Waikaraka Park Speedway is in for three thrilling days of action as it hosts the New Zealand Stockcar Championship which begins today.
Expect some great racing and a bit of carnage as over 140 cars from across the nation file into Auckland and fill the pit lane at the South Auckland venue.
Defending champion, wearing the 1NZW, Ben Ellis will make the trip north from the Waikato, as does 2NZW Sheldon Arapere.
The 3NZA of Gary Lonergan will feature in Group 3 and will be relying on hometown support to top those who bettered him in January.
Whilst cars from across the North Island heavily feature, 20-year-old Cantabrian Wade Sweeting has the whole South Island backing him as the region’s sole competitor. He’ll race in Group 2.
The “Stockcar Shake Down” begins proceedings today, running as a practice session of sorts of competitive 6-lap races.
Things spice up tomorrow with qualifying, the field broken down into six large pools of 24-25 drivers. Each pool races three times with the top four progressing to the final.
Thursday’s final day sees two repechage races of 30 cars each, the top three of each joining the 24 automatic qualifiers for the final.
New Zealand’s Stockcar Champion will be crowned after three races on Thursday evening, the highest points scored overall scoring a sweet $3000 and a nice new number to wear over the year.
The Shakedown begins from 6.30pm this evening, qualifying from 6pm on Wednesday and the finals from 5.30pm on Thursday.
Stock cars never fail to disappoint and an evening at Waikaraka Park is never a bad idea. A livestream of the event will be shown at a cost on Videohub.
