Last night at SuperCheap Auto Archerfield Speedway Donny Schatz put on a mesmerising show for the large crowd in attendance, proving again just why he is regarded as the best in the world. In his hardest fought win of this Australian visit, Schatz worked hard throughout the 50-lap A-Main event, stealing the lead from David Murcott just before the half way mark. A few laps later Murcott stole the lead back as they navigated lapped traffic down the main straight. Schatz was able to regain the lead but spent the last part of the race with a very hard charging Steven Lines challenging him for the position. Both Murcott and Lines, two of Australia's best, ran a magnificent race, with Lines officially second behind Schatz at the final fall of the chequered flag. American Brad Sweet crossed the line a very impressive third in only his second night on the SuperCheap Auto Archerfield Speedway track, with James McFadden and Brooke Tatnell completing the top five. Andrew Scheuerle was best of the Brisbane regulars, crossing the line in twelfth and leading locals David Muir, Luke Oldfield and Bryan Mann across the line.

With qualifying completed Friday night it was time for some hot laps to warm the cars up and straight into heat racing action. Danny Reidy, Steven Johnson, Brent Kratzmann, Paul Rooks and Terry Bracken did not make it back trackside for night two of competition and while the Brazier family, crew and helpers were able to get Jordyn and his car back on track for last nights racing, they were still working feverishly on the N21 racer of Garry Brazier when proceedings started last night. It was a valiant effort by the team, even to get just the one car ready to race, with their efforts rewarded by a couple of strong drives by the teenage Brazier.

David Whell and Grant Anderson shared the front row for the start of heat seven with Whell getting a brilliant start and settling quickly into the race lead with Anderson on his tail in second. Less than lap in however and the race was brought under caution for Richard Morgan who had come to a stop in turn four. Unfortunately for Morgan his race was over and a full race restart followed with Dylan Jenkin now from position three. Jenkin and fellow second-row starter Andrew Wright rubbed wheels before the start but again it was David Whell who got a beautiful start in the Q23 racer and opened a small leading margin by the time he hit turn one. Anderson stuck with him, albeit a couple of car lengths behind, while Jenkin and Brad Sweet stayed close enough to strike should one of the leaders make a mistake. James Mc Fadden was beginning to advance on the low line and argued over position with Andrew Wright, while Steve Lines began to make his way forward, catching McFadden and, after a few laps, managing to slip by on the inside. As Lines set his sights on Wright, McFadden found Jason Sides and Robbie Farr on his tail. The trio had an intensely close battle towards the rear of the field, while Anderson had closed the gap Whell had created and was now putting all sorts of pressure on Whell for the race lead. Whell, no stranger to tough competition on the race track but still a new-comer to Sprintcars, drove a beautiful race but the skill and experience of Anderson won out in the end with Anderson slipping into the race lead when Whell ran a fraction wide in turn two only a few laps from home. Grant Anderson went on to take the win with David Whell in second ahead of Dylan Jenkin, Brad Sweet, Andrew Wright, Steven Lines, Jason Sides, James McFadden, Donny Schatz and Daniel Harding. Queenslander Richard Morgan did not finish the race.

Heat eight started with Steve Rowell and Brodie Tulloch from the front row with Jackson Delamont and Ian Madsen close behind. Tulloch got a brilliant start of the high line, while Rowell got swamped by the oncoming field. Delamont took to the low line, as Madsen went high and pair went either side of Rowell has they headed down the main straight moments after the green flag flew. Luke Dillon, Robbie Farr and Luke Oldfield followed Madsen on the highline and all managed to get past Rowell by the time they exited the second corner of the race. Rowell faded quickly while Tulloch ran away with the lead. Madsen, Dillon and Farr all got past Delamont on the high side, with Madsen settling into second and setting out after Tulloch and the race lead. Luke Oldfield and Jackson Delamont had a great battle mid-field, where they were soon joined by David Murcott, while Dillon started closing in on Madsen. Madsen in turn was ever so slightly closing the gap to Tulloch but Tulloch was simply too far in front and Madsen ran out of laps. Brodie Tulloch took the win, with Ian Madsen second ahead of Luke Dillon, Robbie Farr, Jackson Delamont, Luke Oldfield, David Murcott, Daniel Peska, Brent Aprile and Steven Rowell.

