Twenty-Seven Sprintcars rolled into Ausdeck Patios and Roofing Archerfield Speedway last night for round three of the East Coast Logistics Sprintcar Series, with Lachlan McHugh getting the win and becoming the first driver to get two wins on the board this season. McHugh was magnificent out in front during the feature event, weaving through the traffic and withstanding relentless pressure from a very much in-form Mitchell Gee. Luke Oldfield closed in during the later stages of the race, challenging Gee for second, but it was still Lachlan McHugh who got the win, with Mitchell Gee home in second and Luke Oldfield rounding out the podium in third. Allan Woods and Peter Lack completed the top five, while Randy Morgan, in his first race back this season finished an impressive sixth after transferring from the B-Main, and Kristy Bonsey, who had started back in 11th in the B-Main, had a sensational driver to bring the Q42 car across the line in ninth. Ryan McNamara, in only his second race meeting in a Sprintcar, not only qualified for the A-Main, but also put on a spectacular show as he raced his way home in fourteenth position.

Individual qualifying got underway with Luke Oldfield securing quick time, stopping the clock at 11.761 seconds. Brent Kratzmann, who immediately followed Oldfield on track for qualifying, come within just 0.008 seconds of quick time, but, with a lap of 11.769 seconds, he was forced to settle for second quickest overall. Peter Lack, Mitchell Gee and Lachlan McHugh rounded out the fastest five, all less then one tenth of a second slower than Oldfield. Rookie Ryan McNamara locked in sixth quickest, an 11.905 second lap, and was the last of the cars to break into the 11-second bracket. Clem Hoffmans beat Tony Wynne by just one thousandth of a second, while Andrew Scheuerle was just four thousandths of a second quicker than Steven Johnson, who in turn was just three thousandths of a seconds ahead of Andrew Baumber. Bryan Zelinski was 0.001 second quicker than Brent Aprile, while Aprile beat Dan Murray by only 0.003 seconds. The top twenty-two cars were separated by less than one second, proving once again just how tough the competition in South East Queensland is at the moment.

Randy Morgan and Allan Woods shared the front row for the start of the first heat of the night, with Morgan getting the jump and quickly settling into the race lead. Woods secured second ahead of Steven Johnson, with Johnson soon surrendering third to Brock Dean when he ran a fraction too high in turn four and left an opening on the bottom for Dean to slip through. Luke Oldfield swiftly followed Dean half a lap later, putting all kinds of pressure on Dean as he tried to make his way into third. Meanwhile at the front of the field, Woods took control of the race from Morgan, the pair already several car lengths ahead of the rest of the field, when the race was brought under caution for the spun car of Jason King. Woods led the restart from Morgan, Dean and Oldfield, and while Johnson had a huge look underneath Oldfield when the race resumed, Oldfield fought back on the top-side to maintain his position. Oldfield chased down Dean before setting his sights on Morgan. Oldfield wasted little time racing around the top side of Morgan to take over second before turning his attention to Woods. Allan Woods went on to take the win ahead of Luke Oldfield and Randy Morgan, while Brock Dean crossed the line in fourth. Steven Johnson crossed the line in fifth but was penalised two positions for hitting the cone on the last restart, thus elevating Andrew Corbet and Andrew Baumber to fifth and sixth respectively. Johnson was classified as seventh ahead of Jason King and Libby Ellis.

Heat two started with Mitch Gowland from pole position with Kevin Titman alongside and Bryan Zelinski and Andrew Scheuerle sharing the second row. Titman led the way to the first corner and quickly opened a small margin over Gowland and Scheuerle, while Zelinski in fourth tried to defend his position from Darren Jensen, Lachlan McHugh and Brent Kratzmann. Jensen got underneath Zelinski as they rounded turns one and two, while Kratzmann made his way through on the low side of McHugh. Half a lap later though Zelinski got back underneath Jensen, and McHugh raced back past underneath Kratzmann to regain his position. McHugh spent the following lap searching for a way past Jensen, eventually getting through on the low side as they navigated turn four, before relegating Zelinski back a position half a lap later. Jensen and Zelinski continued to argue over the minor places, with Jensen eventually getting ahead, while Brent Kratzmann quickly raced underneath Zelinski soon after. At the front of the field Scheuerle had displaced Gowland and had closed the gap to Titman, before racing beautifully underneath the Q59 racer as they rounded turn two, taking control of the race with only a few laps left to run. Andrew Scheuerle got the win ahead of Kevin Titman and Lachlan McHugh, with Mitch Gowland home in fourth. Darren Jensen finished fifth and led Brent Kratzmann, Ryan McNamara, Bryan Zelinski and Kris Jennings across the line.

