Thirty-three Sprintcars, including Americans Donny Schatz and Jason Sides, rolled into SuperCheap Auto Archerfield Speedway last night for the massive Boxing Night show. Schatz and Sides both brought their own cars over from America, ready to do battle with Brisbane’s finest. Andrew Scheuerle is dominating the local scene this season and last night was again the best-placed local right throughout the night. Jason Sides topped the qualifying order at the start of the night, but troubles in the A-Main event saw him watch the second half of the race from the infield. Terry Bracken and Andrew Scheuerle both had short runs in the race lead, but there was no stopping Donny Schatz who took the lead early in the race and never looked back. Schatz cruised to victory and casually weaved his way through lapped traffic, but the real battle was behind him for the minor places. At the fall of the chequered flag it was Andrew Scheuerle and Darren Jensen who joined Schatz on the podium, with David Muir, who had come from the rear of the field after an early race incident, and Allan Woods rounding out the top five.

Qualifying got underway and while track conditions started out a little difficult, the times got faster as we progressed through the qualifying groups. Jason Sides was quickest in qualifying, stopping the clock at 11.752 seconds, while Andrew Scheuerle beat Donny Schatz by only one thousandth of a second, the pair recording times of 11.781 and 11.782 seconds respectively. Danny Reidy and Peter Lack rounded out the top five and were the last of the cars to dip into the 11-second bracket. Further back in the qualifying order Ben Hilder, Kevin Titman and James Grady were separated by one hundredth of a second.

Brad Ayers and Ben Hilder lined up alongside each other for the start of the first heat of the night. Hilder got a brilliant start in the immaculately presented #95 Motorguard Motorsport and quickly settled into the race lead. Ayers settled in close behind and the pair began to open a comfortable lead over the rest of the field, while Paul Rooks managed to slip into fourth when Paul Morris ran a little wide in turn two. As Hilder approached, and weaved his way through, the lapped traffic, Ayers crept ever closer and was in prime position to steal the lead should Hilder make even the smallest of mistakes. But Hilder navigated the lapped traffic carefully, with patience and skill, before going on to take the win. Ayers was second across the line with David Whell in third. Paul Rooks finished fourth ahead of Paul Morris, David Muir, Jason Sides, Steven Johnson, Wayne Iacono and Joel Millar. Unfortunately for Anthony Lambert he was unable to start the race.

Heat two started with Melissa Boyes and Kevin Titman from the front row. Boyes got the jump on the first start, but officials brought the race under caution and deemed Boyes to have jumped a little too early. She was relegated to the second row of the grid for the restart with Luke Oldfield now promoted to pole position. Oldfield and Titman drag raced side-by-side down the main straight when the lights went green. Titman managed to find a little something extra on the high line and was able to secure the race lead, with Oldfield settling into second as the rest of the field tried to sort themselves out. Bryan Mann was quick to secure third, while behind him Terry Bracken and Peter Lack began climbing closer to the front of the field. Lack closed in on the tail of Bracken and the pair had a great battle for a lap but contact between the pair launched Lack into a spectacular and hard-hitting crash. Lack walked away from the crash, but with a badly damaged car he was out of the competition for the rest of the night. Peter and the GW Racing crew are working hard to get a new car ready to race tomorrow night. Kevin Titman led the restart from Luke Oldfield and Bryan Mann. Oldfield had a go at getting past Titman on the restart but couldn’t quite get the job done, and soon found himself defending his position from a very hard-charging Bryan Mann. Mann managed to slip by Oldfield when the #17 racer ran a fraction too high in turn four, with Oldfield now coming under fire from Terry Bracken as they argued over third and fourth. Kevin Titman went on to take the win, virtually unchallenged, with Bryan Mann across the line in second and leading Luke Oldfield, Terry Bracken, Andrew Scheuerle, Melissa Boyes, Mick Sauer, Nathan McFarlane, Ron Hendrickson and Steven Rowell home. Peter Lack did not finish the event.

Heat Three saw Darren Jensen from pole position and James Grady alongside, with Danny Reidy and Donny Schatz deep in the field. Jensen got a brilliant start and quickly settled into the race lead, opening a comfortable margin over the field as Allan Woods negotiated with James Grady over second. Woods won out in the end as Grady slowly started to drop back a little. Reidy and Schatz were having a great battle over position as they attempted to make their way to the front of the field, with Reidy running the low line and Schatz trying to find a way around the outside. They approached the #88 racer of James Grady and with Reidy trying to go underneath, Schatz was a little boxed in. The yellow came on when Schatz spun the USA15 racer in turn four and came to a stop on the inside edge of the track. He started at the rear of the field as Jensen and Woods lead the way with eight laps left to run. Schatz took his time from the rear of the field, carefully picking his way through the field, assessing each competitor as he approached and swiftly manoeuvring his way around. Still there was nothing anyone could do to touch Darren Jensen in the race lead, with Jensen going on to take the win ahead of Allan Woods, Dan Murray, Danny Reidy, Donny Schatz, Brodie Tulloch, James Grady, Stephen Greer, Rod Wilson, Darren Silcock and Mark Pholi.