The ninth heat of the weekend saw Paul Morris elevated to pole position in the absence of Garry Brazier, with young Jordyn Brazier from position two. The first attempted start was pulled up, officials pointing the finger at Morris for jumping a little too soon. Second time around it was Morris who managed to secure the lead when the lights went green, with Brazier settling into second, while Bryan Mann and Peter Lack argued over third. Andrew Scheuerle and Jamie Veal had a great battle mid-field, with Scheuerle managing to get in front and keep Veal at bay. The battle between Mann and Lack was intense, the two talented Queensland based drivers have raced together a lot and showed plenty of professional respect and gave each other just enough racing room to make things exciting for the race fans. Lack gained the advantage but Mann lost several positions when he ran too wide through turns three and four. Morris had a commanding lead but Brazier and Lack chipped away at the leading margin lap after lap and were soon right on the tail of Morris. The three raced hard all the way to the line but Paul Morris managed to hang on to take the win ahead of Jordyn Brazier, Peter Lack, Andrew Scheuerle, Jamie Veal, Brooke Tatnell, David Muir, Bryan Mann and Shane Stewart.

Heat ten saw Brodie Tulloch from pole with David Whell alongside for the start of the ten lap journey. Whell once again got a beautiful start in the Q23 racer and quickly settled into the race lead with Tulloch and Ian Madsen keeping the pressure on. Luke Dillon had a great run and was soon all over the back of Madsen while further back in the field James McFadden was having a great run on the high line, fighting over position with Daniel Pestka. Back at the front of the field Madsen found his way past Tulloch, and set about finding a way past Whell. Madsen was persistent and with Dillon right on his tail searched high and low for a way past and into the race lead. After several laps a swift change to the low line in turn four allowed Madsen to duck underneath Whell and steal the lead only a couple of laps from home. Ian Madsen went on to take the win ahead of David Whell and Luke Dillon, while Dylan Jenkin crossed the line in fourth ahead of Brad Sweet. Brodie Tulloch faded to sixth by the fall of the chequered flag and led Brent Aprile, Daniel Pestka, James McFadden and Daniel Harding across the line. Richard Morgan did not finish the event.

Grant Anderson and Paul Morris shared the front row for the start of heat eleven but once the green flag flew all eyes were on Jason Sides who had started from position five. Sides managed to get just far enough in front of Andrew Scheuerle, who had started on his outside, to move up track and perfectly position his car to dive straight between Andrew Wright and Bryan Mann heading through turn one. Andrew Scheuerle also made impressive ground, while further back in the field the fight between Brooke Tatnell and Steven Lines was breath-taking as they raced side-by-side. Lines managed to secure the advantage and pulled away a little, closing in on the battle that was raging between Paul Morris and Andrew Scheuerle, and leaving Tatnell to battle with Donny Schatz. It was spectacular to watch as two of the best battled it out on the track, albeit at the back of a heat race field. Grant Anderson went on to take the win with Jason Sides across the line in second ahead of Bryan Mann and Paul Morris. Andrew Scheuerle finished a strong sixth and led Steven Lines, Brooke Tatnell, Donny Schatz and Andrew Wright across the line.

Heat twelve, the final heat of the evening, saw Jordyn Brazier from pole position with Jackson Delamont alongside after Steven Rowell elected to start rear of the field. Brazier and Delamont raced side-by-side into turn one, with Delamont securing the lead by the time they exited turn two. Brazier settled into second but instantly came under fire from a very determined Robbie Farr as Peter Lack began moving forward and Luke Oldfield became embroiled in an intense battle with David Murcott. Oldfield soon managed to pull a little ahead of Murcott and spent the rest of the race on the tail of Lack, the Queenslanders really putting on a great show. Jackson Delamont went on to take the race win with Jordyn Brazier doing a stellar job to hang on to second ahead of Robbie Farr, Jamie Veal, Peter Lack, Luke Oldfield, David Murcott, Shane Stewart, David Muir and Steven Rowell.

The Mid Pack Scramble was next to hit the track with qualifiers seven though to fourteen to take to the track for eight gruelling laps with Brooke Tatnell and Brad Sweet from the front row and only the top two finishers to advance to the Bronze Shootout. The front row raced wheel-to-wheel into the opening corner but it was Brad Sweet who emerged in front while Tatnell settled, briefly, for second. Ian Madsen was masterful on the highline in the opening corners, before switching to the low side to slide underneath Tatnell in turn three in a beautiful and perfectly timed move to steal second. Tatnell fought back and kept the pressure on Madsen for the duration of the race, but never got quite close enough to steal his position back. Brad Sweet took the win with Ian Madsen in second, both cars transferring to the Bronze Shootout event. Brooke Tatnell was next across the line ahead of James McFadden, Jason Sides, Andrew Scheuerle, Dylan Jenkin and Robbie Farr.

