Atkinson arrives at Victory lane
Ben Atkinson who hails from Darwin should be well conditioned to the heat, but the heat during the pole shuffle was something else The Pick& Payless driver was cool.
Good old style match racing over two laps saw the Darwin dymo at his very best moving forward from mid pack to the final shoot out for pole with Bellbowen.
Ben Atkinson fires up .
One and a bit laps of the most ferrous match racing I have seen, Once the pair received the green Bellbowen had the early advantage as the inside pole position had more grip and the Bellbowen’s launch was perfectly timed .It was amazing to watch the speed, the closeness of the pair as they raced with centimeters of each other tries in an effort to win the point before the top corner. Atkinson was working for the outside pass but Bellbowen held his ground as they blasted down the back straight to the delight of the crowd .As they raced passed the stripe for the first time Atkinson was hounding the outside and the pair of roaring dirt busting Sprintcars came together as they entered turn one .
There are many different views, depending on who you support but from my view right on the corner Bellbowen appeared to move up ever so slightly and contact was made. At the speed these guys are going, the split second timing their skill is put to the limit . Bellbowen’s car was launched high into the darkness of the night and returned to the track with a massive thump. In the process Atkinson’s front end was ripped apart. Both drivers were unhurt and returned to their pits to begin repairs with their crews. .The effort that both teams went to get their driver back out for the feature was extraordinary.
Atkinson in the lead
With no result from the final shoot out for pole Toby Bellowed by virtue of his seeding had the pole. 30 laps with $5,000 to win plus bonus lap money of $100 for every lap lead.
In anyone’s book this was a strong and classy field .The Aussie Champ David Murcott was starting mid pack, Sammy Walsh who has been the class act over recent events, Max and Matt Dumseny and current track Championship leader Jackson Delamont.
The start of the A main 4 wide salute
24 cars faced the starter , 30 laps with a total of $8,000 available his you can win and lead all 30 laps .There is nothing like standing near the fence at the first corner as these winged beasts thunder through two and three wide .The dust the energy you feel as they blast past , just unreal . Bellbowen held the point for 5 laps before Atkinson found a way past #70 cars. From this point on Atkinson was in the grove and dominated the race right through to the black and white checker. Bellbowen faded and fell back and finished in 6th position. Sam Walsh again was on mission and finished a strong fourth driving from P18 to finish behind Jackson Delamont and Grant Anderson.
30 laps of nonstop high energy, spectacular racing all in front of the five times Australian Sprintcar Legend Dick Britton who had the honor of being named Grand Marshall for the event .Dick now well into his 70’s presented the trophy to Atkinson.
Earlier in the night Dick was presented to crowd driving the #14 Wingless Sprint.
Dick Britten 5 times Australian Sprintcar Champion leading the parade lap at Valvoline Raceway
After the event the drivers made the following comments.
Ben Atkinson “I didn’t think about that (the money) during the race because my focus was just on getting some feature wins before the end of the season. My guys have done a great job, JB always does a great job (his crew chief John Barrett), he’s getting a little older now but he hasn’t lost any of his drive to win races. I’ve had the pleasure of working with some good crew chiefs and working with JB is pretty special.
Grant Anderson “We don’t get to run here very often but it’s always so much fun when we do,” said Anderson, “I can’t be sure how many more races we’ll make here this month but we’ll do as many as we can.”
Jackson Delamont “The track was nice tonight and that allowed me to zip around the bottom on my own little line. It’s a great result for our team and I can’t thank my Dad enough for all the effort he puts in every week on this car. It should really be him up here getting this trophy.”
Final placing in the 30 Lap A Main
1 2N Ben ATKINSON Pick N Payless PCR Australia J&J
2 37V Grant ANDERSON “Latrobe Valley Bandag, D&F Ra .
3 48N Jackson DELAMONT “Mad Harrys Steel, Steel Suppl KPC
4 92N Sam WALSH “Fleck Earthmoving, Walsh Cons MAXIM
5 1A Dave MURCOTT “Mainline Dynalog Dynamometers .
6 70N Toby BELLBOWEN “Rod Bowen’s Prestige Smash Re MAXIM
7 39N Jeremy CROSS “GT Radial, Inglis Race Engine MAXIM
8 7Q Robbie FARR “Hi Tec Oils,Vermeer, East Coa MAXIM
9 22N James THOMPSON “Stahlwille, Harry’s cafe’ De MAXIM
10 11N Trevor GREEN “Australia Wide Towing, Natrad KPC
11 54N Grant TUNKS The Tunks Family COOL
12 42Q Brent APRILE “GT Radial, Inglis Race Engine MAXIM
13 9N Steve CAUNT MJ Rowles Landscaping, C1 Spee KPC
14 10N Adrian MAHER “A One Air Coolers, Blackshaws MAXIM
15 32N Warren FERGUSON “Fruitwheels Transport,GM Pole MAXIM
16 88N Jimmy MATCHETT “Ian Cubitts Classic Home Impr JEI
17 82N Matt JACKSON Hawksbury Valley Smash Repairs
18 8N Kyle CAUNT “C1 Speed Electric Indoor Kart KPC
19 78N Andrew WRIGHT “Hitachi Construction Machiner MAXIM
20 25N Kelly LINIGEN “Linigen Pallets, MSCN Mobile, .
21 67N Clayton HART “WESCRANES, Western Truck & Tr .
22 52N Mark ATTARD “Summerland Poultry, Prompt Mo EAGLE
DNF 43N Alex ORR “Meander Village, Marland Fire EAGLE
DNF 74N Craig BRADY “KC Tools,Muswellbrook Nissan, MAXIM
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