With the end of the season now within sight, and only a couple of rounds of the Queensland Speedway Spares Sprintcar Series to go, twenty-six Sprintcars rolled into Brisbane International Speedway last night for a no-holds-barred Round 9. Peter Thorley entered the night with a slim points lead, but after suffering engine issues in the #51 Tyrepower racer and being unable to take part in the A-Main, the points battle has really started to boil. The star of the night however was Danny ‘Rockstar’ Reidy who was clearly a class above most of his competitors and determined to go one better than his second place at the 2010 Queensland Sprintcar Title last weekend. Reidy took the win in last night’s A-Main event with Darrell Hodges crossing the line in second ahead of Todd Wanless and Richard Morgan with Kevin Titman rounding out the top five.

Peter Thorley started the night off with fast time in qualifying, with Peter Lack and Andrew Scheuerle close behind and Todd Wanless and Danny Reidy rounding out the fastest five. On a track that was full of large ruts, and was considerably slower than we’ve seen for some time, all drivers were still as closely matched as ever – the fastest 20 cars were separated by less than one second, with the rest not far behind.

Ricky Mitchell and Melissa Boyes shared the front row of the starting line-up for heat one, and while Mitchell got the jump on the start, it was Paul Rooks, from position three, who managed to secure second. Mitchell opened a huge lead over Rooks, while Rooks gained a comfortable margin over Boyes and the rest of the field. Steven Johnson created a massive dust storm in turn two after looping the #38 racer in a complete 360 degree turn before rejoining the race, while Mitchell’s lead slowly evaporated as Rooks began to close the gap in lapped traffic. Unfortunately for Rooks, a late race spin in turn two would see him surrender second, and lose several other positions, with Melissa Boyes inheriting second position. Ricky Mitchell took the win from Melissa Boyes and Darrell Hodges, while Peter Thorley crossed the line in fourth ahead of Kevin Titman, Paul Rooks, Gary Finglas, Steven Wright and Steven Johnson.

Brent Kratzmann and Craig Stevenson, this week driving the #95 Motorguard Motorsport racer, lined up alongside each other for the start of heat two, with Stevenson getting the jump on the start and opening a small but comfortable lead. The battle was on for the minor positions with Richard Morgan and Danny Reidy really making Big Al Woods work hard to hang onto third. Peter Lack was coming on strong from the rear of the field, but a clash of wheels with Richard Morgan in turn four nearly brought them both undone. Craig Stevenson was the first to greet the chequered flag, having opened a sizable leading margin over second placed Brent Kratzmann with Allan Woods home in third. Danny Reidy finished fourth ahead of Richard Morgan, Peter Lack, Brock Dean, Anthony Lambert and Adrian O’Connell.

Dan Murray and Des Collier shared the front row of heat three, and while Murray bounced through the ruts in turn two, Collier settled into the race lead. Andrew Scheuerle was on the move, coming from the back of the field and quickly worked his way into second. Scheuerle set about chasing down race leader Collier, and managed to slip into the race lead, while Murray Gibson created a dust storm coming out of turn two. Andrew Scheuerle took the win from Des Collier and Brett Thomas, with Dan Murray next across the line ahead of Todd Wanless, Mark Pholi, Matt Butler and Murray Gibson.

Heat four seemed to mark the point where the real chaos and carnage started to unfold. Craig Stevenson and Ricky Mitchell shared the front row and while Mitchell got the initial jump on the start, the yellows were thrown on and as Mitchell began to slow, Stevenson got into the back of the #19 racer and the hapless Allan Woods had nowhere to go, making contact with the left rear of Stevenson and inverting the #28. Woods was unscathed in the incident, but the car suffered sufficient damage to end his race. Ricky Mitchell got the jump on the restart, with Craig Stevenson settling into second and Peter Lack in third. Mitchell opened a sizable lead over the rest of the field while Lack spent several laps searching for a way past Stevenson, eventually slipping into second and setting out to chase down Mitchell. Lack closed the gap and had just managed to pull off a passing move on Mitchell and steal the race lead when Craig Stevenson and Paul Rooks came together while running mid field, with Stevenson inverting the #95 racer in turn two and bringing out the red lights once again. Ricky Mitchell regained his position at the front of the field and led the restart with Lack relegated to second ahead of Rooks. With only four laps to run Mitchell was determined not to let Lack take his position again and raced away to take the win with Lack in second and Paul Rooks home in third. Anthony Lambert had a great drive in the #90 Gambler to cross the line in fourth and lead Kevin Titman, Steven Wright and Gary Finglas across the line. Craig Stevenson and Allan Woods did not finish the event.

