Max Guilford rebounded from a late race error to clinch the New Zealand Sprint Car title with a thrilling last-corner pass at McDonald’s Kihikihi Speedway on Saturday night.
The 23-year-old and his Daniel Anderson Racing Triple-X had control of the 30-lap final until the 26th lap when he spun the car and handed the race lead to 2023 champion Daniel Thomas (Hamilton).
The 54th running of the National Sprint Car title was an open-wheel thriller. Two opening lap cautions put a brief hold on the action before the third attempt unleashed a fast-paced 30 laps that ran interrupted to the chequered flag.
Guilford’s strong qualifying effort earned him pole position with former champ Dean Brindle (Hamilton) outside him and a second-row pairing of Michael Pickens and Jonathan Allard.
Once the laps began to tick over, Guilford built a commanding lead and was making clean progress through the lapped traffic until he turned himself around in turn three. He completed the full spin and regained his momentum, but the delay allowed Thomas to take the lead.
Thomas had battled his way from grid five, passing Allard, Pickens and Brindle on his run to second spot.
In the closing laps, a determined Guilford immediately began to chase down the new leader, closing in and making a dive underneath Thomas into Turn 3, which turned into the winning move.
“I just drove it in there. It was either going to work, or it wasn’t,” Guilford says.
Guilford has previously finished third in an NZ Midget Car title, but the big step in his racing development came last winter in the US, where he competed with several Sprint Car sanctioning groups, including some World of Outlaws appearances.
“I learnt a lot in America last year. I did 50 shows, and it has helped me a lot,” says Guilford.
“I was a bit nervous going into the final because our car had been good in the early laps of the heats (12 laps) but not at the end of the heats.
“But the car was really good for 30 laps, even though I lost the power steering at the second yellow.”
Guilford’s win completes a 2024-25 Grand Slam for the Te Anau-based Daniel Anderson Racing squad. Guilford won the South Island title at Cromwell in December, while his teenage Californian team-mate Joel Myers Jr has recently raced to the NZ Grand Prix and North Island titles.
Thomas said he was gutted to lose the race in the final corner.
“I didn’t know it was the last lap or that it was for the lead. If I had known, I would have run a totally different line,” Thomas said.
Defending champ Joel Myers Jnr progressed from grid six to complete the podium ahead of Brindle, Allard and Pickens. Ryan O’Connor was seventh, and the top 10 was completed by Stephen Taylor, Zackary Sokol and Hayden Williams.
In the support racing last night, Baypark racer Scott Hayward was on form to clinch the Super Saloon Car feature, while Regan Tyler had a popular home track victory in the final round of the Central TQ Midget Car Series.
A 24-strong field contested the Waipa Super Stock Championship, with Taranaki racer Blair Uhlenberg topping the points.
Header Image: War of Wings Facebook Page
Words: Colin Smith
