American star Donny Schatz once again dominated the Sprintcar racing at SuperCheap Auto Archerfield Speedway last night with a series of strong performances culminating in what was his 30th feature race victory of 2013. His fellow countryman Jason Sides seemed to struggle with the track a little at the Boxing Night show, but last night had well and truly adjusted and was determined to make amends. Sides and Schatz topped the leader board all night and while it was Schatz who held the lead for most of the 35-lap A-Main, it was hard not to watch Sides as he put on an impressive show for the race fans. Sides battled with several drivers over the course of the main event, but in the later stages of the race it was the battle with Brisbane local Luke Oldfield that commanded the attention of everyone in the venue. Oldfield had started from position three on the start and faded a little in the early laps of the race before having a breath-taking drive in the last half of the race. The crowd was right behind Oldfield as he held nothing back and he and Sides fought to the chequered flag over second place. Sides managed to hold on with Oldfield officially third. Andrew Scheuerle and Danny Reidy rounded out the top five.

When qualifying got underway it became clear quite quickly that it was the two American guests who were going to dominate the top of the qualifying order. Donny Schatz stopped the clock at 11.501 seconds with Jason Sides only 0.017 seconds behind with an 11.518 second recorded lap. David Muir was the best-placed local, his 11.732 second lap enough to secure third fastest, with Mark Pholi and Steven Rowell completing the fastest five. Twelve cars made it into the 11-second bracket, while Darren Jensen managed to stop the clock at 12.000 even. The top twenty-three cars were separated by less than one second with the entire qualifying field separated by only 1.492 seconds. Both Peter Lack and Bryan Mann returned to Archerfield Speedway with new cars after big crashes on Boxing night, but unfortunately for Mann his dramas were far from over. The team detected a problem in the #16 racer during the hot lapping session and retreated to the pit area to replace the diff in the car. Unfortunately for Mann he would miss qualifying altogether and would face a tough night of racing from the rear of the field.

Heat one started with Paul Morris and Stephen Greer from the front row with Morris getting the jump when the lights went green. Terry Bracken and Darren Jensen both quickly found their way past Greer, while Danny Reidy was impressive on the highline before switching down low to get by Greer. Peter Lack and Andrew Scheuerle both started well, while Donny Schatz casually made his way past each of his fellow competitors one by one. Bracken and Jensen had a great battle over second, with Bracken occasionally breaking away long enough to put the challenge to Morris in the race lead. Morris however is never one to give up without a fight and drove a smooth and consistent race, keeping Bracken behind him and maintaining control of the race. Meanwhile Schatz had found his way past both Peter Lack and Andrew Scheuerle and was closing the gap to Danny Reidy, who in turn was all over the back of Darren Jensen. Schatz was brilliant on the low line, slipping by underneath Reidy in turn two, and then getting Jensen in the same corner two laps later. Paul Morris went on to take the win with Terry Bracken a comfortable second ahead of Donny Schatz, Darren Jensen, Danny Reidy, Andrew Scheuerle, Peter Lack, Stephen Greer and James Grady.

David Whell and Melissa Boyes led the field to the green flag for the start of heat two. Whell got the jump on the start but Boyes found a little something extra on the highline and fought back hard to steal the lead by turn two. Jason Sides was beginning to work his way forward and slipped past Kevin Titman at the end of the first lap. A small mistake in turn two allowed Titman back through, only for Sides to out-drag him down the back straight and steal the position back again in turn three. The race was brought under caution only a couple of laps later when Joel Miller spun the #3 racer in turn two. Boyes led the restart from Whell and Paul Rooks while Sides and Titman tried to find a way past Wayne Iacono. Sides spent several laps searching for the right path through, with Titman on his tail and getting closer to making a move himself. When Sides made another small error in turn two, Titman seized the opportunity and slipped by underneath, right as Iacono got a little too sideways coming out of the turn. The two came together with Titman left trying to straighten up on the very low edge of the track as the rest of the field tried to avoid Iacono. Sides made his way past on the high side before swiftly switching to the low line to get past Titman in turn three. Titman fought back but there was little he could do. Out in front it was Melissa Boyes who took the win with David Whell in second and Paul Rooks a very strong third. Jason Sides finished fourth and led Kevin Titman, Steven Rowell, Bryan Mann, Anthony Lambert, Joel Millar and Wayne Iacono across the line.

