A beautiful Auckland day saw a sizeable crowd descend upon the hallowed turf of Western Springs Speedway. Tonight was Heritage Shield night, a night that normally happens on Boxing Night. Perhaps the most bizarre thing was that the Heritage Shield was not mentioned in the leadup to the event. Is this not a marketable event? In my mind it is effectively the Auckland Championship for each class and is one of the few nights of the year that isn't round "x" of a championship. Hopefully new promoter Lewis Dawson sees that same thing I see for the potential of this event.

Upon arrival to the stadium the top surface looked a little dry but it became evident in the first few races that there was a fair bit of moisture in the racing surface. The track developed well, widening throughout the evening. Both turns cut up slightly but the bumps were avoidable for those willing to explore the high line. Overall I thought this was a very good track, it offered two lines and didn't wreck any machinery. 9/10

Just the seven quarter midgets in attendance. Nothing much to report in the opening race but the second race was much better. A four way battle developed for the lead between 16a Ryan Barry, 7a Andrew Hanson, 4a Taylor Clarke and race winner 84a Jarrod Guptill. Guptill kept it tight and the quicker guys struggled to maintain enough momentum to make a decisive pass.
Winners - 6a Connor Clarke, 84a Jarrod Guptill

I know I harp on about the terrible format in every report but every week out comes a new negative! Tonight 24b James Tollison and 9b Mark Alexander make the vast trek up from Napier and get one heat race and a feature from a middle/rear grid position. Give the boys a break. There were limited passing opportunities in the opening heat. 19a Brock Mascovich continued his ordinary form from Huntly, failing to stick to the pole and drifting backwards. Tollison showed his class in the second heat with an assured drive from back in the pack.

Others to show through included 3nz Shane O'Conner and 9a Hayden Williams. Mascovich's night of misery continued in the third heat, he failed to finish. 98a Chris Gwilliam drove well from the back of the pack to book himself a good grid position for the feature. The feature was a beauty. Polesitter 56a Ross Linklater took the early lead but it didn't last as Gwilliam seized the moment coming out of Pine Tree Bend.

A three way battle for the lead ensued as those two were joined by 14a Paul Le Cren. An inspired Le Cren grabbed the lead and set about establishing a margin. Further back it was all happening as Tollison, O'Conner and Williams all made up substantial ground from the middle of the grid. But they couldn't catch the front three. Lapped traffic became a factor and a resurgent Linklater closed the gap on Le Cren in the final stages. But it wasn't enough as Le Cren captured a well deserved victory. One of the most exciting aspects of the night was the performance of Tollison. The NZ TQ Champs is going to be a beauty this year and it won't surprise this punter to see 1nz disappearing beyond the Bombay Hills towards Napier later on this year.
Winner - 98a Chris Gwilliam, 3nz Shane O'Conner, 99a Darren Warren, 14a Paul Le Cren (feature)

One week out from the North Island Champs a big field of 22 cars were in attendance. 10usa Ricky Logan led away in heat one but came to grief, clipping the wall into Pine Tree Bend whilst trying to deal with backmarkers. Logan recovered but not before 1nz Carl Wilson had grabbed the lead. 75a Tommy Rusher was unchallenged in heat two. 27a Alan Wakeling was battling in mid pack with 78a Daniel Eggelton when Wako's right rear collided with the left front of Eggelton, ending the race for the latter. 11a Raymond Griffin and 8a Ryan O'Conner managed to make steady if unspectacular progress through the field.

The third heat saw an inspired charge from 71a Jamie McDonald. J-Mac was on a mission. 22a Dean Brindle took a more conservative approach and was another to make up spots. The fourth and final heat saw 1nz Carl Wilson book his spot as top qualifier after making several passes in the early stages of the race. The feature was a ripper after a huge early crash. At the end of lap 1 75a Tommy Rusher was up high with a car inside him. Rusher had pretty much nowhere to go and rolled his car down the front straight after contact with the wall. Unable to avoid him were 18a Greg Pickerill and 19a Jamie Duff.

71a Jamie McDonald had to restart from the back after being about 6th (more on this later) as 1nz Carl Wilson lead the field away. 10usa Ricky Logan picked off the frontrunners and he and Wilson set off into the distance. Meanwhile J-Mac was charging through and pack with a series of exciting passes. His progress halted after about five laps which merely left the door ajar for 22a Dean Brindle to make a charge from deep in the pack. Logan passed Wilson in traffic and was establishing a lead until the yellows came on with five to go. Logan was back into it from the restart and looked to have the race won.