Stephen Greer and Darren Jensen shared the front row for the start of heat four with Jensen again getting the jump on the start and settling into the race lead. Unfortunately the race was brought under caution after contact between Andrew Scheuerle and Mick Sauer left the former stranded on the track in turn four. The pair had been running mid-field and as the rest of the field took evasive action, Steven Johnson had nowhere to go and spun the Q27 racer, with striking new war paint and new sponsor Brisbane Yamaha, to avoid the incident. Both Scheuerle and Johnson restarted at the rear of the field. Jensen again got the jump on the start while mid-field Allan Woods had a spectacular run on the low line slipping by both Mick Sauer and Paul Morris by the end of the first corner. Morris fought back hard and put on a great show for race fans while Oldfield had moved past Greer and set his sights on Jensen. Scheuerle was on the move from the rear of the field, while Morris had a perfectly timed run out of turn two only a few laps into the race. Woods was busy trying to find a way past Greer when Morris saw a tiny window on the low line and didn’t hesitate, making his way past both Woods and Greer in a single corner. Darren Jensen went on to take the win with Luke Oldfield home in second ahead of Paul Morris, Allan Woods, Andrew Scheuerle, Mick Sauer, Steven Rowell, Steven Johnson, Joel Millar and Stephen Greer, who had spun in turn two on the final lap. Nathan McFarlane did not finish the race.

Heat five started with Melissa Boyes and David Whell from the front row, with Mark Pholi and Dan Murray close behind. Boyes and Wheel raced side-by-side into turn one, with contact between Boyes’ right rear and Whell’s left front. Boyes managed to secure the lead as Whell came under fire from Mark Pholi and Terry Bracken. Unfortunately for Whell things were about to turn from bad to worse and the car got too sideways in turn two right in front of the rest of the field. Whell lifted the front wheels of the Q23 racer off the ground and brought out the red lights when he back-flipped the car and landed on the inside edge of the race track. David walked away from the crash but was out of competition for the rest of the race. Dan Murray was elevated to the front row for the restart and got a brilliant start when the lights went green, quickly settling into the race lead. Terry Bracken kept the pressure on Melissa Boyes, while further back in the field Jason Sides was beginning to make his way forward. Paul Rooks ran a little wide in turn four, opening the door for David Muir but the race was soon under caution once more, this time for Melissa Boyes who had spun the #8 racer in turn two. Dan Murray led the restart with nine laps left to run and Terry Bracken, Mark Pholi and Jason Sides right on his tail. Bracken was challenging Murray for the lead in turn two, the pair two abreast and putting on a spectacular show for race fans while keeping the racing clean and exciting. But another yellow light stoppage, this time for Mark Pholi who had spun in turn two, with David Muir and the luckless Anthony Lambert getting caught up. Pholi and Muir restarted at the rear of the field while Lambert was fork-lifted from the track. Dan Murray and Terry Bracken led the restart but all eyes were on Muir and Pholi who were both making remarkable progress from the rear of the field. Dan Murray went on to take the win with Jason Sides eventually getting the better of Terry Bracken to steal second with Bracken officially home in third. Paul Rooks crossed the line in fourth and led David Muir, Melissa Boyes, Darren Silcock, Rod Wilson and Mark Pholi, who had spun to a stop only a quarter of a lap from home, to the chequered flag. Anthony Lambert and David Whell did not finish the race.

