Kerry Madsen broke Donny Schatz' strangle hold on the Australian Sprintcar Open crown when he took the win in the gruelling 50-lap A-Main event, that ran from flag to flag without incident. The event, held at AusDeck Patios Archerfield Speedway, also doubled as the concluding night of Round Seven of World Series Sprintcars and saw Madsen dominate the $20,000 to win main event after stealing the lead just a few laps into the 50-lap affair. Brooke Tatnell crossed the line in second while Donny Schatz filled the final podium after working his way from seventh on the grid. Schatz was gaining ground on the leaders but after having spent twelve laps at the start of the race caught behind James McFadden and Andrew Scheuerle, and a further seventeen behind Kyle Hirst and Steven Lines, the margin created by Madsen and Tatnell proved unsurmountable. Steven Lines and David Murcott, who had a spectacular drive from thirteenth on the grid, rounded out the top five, while Andrew Scheuerle in eighth was the best of the Brisbane regulars. The race ran its full 50 laps without incident, with Madsen lapping up to and including tenth, and taking the chequered flag just half a second short of the 50-lap record.

Carrying on from Friday nights racing, heat seven hit the track with locals David Whell and Brandon Rawlings from the front row. Whell and Rawlings raced side-by-side into turn one, but Rawlings had a great drive on the high side to secure the race lead by the time they hit the second corner. Brad Sweet raced underneath Andrew Wright when the green flag flew and went into the first corner wheel-to-wheel with Jason Sides, while Steven Lines and Lachlan McHugh raced either side of Wright heading into turn one. Unfortunately for Lines contact with Wright was enough to launch the W3 racer into the air and bring the race to a stop. Lines was not hurt in the crash but was unable to restart the race. A full race restart followed with Whell getting a great start from pole position to quickly secure the race lead. Wright settled into second while Sides and Sweet tried to race underneath Rawlings. A small mistake in turn two from Wright saw him quickly fade towards the rear of the field, while Brooke Tatnell and Luke Dillon made their way forward. Jason Sides soon stole the lead from Whell, leaving Whell with Sweet right on his tail and searching for a way past. Tatnell was all over the back of Rawlings before slipping underneath the NQ44 racer, before closing in on Dillon, who in turn had closed the gap to Sweet, as they all tried to find a way in front of Whell. Whell drove a spectacular race in illustrious company, but it was Jason Sides who went on to take the win. David Whell managed to hang on to finish second ahead of Brad Sweet, Luke Dillon, Brooke Tatnell, Brandon Rawlings, Lachlan McHugh and Andrew Wright. Steven Lines did not finish the event.

Kevin Titman had pole position for the start of heat eight, with Jason Pryde alongside. Titman got a great start when the lights went green, quickly rocketing into the race lead with Darren Jensen, who had started from position three, quick to follow. Jensen had secured second before the field hit the first corner, while David Murcott tried to run underneath Jason Pryde only to have trouble in turn two and lose positions to Daniel Harding, Mitchell Gee, Andrew Scheuerle and Ryan Jones. Harding raced under Pryde in turn two, with Gee racing under both Pryde and Harding in a spectacular passing move on the bottom of turn four. Scheuerle slipped under Pryde in turn one, before making his way past Harding almost a lap later, and setting out after Gee, while David Murcott and Kerry Madsen began fighting their way forward from the rear of the field. Titman was way out in front, holding a significant lead, while Gee caught the rear of Darren Jensen in the Q75 racer, and Scheuerle closed to gap to Gee. Kevin Titman went on to take the win by an impressive 3.345 seconds, with Darren Jensen in second and Mitchell Gee in third. Andrew Scheuerle was fourth across the line and led Daniel Harding, David Murcott, Kerry Madsen, Ryan Jones and Jason Pryde home.

Brisbane regulars Darren Silcock and Callum Walker led the start of heat nine and while Silcock got a great start and secured the race lead, Walker had a brilliant run on the high side to challenge for the lead. Behind the leading duo Luke Oldfield was running the high line around Allan Woods when he ran a little too wide in turn two, allowing Jamie Veal and Kyle Hirst to slip underneath. Oldfield was quick to recover and, committed to the high line, set about regaining his position. As Oldfield ran around the outside of Veal coming out of turn four, Hirst was on the bottom, giving the fans a thrilling three-wide before Hirst and Oldfield pulled away. Oldfield and his team had the Q36 racer set up beautifully to run the high line and Oldfield seemed to find a little something extra on the top side as he raced around Hirst and Woods in the space of a lap. At the rear of the field Bryan Mann, James McFadden and Jamie Veal went three wide through turn four, while chasing down Schatz, while Schatz turned his attention to Hirst, then Woods. Callum Walker had stolen the lead from Darren Silcock, with Luke Oldfield now up to second and Silcock fading through the field. Schatz worked the high side looking for a way past Woods as the pair drew ever-closer to Walker and Oldfield and their battle for the lead. Oldfield ran the highline determined to get past Walker, eventually getting the job done as they passed the flag stand, right as Woods and Schatz came together in turn four, Schatz slammed the wall hard coming out turn four before limping the car around on the low line for the remainder of the race. Luke Oldfield went on to take the win ahead of Callum Walker, who did a marvellous job holding off Kyle Hirst in the closing stages of the race. Hirst crossed the line in third and led Allan Woods, Jamie Veal, James McFadden, Bryan Mann, Darren Silcock and Donny Schatz across the line.