Nelson Reddacliff, in his first race meeting of the season, started heat three from pole position with Dan Murray sharing the front row. Reddacliff led the way into the first corner and while Murray challenged on the high line, Reddacliff had control of the race. Murray initially had Brent Aprile on his tail, but Aprile quickly succumbed to the advances of Tony Wynne and slipped back to fourth, while Wynne made short work of getting past both Aprile and Murray in less than half a lap. Wynne set his sights on Reddacliff and the race lead while Aprile made his way back past Murray just moments before Murray spun to a stop and brought the race under caution. Reddacliff led the restart from Wynne and Aprile. Aprile, with Mitchell Gee close behind, patiently worked his way underneath Wynne and into second, setting his sights on Reddacliff, but the race was brought to another stop soon after when Tony Wynne spun the NQ8 racer in turn two. Reddacliff again let the restart, but this time with Aprile right on his tail and Gee sitting in third. Aprile was brilliant on the bottom, relentlessly working the low line until he made his way under the Q85 racer and into the race lead, leaving Reddacliff with Gee and Peter Lack on his tail. Gee and Lack had a great battle for the minor positions, with Gee staying in front and eventually getting underneath Reddacliff and into second, while Lack raced up the inside of Reddacliff as they came out of the final corner and approached the chequered flag, crossing the line side-by-side. Brent Aprile got the win with Mitchell Gee in second. Peter Lack snared third, beating Nelson Reddacliff to the line by just 0.045 seconds. Reddacliff finished fourth and led Clem Hoffmans, Dan Murray, Tony Wynne, Kristy Bonsey and Trent Vardy home.

Dan Murray and Bryan Zelinski shared the front row for the start of heat four, and while Murray got a brilliant start and shot into the race lead, with a margin of several car lengths by the time he hit the first corner, with wasn’t long before Allan Woods, who started from position three, made his way ahead of Zelinski and started closing in on Murray. Tony Wynne and Brock Dean both got brilliant starts, each quickly moving ahead of Zelinski with Luke Oldfield following a lap later. Dean raced through underneath Wynne, leaving Wynne with Oldfield on his tail for a few laps before the Q17 racer found a way past on the bottom as they raced down the main straight. Dean and Oldfield started to close in on Woods, as Woods tried to close the gap to Murray and the race lead. Woods, Dean and Oldfield closed in on Murray as Murray approached lapped traffic. Woods was brilliant around the top in lapped traffic, taking control of the race, while Oldfield weaved past the back markers and into second. Allan Woods went on to take the win ahead of Luke Oldfield and Brock Dean, with Tony Wynne crossing the line in fourth. Dan Murray faded to fifth by the fall of the chequered flag and led Andrew Corbet, Jason King, Bryan Zelinski and Libby Ellis across the line.

Heat five started with Mitch Gowland and Randy Morgan sharing the front row, with hard-chargers Kevin Titman and Brent Aprile from the second row. Gowland got a great start and led the field into turn one, while Titman was sensational on the bottom, boldly attempting to race underneath both Gowland and Morgan just moments after taking the green. Titman settled into second behind Gowland, though Morgan did challenge him briefly for the position, and set out after Gowland, while behind him Morgan surrendered his spot to Aprile. Lachlan McHugh, who was coming from towards the back of the field, made his way past Andrew Scheuerle and Randy Morgan before turning is attention to catching Aprile. Aprile made his way underneath Titman a few laps later, with Titman then surrendering to McHugh a couple of laps after that. McHugh was focused and quickly caught Aprile, again sizing up his opposition before racing underneath through turn two and immediately pulling ahead, reeling in Gowland and the race lead. With a single-minded approach McHugh caught Gowland quickly before racing beautifully underneath the Q32 racer and into the race lead with less than one lap left to run. Lachlan McHugh got the win ahead of Mitch Gowland and Brent Aprile, while Andrew Scheuerle crossed the line in fourth. Kevin Titman finished fifth and led Mitchell Gee, Randy Morgan, Kristy Bonsey and Ryan McNamara to the chequered flag.

