The 2014 Sprintcar Queensland Title kicked off last night at SuperCheap Auto Archerfield Speedway with 28 cars taking to the track and putting on a spectacular first night of competition. David Murcott and Luke Oldfield were the standout performers of the night, Luke securing fast time in Qualifying, while David won the preliminary A-Main event.

It was tough track conditions again and while a number of people were caught out, Murcott and Oldfield seemed better able to navigate the ruts and run the highline to find the extra racing line. Oldfield suffered mechanical issues in the NQ17 racer before the start of the A-Main and pulled the car up on the infield, forgoing his front row starting position alongside pole-sitter Murcott. North Queensland based racer Brent Aprile had a brilliant run in the early laps the of the A-Main event, stealing the lead from Murcott for several laps before ending up stranded near the turn one fence when Murcott fought to regain his position.

Murcott went on the win the preliminary A-Main event and leads the points chase going into night two tonight, while Robbie Farr and James McFadden both had another solid night to round out the podium. Andrew Scheuerle and Shaun Dobson, this weekend driving the #95 racer for Motorguard Motorsport, completed the top five. David Murcott leads the Title Points battle, with Robbie Farr in second ahead of Andrew Scheuerle and James McFadden. Luke Oldfield has managed to hang on to fifth, tied with Bryan Mann, despite failing to run the Preliminary A-Main.

Qualifying got under way with trying track conditions catching some drivers out, with lap times that reflected the challenge. Luke Oldfield and David Murcott proved to be quickest on the night, both cars dipping into the 11-second bracket, Luke with an 11.880 and David stopping the clock at 11.916 seconds. While they were the only cars to go sub-12 seconds, the rest of the field were not all that far behind, the top 25 qualifiers separated by less than one second. Robbie Farr, Brent Aprile and Mark Pholi, with a special new look #14 racer to commemorate the ANZACs, rounded out the fastest five. Garry Brazier struck mechanical issues in hot laps and did not take any further part in proceedings, while several others were left disappointed in their own qualifying efforts. Hard chargers Danny Reidy, Kevin Titman, Bryan Mann and Andrew Scheuerle all missed the top then, as did Trevor Green, driving the Titan Garages #36 machine, Terry Bracken, Shaun Dobson and Darren Jensen, all of whom were determined to make up lost ground when the heats rolled out.

Darren Jensen and Terry Bracken shared the front row for the start of heat one, but the first start was aborted when officials deemed Bracken to have jumped the start. Bracken was relegated to the second row for the next start, with Bryan Mann promoted to position two alongside Jensen. It was Jensen who got the jump when the lights went green once more, while Bracken was quick to run around the outside of Trevor Green before ducking underneath Mann and securing second by the end of turn two. Luke Oldfield was running the high line beautifully, while at the rear of the field there was an intense battle brewing between Brodie Tulloch, Paul Morris and Andrew Marks. Oldfield soon found his way past Green and spent a few laps closing the gap to Bryan Mann, while further back in the field Kevin Titman started closing in on Trevor Green. Darren Jensen went on to take the win, with Terry Bracken in second, the pair never challenged for their positions and were a couple of seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Bryan Mann had a solid run to finish in third and led Luke Oldfield, Trevor Green, Kevin Titman, Brodie Tulloch, Paul Morris and Andrew Marks across the line.

Andrew Liebke and David Whell led the start of the second heat, with Sammy Walsh and Andrew Scheuerle right behind on the second row. Whell got the jump on the start and secured the race lead but all eyes were on Andrew Scheuerle as he blasted around the high side and past Liebke and Whell in the second corner of the race. With barely half a lap on the board Scheuerle secured the race lead and began opening a significant margin over the rest of the field. David Whell held down a comfortable second while Andrew Liebke ran in third. Liebke however had his hands well and truly full with both David Murcott and James McFadden right on his tail tank and searching high and low for a clean path past. Murcott was relentless but patient and while Liebke drove exceptionally well, a small mistake with the three-quarters of a lap remaining, gave Murcott all the invitation he needed to run around the outside and steal third. Andrew Scheuerle went on to take the win, with almost half a lap back to David Whell in second and David Murcott in third. Andrew Liebke finished fourth after a very impressive drive, with James McFadden, Sammy Walsh, Danny Reidy, Mark Pholi and Dan Moes rounding out the finishers.

