American teen sensation Joel Myers Jr has continued his spectacular run of form this summer in his Baypark Speedway debut on Saturday evening, winning the 2025 North Island Sprintcar Championship.
The driver entry list was impressive, with 33 drivers representing seven tracks and two countries; anticipation was at an all-time high. Some of the best Sprintcar drivers were set to battle it out at one of the best tracks for the class in New Zealand. Baypark is tailor-made for Sprintcar racing, offering drivers plenty of room to push their machines to the limit.
Baypark Speedway held back-to-back championship events, with the NZ Super Saloon Championship held there only weeks ago. The promotors, volunteers, and track crew held both meetings to a high standard. Drivers and fans commended their efforts and left eager to return. The support classes for last night’s race meeting included Midgets and Superstocks.
The North Island Sprintcar Championship race format saw the 33-car field seeded into six groups: three groups of 6 and three groups of 5.
Each group would then compete in two 12-lap heats, racing against two of the other five groups—Group A vs. Group D, B vs. E, and C vs. F.
The second round of heats was Group A vs. Group E, B vs. F, and C vs. D. All heats included one group of 6 cars and the other with 5, for a total of 11 cars. Each group had an inside and outside start.
After six heats, the Top 20 drivers on points transferred directly to the feature. There was a final chance in the B-dash for drivers ranked 21st to 33rd to make it to the feature race, with the first and second-placed drivers of the dash gaining grid positions 21 and 22 in the feature final.
The six heat winners were 54A Michael Pickens, 98M Ryan O’Connor, 3NZ Jamie Larsen, 1NZ Joel Myers Jr, 57N Connor Rangi, and 55K Daniel Thomas. The B-dash saw the pilots behind the HLR Racing 99M Sprintcar, Christian Hermansen and 89A Sprintcar, Luke Brown, advance to the 25-lap feature race.
In preparation for the big race, the track had a slick low-mid line with a decent cushion up top. There were 22 drivers, but there could only be one North Island Champion! The drivers gave their four-wide salute to the crowd, and the sound of V8 engines roared through the stadium. It was showtime!
Reigning New Zealand Champion Joel Myers Jr. has taken the New Zealand speedway scene by storm over the past few years. Hailing from Sebastopol, California, the young gun first made his mark in the 2022-2023 season, claiming victory in the prestigious War of the Wings Sprintcar Series.
Myers Jr. was the top pick in last night’s race and didn’t disappoint. In one of his previous heats, he set a new Sprintcar lap record at Baypark of 13.258; the other drivers knew he was the one they needed to beat.
The feature race saw Myers Jr. turn from Sprintcar driver to rocketship pilot as he flew around the track, with Michael Pickens, Jamie Larsen, Jonathon Allard, and Daniel Thomas all in hot pursuit. Myer’s managed to break free from the rest of the field while running the high line.
There were a few unfortunate DNFs during the 25-lapper, with 83M Syd Ferguson retiring due to a racing incident. 51M Rodney Wood retired from the race early due to catching the slide of 46C Max Guilford sliding into Turn 2, knocking Rodney’s front left torsion out.
Both Dahm brothers, 6M James Dahm and 88M Keaton Dahm, also retired from the race early due to mechanical issues. 78C Matthew Leversedge and 22K Dean Brindle retired early from the race. 98M Ryan O’Connor was the last retirement of the race after an incident with two laps to go, which left him on this side on the front straight.
Joel Myers Jr. was dominant from start to finish, lapping cars early in the race. There were hard-fought battles between drivers, with fast-paced racing not made for the faint-hearted. 57N Connor Rangi and 27M Hayden crossed the finish line with a photo finish, 0.028s between the drivers.
Myers Jr. won the race, gaining his first North Island Sprintcar title with a flag-to-flag victory with a gap of 1.462 seconds in front of Michael Pickens, with Jamie Larsen coming home in third place.
“It feels really good to win at a track I haven’t raced on before and also to win a title I haven’t won before,” Myers says.
“The track is more like the ones I race on at home. It’s higher speed, and the air has more effect on the cars.
“The high line was really good in the first half of the race, but then it started getting quite dirty, and a kerb started to build up.”
Adding another title win to the list for the current NZ Sprintcar Champion, Joel Myers Jr, after his NZ title win and Sprintcar Grand Prix win back in February at Western Springs Speedway.
With momentum on his side and the experience of multiple New Zealand campaigns, the 19-year-old is shaping up as one of the top contenders and youngest multi-title champions in the Sprintcar class.
The next meeting at Baypark Speedway is the Bay Mayhem and BOP Champs event on Saturday 29th March.
Header Image – Jessica Barnes/Blissful Photography