The sixth and final heat of the night saw Nelson Reddacliff start from pole position, with Andrew Baumber alongside and Steven Johnson and Clem Hoffmans sharing the second row. Reddacliff got the best start and quickly secured the race lead, while Baumber and Johnson negotiated over second. Baumber slammed the wall heading down the back straight but seemed to use it for extra momentum as he raced around the top-side of Johnson to settle into second. Johnson was left with Darren Jensen and Peter Lack looking for a way through on the bottom, while Brent Kratzmann was captivating as he raced around the high line, getting around both Lack and Jensen in less than one lap and beginning to challenge Johnson. Kratzmann was relentless, persisting on the top side before eventually getting around Johnson and setting out after Baumber. Johnson was left to try and defend his position from Jensen and Lack, while closer to the front of the field Kratzmann had made his way ahead of Baumber and was focused on closing the gap to Reddacliff. The race was brought under caution with just three laps left to run when Trent Vardy spun the Q55 racer in turn three. Reddacliff led the restart with Kratzmann, Baumber and Jensen on his tail, and while Johnson and Lack challenged Jensen for position, and Baumber pulled out of the event, all eyes were on the leading duo as Kratzmann challenged Reddacliff for the race lead. Nelson Reddacliff managed to hang on to get the win ahead of Brent Kratzmann, Darren Jensen and Steven Johnson, with Peter Lack, Clem Hoffmans and Kris Jennings rounding out the finishers. Andrew Baumber and Trent Vardy both failed to finish the event.

We used the shootout format for the night, with the top eight qualifiers taking to the track for a series of three Shootout events. First up was Darren Jensen, Andrew Scheuerle, Brock Dean and Mitchell Gee in the Bronze Shootout. Mitchell Gee and Brock Dean locked in the two quickest times, securing transfer to the Silver Shootout, while Andrew Scheuerle (who missed the transfer by just 0.016 seconds) and Darren Jensen were eliminated from the shootout events.

Peter Lack and Brent Kratzmann joined Mitchell Gee and Brock Dean on track for the Silver Shootout. Peter Lack this time went quickest with Mitchell Gee also securing a transfer to the Gold Shootout, while Brock Dean and Brent Kratzmann were relegated to the infield.

Peter Lack and Mitchell Gee were joined on track by Lachlan McHugh and Luke Oldfield for the Gold Shootout, the winner of which would earn pole position for the upcoming A-Main. Lachlan McHugh locked in quick time, just 0.6 seconds ahead of second placed Peter Lack, the pair now set to share the front row for the start of the feature event. Mitchell Gee and Luke Oldfield fished third and fourth respectively in the Gold Shootout and would share the second row of the starting grid when the A-Main rolled onto the track.

Thirteen cars lined up for the start of the 15-lap B-Main, with Steven Johnson and Nelson Reddacliff to lead them to the green. Johnson got the jump on the start and quickly secured the lead, with Kevin Titman, from position three, immediately getting underneath Reddacliff and moving into second, chasing after Johnson and the race lead. Reddacliff had Mitch Gowland and Randy Morgan on his tail, searching high and low for a way past, with Morgan showing incredible speed and tremendous race craft on the high line. Morgan soon raced around Reddacliff and into third, only for Reddacliff to fire back a lap later and regain his position for a number laps. Titman was all over the back of Johnson, and challenging the Q96 racer for control of the race, having several big looks in an attempt to take control in lapped traffic, but Johnson held on. Kristy Bonsey rapidly raced her way through the field from position eleven, making up several positions in the first few laps, her sights set firmly on a transfer position, while deeper in the field Jason King and Kris Jennings raced side-by-side as they fought over the minor places. Steven Johnson got the win ahead of Kevin Titman and Randy Morgan, while Nelson Reddacliff and Dan Murray crossed the line side-by-side as Murray challenged Reddacliff for the final transfer position and a chance to start the feature event. Nelson Reddacliff held on to finish fourth ahead of Dan Murray and Kristy Bonsey, with Mitch Gowland, Kris Jennings, Jason King, Bryan Zelinski and Libby Ellis rounding out the finishers. Trent Vardy did not finish the event while Andrew Baumber failed to take the green, mechanical problems leaving him on the infield before the race had even begun.