The sixth and final heat of the evening started with James Grady and Brad Ayers from the front row with hard-chargers Kevin Titman and Ben Hilder right on their tail. Grady initially, momentarily, got the jump on the start but both Ayres and Titman were quick to pounce, with Titman down on the low line and Ayers up on the high side, they split either side of Grady and went three-wide into turn one. Once Titman and Ayers had cleared ahead of Grady, Hilder followed them through, with Bryan Mann and Danny Reidy following in quick succession. The race was soon brought under caution though when Donny Schatz became stuck behind Brodie Tulloch and spun the USA15 racer to a stop in turn three. James Grady, who had nowhere to go, spun his own car in an effort to lessen the impact with Schatz and while Schtaz was able to restart at the rear of the field, Grady experienced some trouble getting restarted and was relegated to the infield and out of the race. Kevin Titman was elevated to pole position for the restart and while he and Ayers raced side-by-side into the opening corner, it was Ayers who emerged in front and took control of the race, with Titman forced to settle for second. Further back in the field Bryan Mann ran around the outside of Brodie Tulloch while Danny Reidy and Donny Schatz slipped by underneath Tulloch. Ben Hilder was having a fantastic run and really putting the pressure on Kevin Titman, while Danny Reidy was clearly on a mission and seemingly almost effortlessly slipping past Bryan Mann and then Ben Hilder. Donny Schatz was quietly working his way closer to the front of the field and one-by-one relegated his opposition a position further back in the field. Mann made his way past Hilder and a few laps later got past Reidy when the NQ5 racer ran too wide in turn three. Reidy fought back hard and the pair battled for the rest of the race but attention had turned to the war raging over the race lead between Brad Ayers and Donny Schatz. Ayers had a truly magnificent run but in the end Schatz managed to get past and steal the lead right as they passed the white flag with one lap to go. Ayers tried to fight back but found himself under attack from Kevin Titman and while contact between Ayers and Titman on the final corner nearly spelt disaster for both, Ayers managed to hang on to his position as they crossed the line. Donny Schatz took the win, with Brad Ayers in second ahead of Kevin Titman, Bryan Mann, Danny Reidy, Ben Hilder, Brodie Tulloch, Ron Hendrickson and Wayne Iacono. James Grady did not finish the event.

Donny Schatz was highest points scorer of the night heading into the Dash event, with Jason Sides, Andrew Scheuerle, Danny Reidy, David Muir and Terry Bracken set to join him on the track. In the pre-Dash draw for starting positions Schatz drew position three with fellow American Sides drawing position four. Andrew Scheuerle drew pole position with Reidy and Muir drawing positions five and six respectively, leaving Terry Bracken with a front row start for the six-lap Dash event. Scheuerle was on a mission when the lights went green, there was no way he way going to Schatz the chance to accept the Kratzmann Challenge and invert the field. Scheuerle took off like a bullet at the fall of the green flag and immediately set about opening up a sizable lead. Bracken tried to go with him and while he was able to hang on to second with a skilled drive to keep Schatz behind him, he had no answer for Scheuerle out in front. Andrew Scheuerle went on to take the win about a quarter of a lap ahead of Terry Bracken in second and Donny Schatz in third. Jason Sides crossed the line in fourth and led Danny Reidy and David Muir across the line, the six contenders finishing in the very order they started the event in.

Sixteen cars lined up for the start of the 15-lap B-Main event, with Kevin Titman and Steven Johnson from the front row and Brodie Tulloch and Brad Ayers out of row two. Kevin Titman got the jump on the start and quickly settled into the race lead while Johnson settled into second. Johnson got a little sideways in the second corner but managed to straighten up and maintain his place on the race track, with only Mark Pholi being in the right track position on the low line to take advantage of the mistake. Pholi had an inspired run in the opening few corners of the race and by the end of the first lap was sitting comfortably in second behind race leader Titman and ahead of Johnson and Brodie Tulloch. Pholi opened the door for a moment in turn four, allowing Johnson to slip back through and while Pholi tried to earn his position back, Johnson pulled away ever so slightly. Wayne Iacono had a great run deep in the field, but could never seem to escape the heavy traffic around him, but the race was brought under caution at about half race distance when Darren Silcock slowed to a stop against the turn two wall. Titman, Johnson, Pholi and Tulloch led the restart but the rest of the race was plagued by several yellow light stoppages, the first of which came only two laps into the restart. Steven Rowell had collided with the turn one wall and exited the race with five laps left to run. Pholi and Tulloch had a thrilling battle going when the race restarted but after only two laps Steven Johnson brought the race under caution when he ran too wide exiting turn three and collided with the wall, getting some air under the Q27 racer and ending his race. Kevin Titman went on to take the win with Brodie Tulloch, Mark Pholi and Brad Ayers all securing transfers to the A-Main event. Anthony Lambert finished in fifth and led Darren Silcock, Wayne Iacono, Ron Hendrickson, James Grady, David Whell, Joel Millar and Rod Wilson. Steven Johnson, Steven Rowell, Nathan McFarlane and Melissa Boyes all failed to finish the race.

