With two nights of racing in the bag, and only one left to run before a 2010 Tri-City Shootout Champion would be crowned, 32 Sprintcar stars arrived at Toowoomba’s Charlton Raceway set to make last night’s finale something to remember. Cameron Gessner took the win in the night’s A-Main, with Darrell Hodges in second and Todd Wanless in third. James McFadden did not finish last night’s main event, but had managed to secure enough points across the weekend to be crowned the 2010 Easter Tri-City Sprintcar Shootout Champion, with Todd Wanless and Cameron Gessner rounding out the top three of the weekend. Unfortunately for James (and everyone involved with Sprintcars Queensland) his win was soured by the knowledge his close friend David Muir was in hospital after being involved in what was young ‘Blingy’s second big crash of the night.

The night started well for former Toowoomba resident Cameron Gessner, securing quick time ahead of James McFadden who was only 0.010 seconds slower. Darrell Hodges certainly seems to have found the right combination in the Carrell Transport #5 racer, having a brilliant run at BIS on Saturday night and backing it up with another impressive run around Charlton. Hodges was third quickest around the track during qualifying, with Richard Morgan and David Muir rounding out the fastest five. The fastest 23 cars were separated by less than one second, while many cars were separated by mere thousandths of a second.

Heat one got underway with Tony Wynne getting the jump on the start, leaving pole sitter Luke Rowell in second. Peter Lack quickly found a way past Rowell and set out after race leader Wynne. But Gladstone-based Wynne had already opened a sizable lead and was not about to give up without a fight. Lack closed the gap significantly in lapped traffic but Tony Wynne went on the take the win with Peter Lack forced to settle for second ahead of Mark Pholi, Adrian Maher, Luke Rowell, Allan Woods, Cameron Gessner, Kevin Titman, Niall Chandler and Jason MacDonald.

Matthew Butler and Brent Kratzmann shared the front row of heat two, but things came to a stop when Anthony Lambert nearly rolled in turn two after losing the right front wheel. On the second restart it was Matthew Butler who got the jump, but he race was once again stopped – this time for Paul Rooks who had inverted the #64 racer in turn two after contact with Brodie Tulloch. Brent Kratzmann led the next restart while Todd Wanless came on strong from further back in the field. Matthew Butler, David Muir and James McFadden had an enthralling battle going for the minor placings, but no one had anything for Kratzmann or Wanless. Brent Kratzmann went on to take the win, with Todd Wanless crossing the line second ahead of Brodie Tulloch, Matthew Butler, James McFadden, David Muir, Murray Gibson, Steven Johnson and Gary Hann. Paul Rooks and Anthony Lambert both failed to finish the 10-lap journey.

Heat three saw Gary Finglas line up in pole position with young Tim Garrett on the outside. Finglas got the jump on the start and led the opening few laps, before the race came under caution for Richard Morgan who was stranded in turn three, with a broken front end, the right front tyre coming off in a simular fashion to that of Anthony Lambert in the previous heat. With nine laps left to run, Gary Finglas led the field to the restart, but Tim Garrett in second was on a mission and slipped past Finglas to steal the race lead. Garrett opened a small, comfortable lead, while Finglas managed to hold onto second for a little while. Paul Morris eventually worked his way up to second, relegating Finglas to third and leaving Darrell Hodges in fourth and right on the tail of Finglas searching for a way through. Tim Garrett went on to take a much deserved win from Paul Morris and Gary Finglas. Darrell Hodges finished fourth, ahead of Dan Murray, Melissa Boyes and Troy Coomber. Ian Loudoun exited the race after only 8 laps with smoke billowing from the engine of the N18 racer, while Craig Stevenson and Richard Morgan also failed to finish the event.

Brent Kratzmann got the jump on the start of heat four after starting from pole position, while fellow front row starter Luke Rowell settled into second. Peter Lack came on strong in the opening laps, quickly working his way past both Anthony Lambert and Luke Rowell to slip into second and set about chasing down race leader Kratzmann. Kratzmann had built up a sizable lead, though that was taken away with several yellow light stoppages. Brent held onto the lead, driving exceptionally well this weekend, and went on to take the win with James McFadden and Anthony Lambert officially second and third respectively. Peter Lack was relegated to fourth after being sent back two positions for hitting the cone on the last restart, while Kevin Titman crossed the line fifth and led Luke Rowell, Brodie Tulloch, Niall Chandler, Allan Woods and Steven Johnson across the line. Jason MacDonald pulled out of the race after completing only half the distance.