Brad Sweet and Ian Madsen advanced to the Bronze Shootout, where Luke Dillon and David Murcott joined them on track. The quartet took to the track for some timed hot laps, with the fastest two cars to advance to the Silver Shootout. Murcott and Dillon, recording very quick times of 11.261 and 11.341 seconds respectively, beating Sweet and Madsen to advance to the Silver Shootout. Sweet and Madsen would start the A-Main event from positions seven and eight respectively while Murcott and Dillon were joined on track by Steven Lines and David Muir for the Silver Shootout. Murcott and Lines both dominated the Silver Shootout, both recording the identical time of 11.452 seconds to secure transfers to the Gold Shootout. Luke Dillon and David Muir would start the A-Main from positions five and six. Daniel Pestka and Donny Schatz joined David Murcott and Steven Lines on track for the Gold Shootout. David Murcott once again topped the leader board at the conclusion of the Gold Shootout, earning pole position, and lane choice, in the 50-lap A-Main event, and having played his Joker Card Murcott was determined to get a good run in. Steven Lines beat Donny Schatz by only four hundredths of a second to secure his front row start with Schatz and Daniel Pestka to start from row two.

Before the A-Main event could get underway, there was the all-important B-Main race to run. One look at the starting grid and one could be forgiven for confusing the B-Main line-up with that of any A-Main. Jamie Veal started the event from pole position with Luke Oldfield alongside. Brent Aprile and Grant Anderson filled the second row with Jackson Delamont, Paul Morris, Shane Stewart, Peter Lack, Bryan Mann, Jordyn Brazier, Brodie Tulloch, Andrew Wright, David Whell, Richard Morgan, Steven Rowell and Daniel Harding all coming up behind. With Twenty laps to run and only the top six finishers to transfer to the back of the A-Main event, it was going to be a very hectic B-Main event that would actually mimic the preliminary A-Main event from Friday night and run from green to chequer without a stop. Jamie Veal got the jump when the green flag flew and quickly secured the advantage while Luke Oldfield settled into second. Peter Lack had a great run on the highline for the first half of the opening lap, but soon switched to the low line in his efforts to get closer to the front. Jackson Delamont had a solid run in fifth for most of the race but the battle was heating up behind him as the rest of the field fought to make it inside the top six. Veal and Oldfield had cleared out from the rest of the field while Bryan Mann and Shane Stewart quietly worked their way ever closer to a transfer position. Mann was brilliant on the high line, running around the outside of Peter Lack in turn three, just as the race leaders began navigating lapped traffic. The traffic gave Oldfield the chance to close the gap to Veal, and though he was able to significantly reduce the margin between them, he didn’t quite make it close enough to effect a passing move for the lead. Oldfield held nothing back, even slamming the wall heading down the back straight couldn’t slow him down, but there was no stopping Jamie Veal and he went on to take the win ahead of Luke Oldfield, Brent Aprile, Grant Anderson and Shane Stewart, with Bryan Mann securing the final transfer position. Peter Lack finished in seventh and led Daniel Harding, Jackson Delamont, Brodie Tulloch, Andrew Wright, Steven Rowell, Richard Morgan and David Whell across the line.

The 50-lap A-main event was just one of those races you had to be at to fully comprehend just how gifted these Sprintcar Superstars really are. Those familiar with Speedway already know of the brilliance Donny Schatz is capable of, he has proven that here and all over the world on innumerable occasions, but last night some of Australia’s absolutely finest proved that they have what it takes to take on the world’s very best. Every driver in the A-Main field last night, all twenty of them, put on a magnificently breath-taking show that cannot be described adequately in words alone. It will sure make for some compelling viewing when it makes it to One HDs coverage of World Series Sprintcars (and lets face it, every race covered on the program is sure to be gripping) but this really was one of those races you had to be at. David Murcott started from the front row with Steven Lines alongside. These two drivers are two of the most in-form drivers in the country at the moment and starting ahead of Donny Schatz and Daniel Pestka gave them a small but distinct advantage. Both Murcott and Lines were quick off the mark when the green flag flew, with Lines getting the initial advantage but Murcott finding a great line on the high side to power around the top and into the race lead with forty-nine and a half laps left to run. Further back in the field David Muir took to the highline, while Ian Madsen followed before swiftly ducking underneath Muir as they headed down the back straight. Muir fought back valiantly, but soon found James McFadden putting the pressure on in his charge towards the front. McFadden, like Murcott, had played his Joker Card last night and needed to get as close as he could to the front of the field. McFadden is masterful around the SuperCheap Auto Archerfield Speedway circuit so playing his Joker here was a very strategic move but in the end it did pay off, with McFadden slowly climbing his way closer to the pointy end of the field. Brooke Tatnell and Andrew Scheuerle had a thrilling duel going mid-field, the pair running two abreast for several laps, with Scheuerle eventually managing to get a fraction in front. Tatnell was not about to let the position get away from him and quickly fought back hard, the pair resuming their two-wide battle with Robbie Farr right on their tail. Tatnell managed to steal his position back, leaving Scheuerle and Farr to their own battle, with Jason Sides now firmly part of it too. Farr and Sides had been racing two-wide for several laps, right behind Tatnell and Scheuerle, with Sides eventually winning that battle. Before long though the red lights came on and brought the race to a stop. Dylan Jenkin was up-side-down in turn two, with Jamie Veal and Luke Oldfield also involved. All three drivers escaped injury, and all three cars were pushed to infield where a collection of various crews from right throughout the pits, worked feverishly on all three cars to get them ready for the restart. After a massive effort from everyone who helped, all three cars made it back in time for the restart.

