This place looked to be the Kihikihi of the South Island. Facilities were a little minimalistic and cars were parked all over the embankment. It had the look of a Sunday afternoon speedway meeting at some track out in the wops. On the positive the track looked to be a very unique shape, a little like Woodford Glen though more of a true "D" shape. The banking on the track excited me. The track is surrounded by a large bank which gives a great natural viewing point without need for a grandstand.

The shape of the track is simply awesome. For Super Saloons it poses plenty of drama's and not one driver looked to have the hairpin at the top of the D mastered consistently during the weekend. The track preparation was also of a high quality. The commentators did mention something about it being a bit bumpy on night one but really there was nothing wrong with it. Passing was a factor at both ends of the track. The night two surface wasn't quite as good but it wasn't far off either. Passing was still a factor in the racing, especially if your name was Dean Waddell.

Having four heats instead of three on qualifying night worked for me. It hid an ordinary support programme while rewarding excellence over consistency. A top driver could record a DNF and still qualify. That's what qualifying should be about, getting the best drivers through to night two.

Unfortunately the Cromwell team had to use the three heat format even though they didn't want to. Once again the format failed to fire. Everyone from the paperboy to the priest could see that 81m Dean Waddell was the best driver on each night. With cars staying largely on track in the first two heats, Waddell had to physically pass cars to make up the spots. Enter heat three and with all the other contenders nowhere near where they need to be Waddell could only look in the rear vision mirror as car after car found a way to record a DNF.

The benefactor ended up being 26m Shane McIntyre who never looked like passing the 9 cars required to beat Waddell on points. Once again the three heat format required far too much luck to take the win. But no doubt SPANZ will go on allocating non-contact titles using the three heat format and we will get more titles like this where luck plays a huge role rather than pitting the best against the best in a fastest off the front showdown. On the plus side it was great to see the Cromwell team put plenty of thought into their formats even if they weren't allowed to run them.

Fans are allowed right up to the second fence during racing which looked to be about two metres back from the track fence. This seemed a bit close and would be downright dangerous if Sprintcars were racing or for than matter any class that uses a fuel which burns without a flame. Once several fans stand by the fence it becomes impossible to see for the several thousand fans who have also paid their $$$ to watch the action. Drinking also proved to be prevailent and the place lacked a family friendly atmosphere. As fighting broke out just as 1,2,3nz were being recognised I couldn't help but think that some of the crowd had turned up more for a drinking session than for the racing. I'm not sure how the Cromwell team is going to deal with this. Parking cars in the arena makes keeping alcohol under control a real nightmare but it's an issue they need to deal with.

Whilst a little low on analysis the commentary team provided plenty of entertainment. One of the blokes was just hilarious with his old school sayings. He wasn't even trying to be funny, he would throw in something in the middle of a sentence and just keep on trucking. My perosnal favourite line of the weekend

"I haven't had this much fun since mother let the geese loose in the Laundry"

Being a small club Cromwell really struggled to put together a support programme. Ministocks, Production Saloons and 6 Streetstocks was as good as it got. As good as the Super Saloon racing was neither night really provided value for money due to the support classes. An invitation class or two would have gone a long way. The most entertaining part of the support programme saw two boy racers supposedly steal a car and get chased onto the track by the coppers. As the skit came to it's conclusion the boy racers were caught and the car had to be disposed of. The tractor was selected to do the job. The skit was innovative entertainment and everyone played their part well.

There is potential in this place. The good thing is that the negative aspects of the meeting are fixable. The unfixable stuff like the track and surroundings are all in good shape. Cromwell is a small club trying to punch well above their weight at the moment. When you do that things wont always work. It's a learning process and if the club can sit down and make continual improvements over the next five or so years they may just find themselves hosting more big events.