Tony Wynne got the jump off the start of heat five, but officials were not happy with the way Wynne and fellow front row starter Gary Finglas crossed the line and called the field back to try again. Second time around was better, with Wynne settling into the race lead ahead of Mark Pholi and Gary Finglas. Pholi and Finglas faded quickly as Ian Loudoun, Adrian Maher and Richard Morgan came on strong. Cameron Gessner got stuck for a while behind a couple of slower cars and by the time he managed to free himself, he had started to run out of laps. Nevertheless, Gessner pushed hard right until the chequered flag, but it was Tony Wynne who greeted the chequered flag first ahead of Ian Loudoun, Adrian Maher, Richard Morgan, Mark Pholi, Cameron Gessner, Gary Finglas and Melissa Boyes.

Tim Garrett got the jump on the start of the final heat of the night, determined to notch up his second heat victory of the night. Garrett clearly felt great in the car and gave it his all, but Todd Wanless, who had time trialled outside the top ten, was not going to let Garrett run away with the points he so desperately wanted for himself. The battle between Garrett and Wanless for the race lead was intense, but Wanless proved too experienced and managed to slip past Garrett after a couple of laps. Six laps into the race the race was brought to a stop for young David Muir. Muir had bounced through a rut in turn four, launching the #18 racer high into the air and the catch fence, putting a massive bend in one of the fence poles before landing back on the track. Muir emerged seemingly unscathed, but with a rather sad looking race car. With four laps to go Wanless led the restart from Garrett and Paul Morris. But after only two laps the race came under caution again, this time for Gary Hann who came to a stop against the turn four wall with front end damage. Todd Wanless went on to take the win from Tim Garrett, with Matthew Butler and Darrell Hodges being promoted to third and fourth respectively when Paul Morris was relegated back two positions, to fifth, after he hit the cone on the last restart. Morris was officially fifth ahead of Murray Gibson, Troy Coomber and Dan Murray. Gary Hann and David Muir did not finish the event.

James McFadden was the highest points scorer of the evening heading into the Dash event, but in the pre-dash draw James drew the four marble, inverting the top four qualifiers and putting Cameron Gessner off pole. Todd Wanless started out of position two, but ultimately had nothing for Gessner who was clearly determined to turn it on for the home crowd. Cameron Gessner ran away with the race win with Todd Wanless in second ahead of James McFadden, Darrell Hodges, Adrian Maher and a very impressive Brodie Tulloch.

Dan Murray and Tim Garrett lined up alongside each other on the front row of the B-Main with Garrett getting the jump on the start and running away through the opening corners. Unfortunately it was not meant to be and the race was brought to a stop when Anthony Lambert inverted the #90 racer in turn one. Lambert was unscathed, but out of the race. Tim Garrett got off to another brilliant start when the race got underway again, but things went from bad to worse when chaos unfolded behind him. Garrett was well clear of the field, but pole sitter Dan Murray got out of shape in turn two and started a chain reaction that then involved almost every other car in the race. It was a massive crash, with Murray, David Muir and Ian Loudoun all going over, Allan Woods and Matthew Butler suffered significant wing damage and the number of cars strewn across the track and infield in turn two made it difficult to tell who was involved and damaged, and who merely stopped in an effort to avoid the chaos. The crash crew and officials were quick on the scene and while most drivers emerged quickly from the wrecks, it became quite obvious quite quickly that young David Muir was not in a good way. It was only 40 minutes since his heat race crash but this time the ambulance was called out onto the track and was needed quickly at Muir’s broken car. After a short break from commentary, track announcers informed the crowd that David had been unconscious in the car when the crash crew arrived at the scene and while he had since regained consciousness, crash crew, officials and ambulance paramedics were in the process of removing his wing and were going to extract David, on a back support board, through the top of his car. David was placed in the ambulance and the B-Main abandoned until a second ambulance had arrived to take care of him and take him to hospital for tests, observation and x-rays. Sprintcars Queensland officials had a look at how/where David’s seat was bolted into his car and the placement of his seatbelts, before doing the rounds and checking the same on every car in attendance. David is reportedly doing well, having suffered no major injuries and is just a little bit sore at the moment. He’ll probably remain a little sore for at least a few days.

