It was another chilly night at Paradise Valley for night two of the World of Stocks. The crowd was much bigger but the promotion would have to be a touch disappointed given it is the second biggest event on their calendar. The action on track was a step up from night 1. Pre race entertainment featured lawn-mower racing on the infield. One amusing aspect was how seriously these guys take themselves, they even had a pace mower complete with flashing orange lights!

It seems impossible to prepare this surface poorly! Once again the track was nice and smooth/consistent. The real test for the track tonight was the Saloon class and it came through with flying colours. Passing was possible as different lines opened up, particularly through the middle and exit of both turns. The night finished with a demolition derby which featured speeds higher than I've seen at other tracks despite puddles forming with the high amount of water that was put on. I must remember to get a derby car for next year. 9/10

A decent field of cars raced with much less physicality than the previous night. Regular frontrunner 63r Luke Dilworth wasn't as prominent as usual in a field that had plenty of pace.
Winners - 51r Dayne King, 15v Kyle Heibner, 63r Luke Dilworth

12 Saloons were dominated by the ageless 808r Joe Lunchbox. Lunchbox had the setup working beautifully and had a command wherever he was on the racetrack. Lunchbox was especially impressive in pressurising his opponents and passing up the inside. Also thereabouts in terms of pace were 13r Murray Guy and 371r Shane Dorrell. The only other driver to threaten was 5k Graham Brockelsby. There was the odd bit of contact but nothing serious enough to make the report!
Winners - 17r Tony Heuval, 808r Joe Lunchbox, 5k Graham Brockelsby

The Bay of Plenty Superstock Championship attracted a big field of 22 entrants including 16a Aaron Headington, 85h Jared Wade and 10p Peter Rees. The racing was hard and fast as one would expect. Race 1 saw 52p Scott Joblin take advantage of the first lap melee to make up several spots. He would lock into a race long battle with 37r Darcy Hunter Jr. Up front 87r Pat Westbury held a narrow lead from 10p Peter Rees. Those two drove away from the tank 85h Jared Wade. It looked like lapped traffic would hamper Westbury but he was able to deal with whatever came his way. There was a bit of contact in this one as 66r Steve Hampton had a few pokes at the 33gm entry. 99r Mark Decke was sporting the old Baypark Busters team body

Races two and three were more of the same. The first lap often saw cars scattered around the track but after that racing settled down into some sort of order. When all was said and done 515r Stan Hickey had secured third and a run-off was required between 87r Pat Westbury and 10p Peter Rees. Rees got the jump but Westbury was quickly on his tail. Entering turn one Rees was on the brakes. Westbury attempted to put him in the wall coming out of turn two and succeeded but Rees was able to make a quick getaway while Westbury bounced off at an odd angle. Westbury slowed and spun Rees on the last lap but was forced to stop right on the start/finish line as Rees regained his sense of direction. A last-ditch effort wasn't enough as Rees claimed the Bay of Plenty Superstock Title.
Winners - 87r Pat Westbury, 515r Stan Hickey, 99r Mark Decke

A big field fronted to find the final two qualifiers for the World of Stocks. 39r Douglas Stanaway and 71b Aaron Iremonger in the Peter Barry car established first and second in the opening laps. Despite having to deal with several lapped cars they never looked challenged. The hit of the race came from 94r Shaun Stewart who put 24v Wayne Wright up the wall coming our of turn four in a solid hit.
Qualifiers - 39r Douglas Stanaway, 71b Aaron Iremonger

The Stocks in Paradise was the consolation racing, the winner of which gained an automatic qualification into next years World of Stocks event. 11m Alan Dunn was the stirrer in the opener. Towards the end of the race he had at least half the field congregated behind him, trying to spin anyone who dared attempt a pass. Unforunately Dunn failed to front after the opener but the action intensified. Race three was a really good one with action all over the track. Although no one hit stood out 29m Ryan Hunt came close with a solid shot entering turn one. The overall winner was 81r Damien Orr and a run-off was required for second and third. Huh?? Only the winner matters, it's cold and a demolition derby is due on track and the fans get to see a run-off without any consequence whatsoever. I guess even the best promotions have the odd brain fade every now and again.
Winners - 36r Mike Ranger, 94r Shaun Stewart, 81r Damian Orr

The main event was unfortunately a big disappointment. Race 1 was the best. 78r Grant Savage was the first of the stirrers to have a go, a big grass cut to take out 2nz Dale Robertson. His next collision was totally accidental as he couldn't avoid the stricken 113r Grendon Beazley. Both drivers were knocked out and done for the night. 84b Mike McLachlan landed a good hit on 109r Jason Brown while 68r Keith Spanhake survived a ride down the back straight wall.

To be fair 48m Nick Gallop and 67a Nick Krisnic were trying to make life difficult for the field but neither was having much success. With 77r Ivan Lammas unable to make the grid after heat one it was pretty much plain sailing for everyone aside from the odd accidental spin. The overseas competitors were a non-factor in the racing all night and some thought must be given as to how to get some of these guys up to pace. The World of Stocks was upstaged by the consolation racing. The unheraled 95r Dale Stewart was the overall winner.
Winners - 3nz Peter Rees, 48r Ivan King, 2nz Dale Robertson

A mixed bag from the officials tonight in the lights department. At times they were very quick, especially when the two Stockcar drivers were knocked out. At other times I was wishing I had a button to press, in particular during the Ministock racing. They also found some issues re-ordering the Saloon car field. It was slow and at one stage one official on the back straight made a call which was promptly reversed by the official on the front straight! But the big call of the night would have been the grass cut from Stockcar 78r. My information is the officials saw the incident and would have acted appropriately had the driver not been knocked out. 6/10

The build up to the first race mirrored the World 240's and for me mirrored the amount of boredom. From the time the first car entered the arena to when engines were started took 14 minutes and it was another 4 minutes to the green flag. What were the spectators supposed to do, look at each other? You couldn't see what was happening because it was all on the far side of the track. And the "Start your engines" command was pointless because Stockcars don't make a lot of noise. The whole thing did very little to whet this punters appetite for anything other than another hot dog.

But never fear, Percy has a solution!
1. Introduce each driver individually as they come throught the gate including mentioning sponsors for every car.
2. Have drivers do 2/3rds of a lap with the grid 1 sitter stopping at the end of the back straight.
3. By the time the last driver has come through the pit gate the first driver should just about be ready to be interviewed.
4. Interview drivers as necessary until all drivers are ready.

This should aid the continuity of the process whilst actually providing some form of build up to the event, not an empty void. I also think the price at $25 was a bit steep. For night two of the world 240's I can understand it but for this event I felt that $20 would have been bang on.