Luke Oldfield and Mick Sauer shared the front row for the start of heat three. Oldfield got the jump when the green flag flew, with Brad Ayers and Ben Hilder quick to follow on the low line. Sauer settled into fourth but came under fire from Mark Pholi, while David Muir stayed right on the tail of the Q14 racer of Pholi. Sauer managed to pull away a little but all eyes were on Pholi and Muir as Muir searched high and low for way past. The pair duelled lap after lap and while Muir almost managed to edge his way in front on several occasions, Pholi was quick to close the door. Luke Oldfield went on to take the win with a margin of just over five seconds with Brad Ayers in second ahead of Ben Hilder, Mick Sauer, Mark Pholi, David Muir, Dan Murray, Brodie Tulloch, Nathan McFarlane and Rod Wilson.

Heat four started with Wayne Iacono and Anthony Lambert from the front row and Paul Morris and Brad Ayers close behind. Iacono got the jump on the start with Lambert settling into second, while behind them Morris and Ayers ran the high line, Darren Jensen the low and Danny Reidy tried to run through the middle in turn two. Unfortunately for Reidy contact with Ayers was enough to upend the NQ5 racer in turn two. Reidy was not hurt in the incident, and other than severely crumpled wings, the car was in reasonable shape. Reidy and his crew did try to replace the crumpled main wing but ran out of time and Reidy restarted the event at the tail of the field and circulated in an effort to finish the race and claim some valuable points. A full race restart followed with Lambert this time getting the jump on the start with Schatz, now out of position four, made his way into second half way through the first lap. Morris made his way past Iacono while Darren Jensen and Andrew Scheuerle began searching for their respective ways past. Meanwhile Anthony Lambert was under all sorts of pressure from Donny Schatz. The battle captivated the crowd as Lambert drove a smooth and consistent race as Schatz searched high and low for the right path through. It was a breath-taking battle and really demonstrated some of the skill and patience that has made Schatz the competitor he is. In the end though, despite the best efforts of Lambert to keep Schatz behind him, it was Donny Schatz who took the race win, with Anthony Lambert officially second and Paul Morris in third. Darren Jensen was next across the line and led Andrew Scheuerle, Wayne Iacono, Brad Ayers, James Grady and Danny Reidy across the line.

Stephen Greer started from pole position in heat five with Dan Murray alongside and Luke Oldfield and Peter Lack from the second row. Murray got a brilliant start in the Q44 racer and quickly secured the race lead. Lack and Oldfield drag raced side-by-side into the first corner, with Oldfield getting more drive on the low line and slipping past Greer and into second. As Peter Lack and Kevin Titman tried to run underneath Greer in turn four the trio made contact and while all were able to disentangle themselves and keep the cars moving the race had already been brought under caution. A full race restart followed with Murray again getting a faultless start and quickly settling into the race lead with Peter Lack following him on the highline. Kevin Titman tried to go with them around the high side of Stephen Greer but ran out of luck and after contact with the Q84 racer of Greer, Titman ended up in the concrete wall and launched into a series of violent flips into turn one, clipping Greer again on his way back down to the track and flipping him over as well. Adding his name to the list of contenders for the Wings Award at the end of the season, Titman severely damaged his chassis, which was only a couple of shows old, and there was initially some concern over the health of his new engine, but Titman himself walked away from the crash unscathed. With neither Titman nor Greer able to take part in the restart it was Luke Oldfield who joined Dan Murray on the front row for the third attempted start. Oldfield got the jump on the start and while Murray settled into second he instantly came under fire from a hard charging Peter Lack. Jason Sides and Luke Rowell were arguing over positions as each tried to make their way towards the front with Rowell soon catching Lack and slipping by after only a couple of laps. Murray made a mistake in turn two, allowing both Rowell and Lack past before he rejoined the race track in between Lack and Sides and became firmly embroiled in their battle. Sides kept the pressure on Murray for several laps before eventually attempting an inside passing move through turn two. Murray ended up spun in the middle of the corner and brought the race under caution. Oldfield led the restart from Rowell, Lack and Sides but when the lights went green once more it was Sides who stole the limelight. Sides and Lack ran two abreast for several laps with Sides on the low line finally emerging just in front and setting his sights on Rowell. It took until the very last lap of the race but Sides managed to slip by Rowell with only half a lap left to run. Luke Oldfield took the win with Jason Sides in second and Steven Rowell in third. Peter Lack finished fourth ahead of Brodie Tulloch, Bryan Mann, Dan Murray and Joel Millar. Kevin Titman and Stephen Greer both failed to finish the event.