With 41 laps still to run it was David Murcott who led the way with Donny Schatz up to second and Steven Lines running in third. Further back in the field Ian Madsen and James McFadden were keeping things interesting, two of the hardest chargers in Australia giving it their all and holding nothing back. Andrew Scheuerle, David Muir and Bryan Mann are three of Queenslands front-runners and are often found in battle together. Last night was no different with all three staying in close quarters, just a little further back in the field than usual. Luke Oldfield, Jamie Veal and Dylan Jenkin all started trying to move forward from the rear of the field, but it wasn’t long before race leaders David Murcott, Donny Schatz and Steven Lines reached lapped traffic. Schatz is undeniably brilliant in lapped traffic and used it to his advantage to not only close the small margin to Murcott but to steal the race lead from him as well. Schatz started moving away but Murcott never gives up without a good strong fight and, with double points in play, came back hard, taking everyone by surprise when he slipped back past Schatz to re-gain the race lead only a few laps later. That’s when things really started to heat up and Schatz turned on his A-game. You couldn’t not watch these two as they weaved in and out of lapped traffic while Murcott tried desperately to hang on to the race lead and Schatz chased after him and the lead in an event that Schatz has dominated in recent years. They raced side-by-side lap-after-lap, Murcott hanging on by sheer determination. It was a faultless display of professionalism between the two drivers, keeping it fast and aggressive, but clean, allowing each other just enough racing room to be comfortable. It was clear that both drivers thoroughly enjoyed the competition, and that only made it better for the race fans. Schatz did eventually manage to get the lead back, with Lines, who had been patiently biding his time in third, swiftly swept in and stole second from Murcott. Brisbane locals David Muir and Luke Oldfield had a two-wide battle deep in the field, with Bryan Mann also involved, as Lines slowly closed in on Schatz in the race lead. Schatz and Lines began trying to weave their way through the middle of the battle between Oldfield, Muir and Mann when the red lights came on bringing the race to a stop with eight laps left to run. David Murcott, while running in third, had inverted the Q83 racer in turn four. Murcott walked away from crash but it was an incredibly disappointing end to what had moments ago been a very strong performance.

Donny Schatz led the restart with eight laps to run and Steven Lines and James McFadden right behind. Robbie Farr had trouble coming out of turn two on the restart and while he was able to limp onto the inner bike track on the edge of the track, before he pulled out of the event only a handful laps from home. Brooke Tatnell, Luke Dillon and Jason Sides held nothing back for those final few laps, a three-way battle the captivated everyone’s attention, but no one had an answer for Schatz out in front. Donny Schatz went on to take the win, with Steven Lines a strong second and Brad Sweet stealing third, and the final podium, from James McFadden in the closing laps of the race. McFadden finished fourth ahead of Brooke Tatnell, Jason Sides, Luke Dillon, Daniel Pestka, Grant Anderson, Ian Madsen, Shane Stewart, Andrew Scheuerle, David Muir, Luke Oldfield, Bryan Mann, Brent Aprile and Jamie Veal. Dylan Jenkin, Robbie Farr and David Murcott all failed to finish the event.

World Series Sprintcars will head to Lismore Speedway next Saturday night, and some of our Queensland stars will make the journey down to have another go at a tough WSS Sprintcar field. Sprintcars Queensland itself will take a break from racing for a few weeks to allow our teams the chance to contest upcoming big events interstate over the next few weeks before we return to SuperCheap Auto Archerfield Speedway on Saturday 15 February 2014 for another Round of the KRE Sprintcar Series. To all our teams and supporters travelling over the coming weeks – be safe, on and off the race track. Sprintcars Queensland hope to see everyone back trackside at SuperCheap Auto Archerfield Speedway in a few weeks time.

On one final note, from everyone at Sprintcars Queensland, we would like wish to SuperCheap Auto Archerfield Speedway Promoter John Kelly a Big Happy 50th Birthday for tomorrow. John has such a passion for Sprintcars and Speedway and is such a valuable part of the Sprintcars Queensland community and we all wish him the very best for his Birthday and the year ahead.