Tokoroa Sprint Car racer Keaton Dahm decided to take an unfamiliar line around the Baypark Speedway oval during the closing laps of the fifth annual Bay Piston Cup 30-lapper on Saturday night.
Dahm raced to one of the biggest wins in his racing career, but there were anxious moments as his car ran low on fuel in the closing laps of a marathon 30-lapper that included two red light stoppages.
Dahm is usually one of the drivers racing a higher line around the Baypark track, but a shorter route and a little less on-throttle time on the bottom groove in the closing laps got him to the chequered flag and the $5000 winners’ purse.
“It started surging with about seven laps to go,” Dahm says.
“It’s probably my biggest win. I did win a BOP Champs against a strong field a few years ago, but the Piston Cup has become a big event with many good drivers. And this win is really special with my son [7-month-old Emerson] here.
“So many people have helped us over all of our years of racing. Our team doesn’t try to do anything clever. We just concentrate on the basics and enjoy our racing.”
Dahm was the top qualifier with a first and a third in his heat races, but Tauranga’s Rodney Wood grabbed the top spot away in the last portion of an exciting Top-Six pole-shuffle which preceded the 30-lapper.
Wood was the early leader in the main event before Dahm made a move to the front. Wood was then eliminated in a heavy crash on lap 8, which also involved Jonathan Allard as they disputed second spot.
Dahm’s main challenge came from Kapiti’s Jamie Larsen, who was on his tail through the middle part of the race. But Larsen crashed heavily on a restart with nine laps remaining.
A key to Dahm’s win was controlling the restarts as the car setting the pace.
“You have to do that. As the leader, you’ve earned the opportunity to restart where you want, and I still remember being a bit too kind to Daniel Thomas in a similar situation a few years ago,” Dahm says.
Michael Pickens finished second while battling a car that had glanced off the wall and bent some rear suspension early on. Wellington’s Stephen Taylor made his return to Baypark Speedway to claim third place while national champ Daniel Thomas was fourth ahead of Ben Mathews and Hayden Williams.
Auckland racer Cody McKee delivered a strong performance to win the BOP Super Stock Championship, which saw 28 cars in action across three races.
McKee won the first and third races, and a fifth place in race two put him well clear on points. The race that McKee didn’t win produced a very rare result with three brothers – Caleb, Brendan, and Flynn Ashton – sweeping the top three places.
McKee’s pace and ability to pass cars powered him nine points clear of Elias Dykstra and Ross Ashby, who tied on points for second place. Dykstra secured the runner-up honours thanks to the fastest lap tie-breaker.
There was more family success in the Super Saloon Cars with brothers Chris and Steve Cowling finishing 1-2 in the 20-lap feature and Damian Orr completing the podium.
The next meeting at Baypark Speedway on Saturday, March 14, features the rescheduled Aotearoa F2 Midget Car title along with Bay of Plenty Championship events for Sprint Cars, Super Saloons and Stock Cars.
Header Image: Jessica Barnes/Blissful Photography