Dan Murray got the jump on Melissa Boyes when the green flag flew for the start of heat five. The first start was aborted however when Peter Thorley had an uncharacteristic spin in turn two, with a little assistance from mark Pholi. The next start saw Melissa Boyes get the jump on the start, but Dan Murray hit a rut in turn two, bounced a little and inverted the #44 racer in spectacular fashion. Mark Pholi, who was now off the front row, jumped the start, bringing out the yellow lights, while the next start saw Darrell Hodges and Todd Wanless elevated to the front row. Wanless got the jump while Hodges settled into second, while Mark Pholi slipped into third. It was not long lived however, with the red lights coming out again, this time for Mark Pholi who had a massive crash through turn three. Mark was uninjured but out of the race, the team with a huge repair task ahead of them, and it was Todd Wanless who led the restart with nine laps still to run. Hodges, who took to the restart in second, ran too wide in turn four, allowing Peter Thorley, who had an awful rattle emitting from the engine of the #51 racer, to slip through, while only a few laps later Melissa Boyes brought the race to another stop. Boyes bounced through the ruts coming out of turn two and heading down the back straight and as her front wheels came back to the track the car turned sharp right and straight into the concrete wall. Melissa was lucky not to roll and while a little sore, she was unharmed in the incident. Her car suffered front end damage that ended her race. The rattle in Thorley’s car had subsided, but was now replaced with an alarming amount of smoke billowing from the engine of the Tyrepower racer. Still, Thorley took to the restart, determined to finish the event, while Darrell Hodges searched for a way past. The race endured one more stop, for the spun car of Steven Johnson, but it was Todd Wanless who took the win with Peter Thorley in second ahead of Darrell Hodges and Murray Gibson. They were the only finishers in the 10-lap journey – Steven Johnson, Melissa Boyes, Mark Pholi and Dan Murray all failed to finish the event.

The sixth and final heat of the night saw young Des Collier get the jump on Brent Kratzmann on the start, with Richard Morgan making short work of slipping into second. Andrew Scheuerle was coming on strong, finding a way past both Danny Reidy and Brent Kratzmann to slip into third. Des Collier, who has shown considerable improvement in the past couple of race meetings, drove a brilliant race and went on to take the win with Richard Morgan second and Andrew Scheuerle home in third. Danny Reidy eventually got the better of Brent Kratzmann, crossing the line in fourth with Kratzmann fifth ahead of Brett Thomas, Brock Dean, Matt Butler and Adrian O’Connell.

Peter Thorley started from pole position in the Dash, with Peter Lack alongside. Thorley, with an engine change not an option, he and his team had everything crossed that they could push the power-plant in the #51 racer just long enough to get him through the rest of the program. Unfortunately for Thorley it just was not meant to be, the #51 racer with a very audible rattle and billows of smoke, barely made it through turn one of the 6-lap dash. The smoke got worse the harder he pushed and by turn two of the opening lap Thorley had pulled the car up on the infield, his night disappointingly prematurely over. Peter Lack had the race lead in the Dash, with a sizable lead over Darrell Hodges in second place. Two laps in and Lack spun the car in turn two, and while he was able to take to the restart, he had to do it from the tail of the field. In one of the most eventful dash events seen in South-East Queensland in some time, Darrell Hodges led the restart from Danny Reidy but it was the battle for third that captivated the crowd. Todd Wanless led Andrew Scheuerle, until Scheuerle slipped underneath Wanless to steal his position. A lap later and Wanless stole his position back, briefly, while Scheuerle was not about to surrender third without a fight, slipping straight back under Wanless and back into third. Darrell Hodges took the win from Danny Reidy and Andrew Scheuerle with Todd Wanless fourth ahead of Peter Lack. Peter Thorley did not finish the event.

