Oval Championship

Well that's the Oval Championship decided and what an excellent day of racing it provided. The day started off with qualifying and everything seemed to be routine until the first session was red flagged due to Steve Pearce in the #29 truck losing the rear end and ending up in the wall on the exit to turn 4, Qualifying resumed when the truck and debris was removed from the circuit and continued without further incident. We were happy with our qualifying and did not feel the need to change anything for the race. Race 1 got underway with Carl Boardley & John Mickel on the front row leading the pack through turn 1, By the end of the first lap Antony Hawkins had moved into the lead followed closely by Nic Grindrod, Pete Stevens and the rest of the pack. By the end of the second Lap Nic Grindrod had moved into the lead but before this lap was over Phil White had moved from 3rd to 1st which he held onto for a couple of laps before Michael Smith moved into the lead for a lap, The hard charging Phil White retook the lead from Michael and held onto it for about 8 laps and once again passed by Michael Smith, Once again this lasted one lap before Phil resumed the lead. Michael And Phil once again swapped positions only for them to swap back again! On lap 25 Pete Stevens in his #4 truck decided he wanted to be in on the action and took the lead from Phil, This was only to be short lived for 2 laps as Phil White took his lead back until lap 33 when Pete Stevens who was 5 points ahead in the Oval Championship passed Phil again determined not to let him gain any ground in the championship. Unfortunately for Pete, Phil was determined to keep hold of his lead and passed him again and took the chequered flag in what was one of, If not the best Oval race of the season so far. with the first 8 cars crossing the line within 3 seconds of each other.

Race 2 started with Phil and Pete tied in the Oval Championship standings with this race deciding the champion it did not disappoint. Nic Grindrod led the proceedings for the first 2 Laps as Phil began to climb up the positions and Pete slowly slipping down them, by the end of lap 3 Phil had taken the lead which he held onto until lap 12 when he was passed by Nic Grindrod and Pete Stevens who carved his way back through the pack,this lasted 2 laps before Phil retook the lead and Pete was pushed back down to 7th. At this point on lap 15 the top 10 cars were all within 1.5 seconds of each other and providing so spectacular close racing with plenty of position changes. On Lap 16 Gavin Seager managed to pass Phil and proceeded to pull away from the chasing pack. By Lap 20 Phil was down to third but Pete was still back down in 7th, fast forward to lap 32 and Phil was second with Pete still down in 7th it would seem Phil was going to take the oval championship But, This being Rockingham nothing can be predicted and within 1 lap Pete had jumped up to 3rd and Phil moved down to 6th, at the start of the final lap Pete was 3rd and Phil still was in 6th, Both drivers were charging hard and Phil had managed to catch Pete by the entry to turn 3 and both drivers charged on towards 4 but Pete managed to hold off the challenge from Phil and take the Rockingham Oval championship in a race that Surpassed the first race in terms of position changes and great close racing, This truly was the race of the year! In the Pit lane Nic Grindrod climbed from his truck with a smile so wide it would normally be reserved for a victory, He was truly impressed with the level of racing and this showed on his face, Well Done Pete and commiserations to Phil.