Sprintcar new-comers Mick Sauer and David Whell shared the front row for the sixth and final heat of the night. Whell got the jump on the start and soon made himself comfortable in the race lead with Sauer in second while further back in the field David Muir tried to find a way past Paul Rooks, only for Ben Hilder to quietly slip by on the inside of Muir in turn two. Muir fought back hard and managed to regain the advantage from Hilder half a lap later, only moments before Hilder spun the #95 Motorguard Motorsport racer in turn two and brought the race under caution. Whell and Sauer led the restart with Melissa Boyes holding her own in third, but it was the behind the leading trio that was the race within a race. Terry Bracken, Paul Rooks and David Muir were putting on a great show, with Mark Pholi soon joining the battle after a few laps. Pholi had been having a great run and was attempting an inside passing move on Muir in turn two when he spun the car to a stop and brought the race under caution once more. Whell, Sauer and Boyes continued to lead on the restart, the three virtually untouchable out in front while the mid-field battle resumed between Bracken, Rooks and Muir, with young Ben Hilder this time joining in at the tail. Bracken, Rooks and Muir put on a brilliant show for the race fans with fast and aggressive, yet clean, racing with positions changing several times over the last half of the race on a track that had several fast racing lines. David Whell went on to take the win with Mick Sauer in second ahead of Melissa Boyes in third. David Muir managed to get the better of Rooks and Bracken, crossing the line in fourth and led Terry Bracken, Paul Rooks, Mark Pholi, Ben Hilder, Nathan McFarlane and Rod Wilson across the line.

David Muir, Steven Rowell, Mark Pholi, Andrew Scheuerle, Paul Rooks and Luke Oldfield we third to eighth highest points scorers heading into the Dash events. The six drivers took to the track together for two qualifying laps with the fastest four to remain on the track for the second shootout and fifth and sixth to start from positions seven and eight in the A-Main event. Luke Oldfield was more than two tenths of a second quicker than his rivals and along with Andrew Scheuerle, David Muir and Steven Rowell, secured his transfer to the second shootout. Paul Rooks and Mark Pholi would start the A-Main event from positions seven and eight respectively. Scheuerle, Oldfield, Muir and Rowell were joined on track by the two highest points scorers of the night, Americans Donny Schatz and Jason Sides, for the second shootout. The fastest four cars, in this instance Schatz, Muir, Sides and Oldfield, would advance to the five lap Dash event, while the remaining two cars, Scheuerle and Rowell, would start the A-Main from positions five and six.

With the fastest four cars from the second shootout inverted for the start of the Dash event it was Luke Oldfield and Jason Sides from the front row with David Muir and Donny Schatz right behind. Oldfield got the jump when the lights went green but Sides fought back and managed to steal the lead in turn three. While Oldfield tried to fight back there was little he could do, and before long Schatz too had made his way almost effortlessly into second. Jason Sides took the win with Donny Schatz second ahead of Luke Oldfield and David Muir. Sides was offered the chance to take up the Kratzmann Challenge and invert the top fourteen starters in the A-Main event. Despite the bonus bounty on offer being increased to $4000 Sides decided to decline the offer and start from pole position for the 35-lap A-Main event.