The interval was moved forward and after the second ambulance had left with young Muir in the back, the B-Main hit the track again, the 20-lap event now reduced to 10 laps or the first red light stoppage. Ian Loudoun was now starting from pole position with Tim Garrett alongside. Loudoun was originally set to start from position five, but with both Dan Murray and David Muir out of the race he had his chance and was not about to throw it all away. Loudoun got the jump off the start while Garrett settled into second. Peter Lack made his way past Garrett to steal second before pulling to the infield and out of the race. After only six laps the race was declared when contact between Matthew Butler and Jason MacDonald saw Butler up-end the #71 racer in turn four. Ian Loudoun was declared the winner from Tim Garrett, Allan Woods, and Gary Finglas, with Murray Gibson and Troy Coomber rounding out the top six and set to transfer to the A-Main. Melissa Boyes was credited with seventh ahead of Steven Johnson, Craig Stevenson and Matthew Butler. Niall Chandler, Peter Lack, Anthony Lambert, Dan Murray, Luke Rowell and David Muir all failed to finish the race.

The 30-lap A-Main, the decider for not only night three but the entire weekend, rolled onto the track with still several drivers capable of walking away with the overall crown. Cameron Gessner and Todd Wanless shared the front row, but Gessner is hard to beat in front of a home crowd. Gessner got the jump on the start and was virtually untouchable from that point on. He drove a brilliant race and was a popular winner when he crossed the line. Todd Wanless initially settled into second ahead of Darrell Hodges, but Hodges was pushing hard, clearly on his game this weekend and hungry for a win. Six laps in and the race endured the first of several red light stoppages. Paul Morris had inverted the #67 racer in turn one and while he was unscathed, he was out of the race. Gessner led the restart from Wanless and Hodges, but Hodges was tired of running in third, finding a way past Wanless to secure second, as James McFadden was trying to work his way forward. McFadden was going strong, heading towards the front of the field, but at about mid-race distance pulled the car up on the infield. Gary Finglas and Richard Morgan touched in turn four, leaving Finglas facing the wrong direction and with enough damage to put him out of the race after completing 19-laps. With 10 laps left to run it was Gessner who led the restart with Hodges, Wanless and Richard Morgan hot on his tail tank. Unfortunately the red lights came on barely a lap later – Allan Woods completing the hat-trick and flipping the #28 racer (now with a main wing borrowed from Brent Kratzmann as Woods himself had run out of spares) after hitting a rut in turn four. Having inverted his car at Maryborough and BIS in the previous two nights, and with last night’s car being a combination of two cars, bringing out the reds at Charlton gave Woods the trifecta for the weekend. Cameron Gessner went on to take the win with Darrell Hodges and Todd Wanless joining him on the winners podium. Richard Morgan was fourth ahead of Adrian Maher, Tony Wynne, Brodie Tulloch, Kevin Titman, Mark Pholi, Troy Coomber, Tim Garrett and Brent Kratzmann. Allan Woods, Gary Finglas, James McFadden, Ian Loudoun, Paul Morris and Murray Gibson all failed to finish the 30-lap A-Main event.

James McFadden was the official winner of the Tri-City Shootout weekend, with Todd Wanless, Cameron Gessner, Richard Morgan and Adrian Maher completing the top five.

Sprintcars Queensland will take next weekend off and return to Brisbane International Speedway the following Saturday night, 17 April 2010, for the next round of the Queensland Speedway Spares Sprintcar Series. You won’t want to miss a moment of the action as the series enters the closing stages and the competition heats up. Sprintcars Queensland would like that thank all those who organised, helped, participated in or supported the racing this weekend and we look forward to seeing you all at BIS in two weeks time. We would also like to send our best wishes to David Muir and his family and hope that ‘Blingy’ is feeling better soon.