Shaun Dobson and Paul Rooks lined up alongside each other on the front row for the start of heat three and the pair drag raced side-by-side into turn one when the lights went green. Dobson managed to secure the lead with Rooks settling for second, while further back in the field Peter Lack was spectacular on the high line. Lack and Brent Aprile had a great battle for a few laps, while Jordyn Brazier put all sorts of pressure on the back of Paul Rooks, searching everywhere for a way past. Race leader Dobson caught lapped traffic with a few laps remaining and while he struggled to find a way past, and Paul Rooks and Jordyn Brazier closed the gap a little, he had built up a comfortable margin and was never challenged for his position. Dobson went on to take the win with Paul Rooks across the line in second and Jordyn Brazier third. Brent Kratzmann had a great run in the #4 racer to cross the line in fourth and lead Peter Lack, Brent Aprile, Robbie Farr, Brad Ayers and Melissa Boyes home.

Heat four started with David Whell and Darren Jensen from the front row and a very tough field behind. Once again the leading pair raced side-by-side into turn one, but it was Jensen on the high side who managed to secure the race lead while Whell settled into second. Further back in the field David Murcott was quickly making his way closer to the front, running the highline beautifully and sweeping around Trevor Green and Kevin Titman before setting out after Andrew Scheuerle and David Whell. Kevin Titman tried to fight back, but couldn’t quite get the job done, while Murcott was unstoppable on the highline, racing around Andrew Scheuerle and then, only a couple of laps later, David Whell. Darren Jensen went on to take the win ahead of David Murcott, Andrew Scheuerle, David Whell, Kevin Titman, James McFadden, Trevor Green, Paul Morris and Andrew Marks.

Terry Bracken started heat five from pole position with Shaun Dobson alongside. Bracken got the jump on the start but Dobson found speed on the high line and quickly took control of the race with a big outside passing move. Bryan Mann and Jordyn Brazier raced side-by-side through the opening couple of corners, with Brazier pulling ahead slightly down the back straight and attempted to go around the outside of Bracken. Luke Oldfield and Brent Kratzmann were arguing over the minor places towards the back end of the field, with Oldfield still favouring the high line but easily switching to the low side to get past in turn two. Jordyn Brazier was having a great run in the Q21 racer on the tail of Terry Bracken until a small mistake in turn two saw him loose ground, and a second mistake a lap later, which saw him slam the wall coming out of turn two, saw him fade further back in the field. Shaun Dobson went on to take the win, several car lengths ahead of Terry Bracken in second and Bryan Mann in third. Luke Oldfield was next across the line and led Brent Aprile, Brent Kratzmann, Jordyn Brazier, Brodie Tulloch and Melissa Boyes across the line.

Heat six started with Paul Rooks and Andrew Liebke from the front row. Rooks and Liebke raced wheel-to-wheel into turn one, neither willing to surrender the lead. Still side-by-side coming out of turn two, the pair made contact and while Liebke spun to a stop on the inside edge of the track entering turn three, his steering badly damaged, Rooks hurtled onto the infield. Rooks restarted at the rear of the field while Liebke was out of the race, both drivers incredibly lucky not to roll. Brad Ayers and Sammy Walsh shared the front row for the restart, with the leading duo again drag-racing into the opening corners This time Walsh managed to emerge in front and secure the lead, with Ayers holding down second but coming under fire from Danny Reidy. A small mistake by Ayers exiting turn two allowed Reidy to run around the outside, leaving Ayers with Peter Lack and Robbie Farr on his tail. Contact between Ayers and Lack in turn two left Lack stranded and facing the wrong direction and brought the race under caution. Sammy Walsh led the restart with Danny Reidy right on his tail with the leading pair pulling away slightly from the rest of the field as Robbie Farr tried to find a way past Brad Ayers. Sammy Walsh went on to take the win ahead of Danny Reidy, Brad Ayers, Robbie Farr, Mark Pholi, Paul Rooks and Dan Moes. Peter Lack and Andrew Liebke did not finish the race.