Peter Lack and Anthony Lambert shared the front row for the start of the B-Main event that was scheduled to run for fifteen laps. Lack got an absolutely brilliant start and immediately secured the lead and opened a margin of several car lengths over Lambert in second. Lambert gained some ground when Lack ran a fraction wide in turn two, but there was little he could do to wheel him in enough to challenge for the lead. Mick Sauer and Terry Bracken were both coming on strong from mid-field when the race was brought under caution for the spun car of Nathan McFarlane in turn two. Lack and Lambert led the restart but it didn’t last long before the race was under caution once more. Mick Sauer and Terry Bracken had come together as they passed the cone on the main straight for the start, with Bracken on the inside climbing over the left side of the #79 racer of Sauer. Bracken was lucky he didn’t roll, but he slowed to a stop and was relegated to the rear of the field for the restart. Lack and Lambert continued to lead from Paul Morris on the restart with Brad Ayers and Mick Sauer now fighting over the final transfer to the A-Main. Dan Murray and Bryan Mann soon joined the fight and with lapped traffic beginning to play a part Ayers was able to pull away a little and leave Sauer, Murray and Mann to their own devises in amongst lapped traffic. Terry Bracken was a man on a mission as he began to claw his way back from the rear of the field but the race was soon brought to another stop, this time for the spun car of Joel Millar. The restart was barely a lap old when the yellows came out once more, this time it was James Grady and Nathan McFarlane entangled in turn one. Lack, Lambert, Morris and Ayers were untroubled out in front but the mid-field battle between Dan Murray, Bryan Mann and Terry Bracken was really starting to heat up. Bracken soon managed to get past Mann, but a small mistake allowed Mann back through as they headed down the main straight. Bracken chased Murray and Mann for a couple of laps and while Mann was having a look at the high side trying to get around Murray, Bracken took to the low line through turn three. Unfortunately for both Bracken and Mann their run of bad luck was not over and contact between the two saw Mann invert the #16 racer into turn four. Mann was not hurt in the crash but neither driver would take part in the restart. On the restart Dan Murray managed to slip by Brad Ayers and into fourth, just in time to secure the final transfer position before Wayne Iacono spun the #24 racer in turn two and brought the race under caution once more. With time starting to get away the race was declared on the spot with just 11 laps completed. Peter Lack was credited with the win with Anthony Lambert, Paul Morris and Dan Murray all securing transfers to the A-Main event. Brad Ayers was officially fifth and led Mick Sauer, Rod Wilson, Joel Millar, Nathan McFarlane, James Grady and Wayne Iacono. Bryan Mann, Terry Bracken and Stephen Greer did not finish the event.

Jason Sides and Donny Schatz lined up for an all-American front row for the start of the 35-lap A-Main event at SuperCheap Auto Archerfield Speedway, the last race for 2013. Sides got the jump on the start and settled into the race lead ahead of Schatz while Luke Oldfield, Andrew Scheuerle and David Muir argued over the minor places. Oldfield ran too wide in turn two and faded back to mid-field while Scheuerle managed to get the better of Muir. By the second lap Sides pulled a massive wheel-stand coming out of turn two, and while impressive, it cost him the race lead with Schatz quick to pounce and take control. Andrew Scheuerle is never one to waste an opportunity and he too found a way past Sides, half a lap after Schatz, and settled into a comfortable second, while further back in the field Danny Reidy, Peter Lack and Darren Jensen were really putting on a show. Jensen, who had changed engines in the #75 racer between the heats and feature with the help of half the teams in the pits, really kept the pressure on as positions changed several times between the duelling trio. Luke Oldfield and Ben Hilder had a great battle as Oldfield began his climb back towards the front of the field, while David Muir was all over the back of Jason Sides, who in turn stayed close to Andrew Scheuerle. Schatz began to weave his way through lapped traffic, with Scheuerle, Sides and Muir not all that far behind but the race was brought under caution ten laps in when Melissa Boyes spun the #8 racer in turn two.