Andrew Scheuerle and Terry Bracken shared the front row for the start of the 35-lap A-Main event, with the all-American second row of Donny Schatz and Jason Sides right behind. Terry Bracken got the jump first time around and settled into the race lead with Andrew Scheuerle right behind and holding off Schatz and Sides. Danny Reidy and David Muir we both having an impressive run as each climbed a little closer to the front of the field. Unfortunately though the race was brought under caution when Jason Sides spun in turn three, with Luke Oldfield spinning to avoid contact as the rest of the field took evasive action. Second time around Scheuerle got the jump on the start with Schatz quick to settle into second and leave Bracken in third, while David Muir, Danny Reidy and Bryan Mann argued over fourth in what was a thrilling battle with positions changing several times. Unfortunately disaster was about to strike and as Muir, on the high line, and Reidy, on the low side, headed down the back straight with Mann close behind, Muir baulked and Mann ran over his right rear tyre. Mann then headed straight into the turn three wall, making heavy contact and inverting the car. Bryan was not hurt in the crash but was out of the race, the crew having a lot of work to do before tomorrow nights show. Muir suffered a flat right rear and during the stoppage his crew worked feverishly to replace the flat. Muir restarted the event at the rear of the field.

With 33 laps left to run Andrew Scheuerle led the restart with Donny Schatz, Danny Reidy and Terry Bracken right on his tail. Deeper in the field both Allan Woods and Kevin Titman were standout performers but the race was only a few laps further progressed when the yellows came out once more, this time Paul Morris had spun in turn two and was collected by Brad Ayers, while Paul Rooks spun in turn three. Scheuerle again led the restart from Schatz and Reidy but it wasn’t long before Schatz made his move and slipped into the race lead. David Muir was coming on strong from the rear of the field while Darren Jensen began putting the pressure on Terry Bracken and Danny Reidy. Schatz and Scheuerle began to weave their way through lapped traffic, tactfully sizing up each competitor and making it look easy as they slipped straight past. Seventeen laps into the race and the caution lights came on again, this time for Jason Sides who had spun to a stop in turn two. As it was his second stop in the feature event he was relegated to the infield for the second half of the race in a premature end to a night of racing he will certainly be keen on bettering tomorrow night.

Donny Schatz led the restart from Andrew Scheuerle, Danny Reidy and Terry Bracken, and while Reidy and Bracken argued over third, Darren Jensen and David Muir were fighting over fourth and fifth in a spectacular display of skill as they raced two-wide for several laps. Jensen eventually got the better of Muir and set his sights first on Reidy and before chasing Bracken for a few laps. Jensen was in magnificent form as he charged towards the front of the field, while Luke Oldfield and Mark Pholi were each having good runs too. Kevin Titman soon became involved in the battle between Oldfield and Pholi but after a few laps Oldfield and Titman brought the race under caution when they became entangled coming out of turn four. Both restarted at the rear of the field as Schatz and Scheuerle continued to dominate the race. Unfortunately less than a lap into the restart and Bracken, who had been having a brilliant run in the #19 Mitchell Motorsport racer, got too sideways in turn four and was collected by the luckless Danny Reidy who had been left nowhere to go. Bracken was able to keep the car moving but Reidy became stalled was forced to the rear of the field for the restart with only a few laps left to run. It became apparent fairly quickly after the lights went green one last time that things were not quite right on Bracken’s racer and he moved up track, staying out of the way as much as possible as he faded to the rear of the field. Donny Schatz went on to take the win, with Andrew Scheuerle a very strong second and Darren Jensen a very impressive third. David Muir managed to claw his way back to fourth after being relegated rear of the field early in the race, and Allan Woods drove a smooth, clean race to finish a very respectable fifth. Luke Oldfield was next across the line ahead of Mick Sauer, who continues to improve with each lap he runs, and Mark Pholi. Dan Murray crossed the line in 9th and led Kevin Titman, Brodie Tulloch, Paul Rooks, Danny Reidy and Terry Bracken across the line. Brad Ayers, Jason Sides, Paul Morris and Bryan Mann all failed to finish the event.

Sprintcars Queensland and American stars Donny Schatz and Jason Sides will return to SuperCheap Auto Archerfield Speedway tomorrow night, Saturday 28 December2013 for out last race meeting of 2013. Will Peter Lack and Bryan Mann make it back trackside? Can one of the Sprintcars Queensland locals beat our American guests? Will Donny Schatz get victory number two of his 2013-2014 Australian tour on the board or will his fellow countryman Jason Sides get the win for Uncle Sam? Come on out to SuperCheap Auto Archerfield Speedway tomorrow night for another night of frantic Sprintcar Racing action. Come and cheer on your favourite driver, American or home grown and pop down to the pits after the show to meet the drivers, grab an autograph or photo or buy some merchandise. It will certainly be a show not to be missed so come on out and get your last Sprintcar fix for 2013! See you trackside!