The conclusion of heat six saw the end of the qualifying events for the first night of competition, with six more heats to follow tonight. Sixteen cars qualified for last nights preliminary A-Main with David Murcott and Luke Oldfield to share the front row. Disaster struck for Oldfield before the first green flag had even flown, with Oldfield pulling the NQ17 racer up on the infield with mechanical issues. With Oldfield out of the event the entire outside row benefited, with Brent Aprile now promoted to the front row alongside Murcott. When the green flag flew it was Murcott who managed to secure the lead, with Aprile sitting in second and Mark Pholi, who had started from position four, quickly settling into third. Pholi had a very tough and determined field behind him, with Andrew Scheuerle leading the charge and Bryan Mann and James McFadden close behind and eager to get to the front. Brent Kratzmann soon joined the battle while just behind him Danny Reidy and Shaun Dobson were putting on a spectacular show. Brodie Tulloch and Terry Bracken were closer to the rear of the field, but that did not stop them giving it their all, the two drivers showing considerable skill as they raced in very close quarters. Murcott and Aprile were quickly approaching lapped traffic, and while Murcott got momentarily caught mid track behind a lapped car, Aprile was quick to move on the low side and quietly slip underneath the current Australian Champion to steal the lead. Murcott stayed with him though as they each tried to find a way past the lapped traffic, with Murcott charging hard on the low line in turn two, just a couple of laps after Aprile stole the lead. Murcott had the lead again as they headed through turn one, and while Aprile tried valiantly to fight back, he ended up parked near the wall coming into turn two and brought the race under caution.

Brent Aprile restarted at the rear of the field while David Murcott and Robbie Farr led the field away. When the race got back underway the leaders immediately pulled away from the field while Andrew Scheuerle tried to find a way past Mark Pholi. Pholi was slow on the start but once he got going he managed to hold his own and keep both Andrew Scheuerle and James McFadden behind. The race was soon brought under caution once more, with Brent Aprile spinning to stop in turn three as he tried to climb his way back towards the front of the field. Unfortunately for Aprile that was the end of his race, having already had two starts, and he watched the last nine laps from the infield.

David Murcott, Robbie Farr and Mark Pholi led the restart. Murcott and Farr again cleared out as Scheuerle and McFadden tried to find a way past Pholi and the battle between Shaun Dobson, Bryan Mann and Danny Reidy really started to heat up. Brent Kratzmann slowed to a stop in turn two with just three laps left to run, bringing the race under caution once more.

On the restart it was again Murcott and Farr untouchable out in front, but it was the battle for third that again captivated everyone’s attention. James McFadden had already found his way in front of Andrew Scheuerle and on the restart quickly slipped underneath Pholi to move into third. Pholi faded quickly over the next three laps, the engine in the Q14 racer going off and leaving Pholi with a result that does not truly reflect the night he had run. David Murcott went on to take the win with Robbie Farr in second and James McFadden third. Andrew Scheuerle crossed the line in fourth while Shaun Dobson had a brilliant run in the #95 Motorguard Motorsport racer to finish a very impressive fifth after initially starting fourteenth. Bryan Mann finished a solid sixth and led Danny Reidy, Sammy Walsh, Terry Bracken, Kevin Titman, Mark Pholi, Paul Morris and Brodie Tulloch across the line. Brent Kratzmann, Brent Aprile and Luke Oldfield all failed to finish the 20-lap Preliminary A-Main event.

David Murcott leads the points heading into tonight’s finale, with Robbie Farr, Andrew Scheuerle, James McFadden and Luke Oldfield close behind. Bryan Mann, Danny Reidy, Shaun Dobson, Mark Pholi Brent Aprile, Sammy Walsh, Terry Bracken, Kevin Titman, Paul Morris, Brent Kratzmann, Brodie Tulloch, Darren Jensen, David Whell, Brad Ayers, Jordyn Brazier, Peter Lack, Paul Rooks, Trevor Green, Andrew Liebke, Dan Moes, Andrew Marks and Melissa Boyes round out the contenders for the 2014 Queensland Sprintcar Title after one night of competition.

Sprintcars Queensland will return to SuperCheap Auto Archerfield Speedway tonight for night two of the Queensland Title competition where we will crown the 2014 Queensland Champion so come on out to SuperCheap Auto Archerfield Speedway and cheer on your favourite driver. See you trackside tonight.