lane.
Yet the battle behind them was intense as Bevan Phillips (72S) and Ron Tye (99P) tried to run interference for their clubmates Walker and Ward respectively.
Mooney powered his way towards the front of the field, only to run wide in traffic and lose a couple of crucial places.
When the points were tallied, Walker and Ward were tied on 72 with Mooney third on 70 points.
A run-off was held, and after a cat and mouse start where the two cars inched away from the start, it was Ward who prevailed.
It was a masterclass in Stockcar racing from the young Palmerston North competitor, who is the form driver in the class so far this season.
He stayed out of trouble, even in the action-packed final heat, and showed a level of race-craft beyond his years.
Ward celebrated his victory with an impressive burnout in front of the crowded embankment at the southern end.
Walker was fast all weekend in a car formerly driven by Ward's father Graeme, also a former New Zealand Stockcar champion.
After years where the class has been dominated by Peter Rees-built cars, Palmerston North chassis-builder Keith Gill will be delighted to have provided the two winning cars.
While Mooney was fast and smooth all weekend, but the sheer weight of numbers of Stratford and Palmerston North cars worked against him.
However, just finishing third was a huge achievement after his car was rebuilt in the days before the event.
The second tier championship was won by Caitlin Hayward (94M) from Todd McLachlan in 55W.
Sandy Flett took third place in 898V after Joshua Annabel (39V) was excluded from their third place run-off.
And Francis Potaka (52V) was awarded the trophy for the best stirrer of the meeting, which surprised no one.
President Alan Luoni and the entire Oceanview Speedway team can be proud of an outstanding event.