Defending series champion and
current national titleholder Darren Kane was the dominant force
in round three of the 2009/2010 Carline Mufflers National Super
Sedan Series at Toowoombas Charlton Raceway last night
(Thursday, December 31). Having qualified on the outside front
row, Kane trailed pole sitter Dave Gartner for a handful of laps
before surging to the front and speeding clear of the field,
moving to the top of the championship standings and taking out
the Ocean Tyres Queensland Cup along the way.Working overtime
to tame his wheel-hiking GT Bobcat Dominator-Mustang, Gartner
did a great job to retain second spot, while Townsvilles Trent
Wilson marked his arrival on the national Super Sedan landscape
with an outstanding drive into third place ahead of fellow young
guns in Clayton Pyne and B Main winner Ashley Bergmeier.
Michael Nicola was next best, with Kevin Purton, Brad Smith,
previous round winner Matt Pascoe and Wayne Miles rounding out
the top ten. Des Korn, Lachlan Onley and Shane Best were the
only others to go the distance in what was another stop-start
affair plagued by incidents and accidents that proved
frustrating for officials, competitors and spectators alike and
overshadowed some good performances. Casualties in the chaos
included Steve Jordan, Tania Smith, Wayne Brims, Bill Miller,
Chris Bussey, Matt Williams and Sam Hughes.
Whilst Kane was pretty much untroubled at the front of the
field, there was action aplenty in the battle for the minor
placings as Gartner found himself increasingly under siege as
the laps wound down. In fact, Wilson usurped Gartner from the
runner-up position at one stage, only to be penalised two
positions by race officials for an infield pass at a subsequent
restart. Wilson remained unfazed by this setback and spent the
rest of the race engaged in a scrap with Pyne for the final
podium position that wasnt resolved until the final corner when
Wilson charged under Pyne and edged ahead in the sprint to the
chequer.
The last corner scramble also enabled Bergmeier - who started
from position 15 to edge out Nicola by 8/100 of a second for
fifth spot in a performance that ultimately secured the Super
Charge Hard Charger Award.
Heat winners on the night were Kane, Korn, Smith, Purton,
Bergmeier, Gartner, Wilson, Best and Jamie McHugh, whose
performance in the final heat was simply stunning. After
starting at the back of the grid and desperate for points having
missed his previous heat, McHugh stormed around the outside of
the entire field to score an amazing win.
Bergmeier finished ahead of Matt Williams, Miller, Smith,
Brims, Onley, Graeme Elliot and Matthew Hawkings in the B Main.
Despite being unable to take his place in the field, Chris
Jensen emerged as the winner of the Ocean Tyres Queensland Cup
for non-contracted drivers, trekking to all three Queensland
rounds from his Townsville base.
Contingency winners
AFCO Shock Doctor Lucky Sevens Kevin Purton Joe Gibbs
Racing Oils Lucky 13 Shane Best Super Charge Hard Charger
Ashley Bergmeier Oval Express Best Presented Car and Crew Des
Korn
2009/2010 Carline Mufflers National Super Sedan Series
progressive pointscore top ten (after 3 of 10 rounds): Darren
Kane 1174, Matt Pascoe 916, Dave Gartner 840, Michael Nicola
830, Steve Jordan 776, Trent Wilson 755, Clayton Pyne 744,
Ashley Bergmeier 732, Brad Smith 711, Shane Best 703
The 2009/2010 Carline Mufflers National Super Sedan Series is
proudly supported by the following sponsors:
Carline Mufflers
JD Couriers
Bergmeier Engineering
American Race Tires
East Coast Traffic Control
Ocean Tyres
Lukey Exhausts
APCO Warrnambool
SuperCharge Batteries
Ian Boettcher Race Parts
AFCO Shock Doctor
Joe Gibbs Driven Racing Oils
Kincrome Tools and Equipment
Art by Mickey
Oval Express Magazine
Hoosier Racing Tire
Clearview Towing Mirrors
SSA of NSW
QSCA
J&C Carrell Speedway Photography
Race Hard Race Gear
City Motor Inn (Toowoomba)
Rocky Resort Motor Inn
Power Forklift Repairs
National Association of Speedway Racing (NASR) Speedway
Sedans Australia (ASCF)