Schatz led the restart from Scheuerle, Sides and Muir, but all eyes were on Luke Oldfield and within a lap he had made his way past Steven Rowell and was challenging David Muir for fourth. It was a spectacular show watching Muir and Oldfield race wheel-to-wheel for several laps before Oldfield emerged in front briefly and Muir stole the position back and the pair set out after Sides and Scheuerle. Further back in the field Peter Lack, Darren Jensen and Danny Reidy were having a great race with Paul Rooks also involved. The yellows came on again after only a few laps, this time Steven Rowell, Mark Pholi and Ben Hilder had come together in turn two. None were injured in the incident but both Pholi and Rowell were out of the race while Hilder restarted at the rear of the field. Less than a lap into the restart and the red lights were on and the race was halted once more. Paul Morris had, after contact with Peter Lack, inverted the Q67 SuperCheap Auto racer in turn three. It was a reasonably gentle roll and after being tipped back onto four wheels and having the car checked over by officials and his own crew, the left rear tyre replaced the front wing secured with race tape, Morris restarted at the rear of the field.

Schatz continued to dominate on the restart, while Sides challenged Scheuerle for second, Muir and Oldfield continued to argue over fourth, and Danny Reidy was coming on strong and edging closer to the top five. With barely a lap under green, Anthony Lambert spun the Q90 racer in turn two, bringing the race under caution again. Schatz, Scheuerle and Sides led the restart but again it was mid-field drivers who stole the show. Luke Oldfield made his move and managed to get past David Muir, but Muir fought back hard with Danny Reidy quickly joining the fight and after a few laps managing to slip by both Muir and Oldfield in the space of half a lap. Reidy managed to hang on to the position though both Muir and Oldfield challenged hard. Just behind them Paul Rooks, Darren Jensen and Peter Lack were embroiled in their own battle, a good, clean and entertaining race only halted by the red light for Ben Hilder who had inverted the #95 racer in turn two after completing only 19 laps.

Schatz led the restart from Sides, who had managed to get past Scheuerle, with Scheuerle now in third but with Reidy, Oldfield and Muir all right on his tail. Sides challenged Schatz for the lead when the lights went green, while Scheuerle was on the defensive from a very hard charging Reidy and Oldfield and Muir picked up right where they left off. After a few laps Muir dropped back a little while Oldfield gave it his all and set his sights on Danny Reidy and Andrew Scheuerle. Muir faded a little into the clutches Jensen, Rooks and Lack, but unexpectedly pulled infield several laps later. Lack spun to a stop in turn two a lap later and while he was restarted he pulled infield with low oil pressure and would take no further part in the race. Luke Oldfield was the one to watch in the later stages of the race, and while he took the restart in fourth, it only took a couple of laps for him to run around the outside of Andrew Scheuerle and into a podium position. The whole crowd was behind him as he put all sorts of pressure all over the back of Jason Sides as he fought tooth and nail in a effort to get to second, falling just short by the time the chequered flag fell. Donny Schatz took the win, making it two from two so far this Australian summer, with Jason Sides home in second and Luke Oldfield filling the final podium position. Andrew Scheuerle, consistent as always, crossed the line in fourth with Danny Reidy rounding out the top five. Darren Jensen finished sixth and led Paul Rooks, Brodie Tulloch, Dan Murray, Melissa Boyes, Anthony Lambert, David Whell and Paul Morris across the line. Peter Lack, David Muir, Ben Hilder, Mark Pholi and Steven Rowell did not finish the event.

Donny Schatz, Jason Sides and the Sprintcars Queensland stars will return to SuperCheap Auto Archerfield Speedway on Wednesday night, 01 January 2014, for another spectacular night of racing. We hope to see you all trackside in the new year so come on out and cheer on your favourite driver and see if one of the Brisbane locals can stop the American winning streak. Until then, from all of us at Sprintcars Queensland, we wish all of our members, their family, friends, sponsors and fans a very happy and safe new year. We thank you all for your support in 2013 and look forward to seeing you all at the races in 2014.