Lachlan McHugh and Peter Lack have dominated at Ausdeck Patios and Roofing Archerfield Speedway so far this season, having each won one of the first two rounds of the East Coast Logistics Sprintcar Series, and last night they shared the front row for the start of the thirty-lap A-Main event. McHugh got the better start and immediately secured the race lead, while Lack settled into second but was instantly under pressure from both Mitchell Gee and Luke Oldfield. Brent Kratzmann raced spectacularly around the top-side, trying to get ahead of Brock Dean as the pair chased after Oldfield, while behind them Darren Jensen Andrew Corbet, Allan Woods and Tony Wynne fought over mid-field positions. With just two laps completed contact between Corbet and Jensen as they raced down the back straight saw Jensen make heavy contact with the wall before turning sharply down track towards the infield. Wynne did a truly brilliant job to, mostly, avoid Jensen, however there was contact between the pair. Jensen was unable to restart the event, while Wynne withdrew from the event shortly after the restart.

Lachlan McHugh led the restart from Mitchell Gee, who had displaced Peter Lack, with Lack in third ahead of Brent Kratzmann, who had made his way in front of Luke Oldfield. When the race resumed Lack challenged Gee, while Oldfield challenged Kratzmann, and behind them the battle raged over the minor positions as Andrew Scheuerle searched for a way around Brock Dean, and Brent Aprile and Allan Woods negotiated over track position behind them. Steven Johnson and Kevin Titman resumed their battle from the B-Main while they tried to also find a way past Andrew Corbet, and behind them Randy Morgan and Kristy Bonsey, who had used her East Coast Logistics Series provisional to start the A-Main from position nineteen, were beginning what would become an epic climb towards the front of the field. Morgan ran the top-side, with Bonsey on the bottom, the pair side-by-side while trying to find a way past Corbet and Johnson, who had both surrendered to Kevin Titman. Corbet dropped out of contention when he almost looped the Q78 racer in turn four, giving away several positions before rejoining the race. Kristy Bonsey raced underneath Nelson Reddacliff and set out after Johnson and Morgan, while Allan Woods got underneath Brock Dean and turned his attention to Andrew Scheuerle. At the front of the field McHugh had began weaving his way through lapped traffic, with Mitchell Gee right on his tail, inching closer as the back markers really came into play. Luke Oldfield finally got the better of Brent Kratzmann before spending a couple of laps chasing down Peter Lack and finding a way through and into third. Kristy Bonsey and Steven Johnson were racing side-by-side, with Bonsey on the bottom trying to get ahead of the Q96 racer when McHugh and Gee approached from behind ready to put the pair a lap down. McHugh was exceptional, hesitating for just a moment before squeezing his Q23 racer straight between Johnson and Bonsey as they rounded turn three, the trio momentarily three-wide, before Bonsey got the better of Johnson, and McHugh raced ahead. The race was however brought under caution a couple of laps later when Brock Dean and Brent Aprile became stranded in turn two.

Lachlan McHugh led the restart from Mitchell Gee, Luke Oldfield and Peter Lack, while Brent Kratzmann, who had been running in fifth, withdrew from the event before the race resumed, elevating Allan Woods to fifth. Woods raced underneath Lack moments after they took to the green, while deeper in the field Kevin Titman challenged Andrew Scheuerle, all the while Kristy Bonsey closed in and started searching for a way past Titman. Randy Morgan, in a phenomenal drive after transferring from the B-Main, was up to sixth and starting to challenge Peter Lack for a top five result. Luke Oldfield had a massive look underneath Mitchell Gee in an effort to move into second, only for Gee to fire straight back around the top-side to maintain second. Lachlan McHugh went on to take the win ahead of Mitchell Gee and Luke Oldfield, with Allan Woods and Peter Lack rounding out the top five. Randy Morgan finished a strong sixth ahead of Andrew Scheuerle and Kevin Titman, while Kristy Bonsey made the most of her provisional start with an impressive drive from nineteenth to ninth. Andrew Corbet rounded out the top ten while Nelson Reddacliff got the better of Steven Johnson in the closing stages of the race. Reddacliff finished eleventh ahead of Johnson, Brock Dean, Ryan McNamara and Clem Hoffmans. Brent Aprile, Brent Kratzmann, Tony Wynne and Darren Jensen all failed to finish the journey.

Sprintcars Queensland will take next weekend off before returning the Ausdeck Patios and Roofing Archerfield Speedway on Saturday 24 November 2018 for Round 4 of the East Coast Logistics Sprintcar Series. Hope to see you all there!