Allan Woods led the start of the B-main, with Brent Kratzmann settling into second. Murray Gibson hit the wall on the start, but escaped without causing an incident, however the officials were unhappy with start and brought the race under caution so the boys could try it again. It took three attempts to get the start right, and it was Big Al Woods who led them away. Three laps in and the race was brought to a stop, this time for Murray Gibson who had inverted the #91 racer on the back straight after contact with a fellow competitor. Gibson was uninjured but his night of racing was finished. With twelve laps left to run Allan Woods led them away while Melissa Boyes found a way past Craig Stevenson to slip into second and set out after race leader Woods. But contact between Mark Pholi and Brent Kratzmann in turn one saw Kratzmann invert the #77 in spectacular fashion before landing back on four wheels. As cars went every-which-way in an attempt to avoid Kratzmann, Steven Wright came together and inverted his NQ77 racer in a high flip that saw him land, geographically correct as far as car numbers go, on top of Kratzmann’s stranded racer. Both drivers were uninjured in the incident, though Kratzmann was clearly unimpressed with the driving of Mark Pholi. Kratzmann and Wright were both unable to restart and Pholi was sent rear of field but elected to leave the race of his own accord. With nine laps to go Allan Woods led the restart from Melissa Boyes and Craig Stevenson. Gary Finglas was sitting in the fourth and final transfer position, but made his move and slipped into third, relegating Stevenson to fourth and leaving him to try to hold off the advances of the oncoming field. Melissa Boyes had an impressive drive up the front and managed to find a way around Allan Woods to steal the race lead. Melissa went on to take the win in the 15-lap B-Main event with Allan Woods second, Gray Finglas third and Anthony Lambert securing the final transfer position to the A-Main. Matthew Butler was fifth across the line ahead of Brock Dean, Adrian O’Connell and Dan Murray. Craig Stevenson, Steven Johnson, Brent Kratzmann, Steven Wright, Mark Pholi and Murray Gibson all failed to finish the event.

With Peter Thorley unable to take part in the A-Main event, Rickey Mitchell was promoted to start out of position six, with the entire outside row moving up with him. Matt Butler got his start in the A-Main, with Brock Dean now the first reserve. But it was all about Danny Reidy on the start. After a brilliant run last weekend, only to have the win stolen from underneath him five laps before the chequered flag, Reidy was not about to let this one slip away. Clearly a strong chance at the win, he got the jump on the start, with Andrew Scheuerle blasting past Darrell Hodges to secure second. Hodges got a start he would rather forget, nearly spinning the immaculately presented #5 racer, and giving himself a little bit of catch up work to do. Peter Lack’s run of bad luck continued when he spun the #58 racer and came to a stop in turn two. He restarted from the rear of the field, with a tough field infront of him. Danny Reidy led the restart with Scheuerle in second, but it was short-lived for Scheuerle. With only two laps on the board Scheuerle uncharacteristically ran high into turn three, colliding heavily with the concrete wall and inverting the #25 Ausdeck Racing Cool that is only two meetings old. The crash was a big one and while Scheuerle was quick to exit the car and walk away the car suffered extensive damage. It was a devastating blow to Scheuerle, who is perhaps the most consistent driver in the field, with a DNF a rare occurrence. Reidy led the restart from Hodges and Wanless, while further back in the field Peter Lack was battling with a flat left front tyre. Des Collier was having a magnificent drive, running in fifth when he became entangled with Peter Lack in turn one, both cars restarting at the rear of the field. With 11 laps to run it was obvious that no one had anything for Reidy, and provided lapped traffic didn’t cause him too many hassles, Reidy would be untouchable for the rest of the race. Things went from bad to worse for Des Collier though, stuck at the rear of the field, desperate to make up lost ground, he clipped the back straight wall, then contact with Gary Finglas saw Collier back into the fence where he inverted the #63 racer. Des was unhurt but the car was not able to continue the race. Gary Finglas was black flagged over the incident and he too was out of the race. Meanwhile Danny Reidy was making it all look too easy out in front, opening a sizable lead on each restart and running away from the field. Reidy went on to take the win with Darrell Hodges doing a magnificent job to cross the line in second. Todd Wanless filled the final podium position, while Richard Morgan came home fourth ahead of Kevin Titman, Melissa Boyes, Anthony Lambert, Brett Thomas and Matt Butler. Des Collier, Gary Finglas, Allan Woods, Peter Lack, Paul Rooks, Andrew Scheuerle and Ricky Mitchell all failed to finish the event.

Sprintcars Queensland will take next weekend off, before returning to Brisbane International Speedway the following weekend, Saturday 22 May 2010, for Round 10 in the Queensland Speedway Spares Sprintcar Series. See you trackside!