But with two to go Logan jumped the cushion in turns 1 & 2 and put his car into the fence. Wilson inherited the lead with the consistent 11a Raymond Griffin behind him. Brindle had made his way to third with J-Mac in fourth. Wilson re-established a margin from the drop of the green and went on to win. Griffin was under all sorts of pressure but dealt with the situation as he always does, no mistakes and tidy lines to hold on to a well deserved 2nd place.
Winners - 1nz Carl Wilson (2 incl feature), 75a Tommy Rusher, 35a Hans Boere, 11a Raymond Griffin

The Midgets were into it from the drop of the green in the opening heat. 96a Chris McCutcheon led away from 13a Brad Mosen. 54a Michael Pickens picked his way through the field and was the fastest man on track. The race culminated with lapped traffic and all three drivers coming together. McCutcheon tried the high line and Pickens the middle but it was Mosen down low who made the best progress to steal the win. Race 2 was a bit more routine as 21a Carl Worboys led from start to finish. The aggrssive 11a Shayne Alach was providing the entertainment with a spirited run through the field.

Heat three saw Pickens confirm a front grid with an easy win from 33a Graham Standring. 1nz Shaun Insley looked more racey in this one after being slightly off the pace in the opening two weeks. Heat four saw 81a Michael Kendall lead away but his like of the high line burnt him when 25a Scott Buckley got up the inside in Pine Tree Bend to take the win. Mosen and Worboys made their way through to confirm good feature grids. Mosen had an adventurous race after collecting the right rear of 4a Dave Gick and bouncing off the wall!

The final heat was a little void of action. Alach made his way through from a mid-pack grid and set about chasing down Insley. Just as things were getting interesting the chequered flag came out for Insley. The B-Main and F2 feature gave the fans a chance to use the amenities before the feature races. Pickens led away from the start of the feature with Alach in pursuit. Someone got out of shape in the first corner and 25a Scott Buckley rolled gently. Buckley was unable to continue after achieving a third place start.

The restart was an instant replay with Pickens leading from Alach. Pickens established a small lead only to see Alach come back. Alach couldn't quite get close enough to put on a move. Insley was up to third when disaster struck. Coming out of Town Bend the car vaulted like a gymnast doing a vault. The ensuing mayhem saw 2nz Bill Clarkson Jr end up on the infield and out of the race. Insley pulled off a lap later. Standring also found his way to the infield a couple of laps later. The main battle was for third as Mosen made a slide job stick on Worboys on the third attempt.

Lapped traffic allowed Alach to catch Pickens. Just as it looked like Alach was going to make his move he failed to clear 5h Alvin Cobb and Pickens skipped clear never to be seen again. 87a Lance Beale got Worboys right at the end to record a gutsy fourth but it was another virtuoso performance by Mr Pickens.
Winners - 13a Brad Mosen, 21a Carl Worboys, 54a Michael Pickens (2 incl feature), 25a Scott Buckley, 1nz Shaun Insley, 87a Lance Beale (B-Main), 27a Lance Fox (F2 Feature)

Absolutely exemplary for all but two races perhaps the officials got bored and went home before the Sprintcar feature? They were going so well, the starts were excellent and there was consistency with respect to wheels on the grass (i.e one wheel slightly on the grass was not penalised). Then the Jamie McDonald incident. What happened is on the start McDonald ended up on the infield (for whatever reason) and I'm guessing the transponder zone only extends to the edge of the track. So on the restart after the Rusher crash he was put to the back.

This is where the officials had to use some common sense. No advantage was gained (he lost about 3 places) and he should have been re-instated. to his on track position. As it was they got the call wrong anyway. If his transponder didn't register the first lap McDonald would have been a lap down. Yet the official results indicate he finished on the lead lap in fourth place despite the fact McDonald never got his lap back. Try and figure that one out!! The officials also missed a McDonald jump start on a restart but he would have been hard done by to be called for that after the earlier decision. The Rusher crash should have seen instant reds but it wasn't until the leaders were back at the crash site that the yellows became reds.

After the red light the officials took lap after lap to order the field. It's amazing with all the modern technology we have that a blackboard still works better than a one-way radio system. In the Midget feature 79a Nick James could have been pinged on two occasions for jumping a restart but I believe he managed to avoid the wrath of the officials. 6/10

Another solid meeting from the team at Western Springs. With over 30 cars entered for next weeks North Island Sprintcar Champs the meeting promises to be a good one. Thankfully SPL are one of the best promotions when it comes to formats so we don't have to sit through the rubbish 3 heat format. Ricky Logan will go in as a heavy favourite after tonights performance. Brindle and McDonald look to be his major opposition although Carl Wilson also showed tonight that he can't be counted out of the equation.