Heat ten started with Jason Pryde from pole position with David Whell alongside and David Murcott and Andrew Wright close behind. Pryde got the jump on the start and quickly settled into the race lead with current Australian Champion David Murcott right behind him. Whell secured third but was quickly challenged by Ryan Jones on the low side, while Wright took to the high line, with Whell able to maintain third. Wright got past Jones, but in less than a lap Jones raced back on the low side to again move in front of Wright, only this time both Andrew Scheuerle and Brad Sweet tried to follow. It was a tough run but after racing side-by-side for half a lap Scheuerle managed to secure the advantage over Wright, before making his way underneath Jones on the next lap. Scheuerle continued his impressive race towards the front of the field, racing around Whell and then, a few laps later, Pryde, who had relinquished the lead to Murcott early in the race. David Murcott went on to take the win ahead of Andrew Scheuerle, Steven Lines and Brad Sweet. Jason Pryde and David Whell raced across the line side-by-side, with Pryde hanging on to fifth by just 0.131 seconds. David Whell finished sixth, just 0.186 seconds ahead of Brooke Tatnell in seventh. Andrew Wright and Ryan Jones rounded out the finishers.

Brandon Rawlings and Darren Silcock shared the front row for the start of the eleventh heat of the weekend, with Rawlings getting the best start and quickly securing the race lead. Allan Woods ran the highline around Silcock, while both Jason Sides and Jamie Veal tried to slip underneath, the quartet momentarily four-wide in the second corner of the race. Sides, on the innermost edge of the track, managed to emerge in front, while Silcock held the advantage over Veal and Woods. Lachlan McHugh had a brilliant run on the inside line down the back straight, slipping under Woods, Veal and Silcock, with Woods then diving under Veal in turn three. Veal fought back in turn four, much to the delight of the large AusDeck Patios Archerfield Speedway crowd, while Donny Schatz began starting to make up lost ground. Schatz made is way past Woods, then Silcock and Kyle Hirst in one big inside passing move as they raced down the back straight. Lachlan McHugh put all kinds of pressure on Jason Sides, all the while coming under fire from Jamie Veal. McHugh raced underneath Sides in turn one, with Veal having a look underneath as well on the following lap, before changing tactics and switching to the high side to get the job done. Brandon Rawlings went on to take the win ahead of Lachlan McHugh, Jamie Veal and Jason Sides. Kyle Hirst was fifth across the line and led Donny Schatz, Darren Silcock and Allan Woods past the chequered flag.

Heat twelve, the final heat event of the weekend, saw Callum Walker and Kevin Titman share the front row for the start, with hard chargers Luke Oldfield and Darren Jensen out of row two. Walker and Titman raced side-by-side into the opening corner, with Titman managing to secure the lead as they exited the first corner. Jensen had a great run around the high line, quickly rounding up Walker and settling into second, putting all kinds of pressure on Titman while Oldfield raced under Walker to join the fight for the lead. Bryan Mann slipped past Walker in turn four but Titman, Jensen and Oldfield had already started pulling away from the field. Titman held the lead as Jensen worked the highline with Oldfield underneath, putting on a breath-taking race for the large crowd on the hill. Oldfield slipped under Jensen, only for Jensen to fire straight back half a lap later to regain second while Titman pulled ever so slightly ahead of his opposition. Mid-field Bryan Mann and James McFadden were holding nothing back, trying to steal the show as they raced wheel-to-wheel for several laps before McFadden finally secured the advantage. Back at the front of the field Jensen and Oldfield had closed the gap to Titman, with Jensen within striking range and taking to the high line in turn four. Jensen raced up alongside Titman as they headed down the main straight, stealing the lead with just a few laps left run. Darren Jensen went on to take the win with Kevin Titman holding off a late race charge by Luke Oldfield to secure second. Oldfield crossed the line in third and led James McFadden, Kerry Madsen, Bryan Mann, Daniel Harding, Mitchell Gee and Callum Walker home.

The top eight qualifiers were next on track to contest a series of three Shoot Out events. First up was the Bronze Shoot Out, which saw Steven Lines, Kyle Hirst, Donny Schatz and Mitchell Gee take to the track for three timed laps, the fastest two securing transfers to the Silver Shoot Out. Steven Lines secured the fastest time, a 13.216 second lap, with Kyle Hirst going second quick with a 13.233 second lap and securing his spot in the Silver Shoot Out. Donny Schatz (13.276 seconds) and Mitchell Gee (13.767 seconds) were eliminated from the Shoot Out events and would start the A-Main from positions seven and eight respectively.

James McFadden and Kerry Madsen joined Steven Lines and Kyle Hirst on track for the Silver Shoot Out, with Steven Lines again scoring the quickest time, a 12.903, on his final lap. Kerry Madsen secured the second quickest time of the Silver Shoot Out, a 12.914 second lap. While the four Silver Shoot Out contenders were separated by just 0.174 seconds, Kyle Hirst (13.023 seconds) and James McFadden (13.077 seconds) were eliminated from the Shoot Outs and would start the A-Main event from position five and six respectively.

Joining Steven Lines and Kerry Madsen on track for the Gold Shoot Out were Brooke Tatnell and high points man and Brisbane regular Andrew Scheuerle. After three qualifying laps Brooke Tatnell took the win, his 12.826 second lap enough to secure pole position for the 50-lap A-Main event. Just 0.170 seconds slower than Tatnell, and set to share the front row for the start of the A-Main, was Steven Lines, who stopped the clock at 12.996 seconds. Kerry Madsen (13.119 seconds) and Andrew Scheuerle (13.326 seconds) rounded out the Gold Shoot Out field and would start the A-Main event from position three and four respectively.

Twelve cars lines up for the start of the 15-lap B-Main event, with Luke Oldfield and Daniel Harding to share the front row, while Bryan Mann and Darren Jensen filled row two. Unfortunately for Kevin Titman it just was not his weekend and he pulled the Q59 racer up on the infield before taking the green. Titman, hearing something not quite right in the engine of the John Titman Racing machine, decided it was best to sit this one out until the problem could be further investigated. When the green flag flew it was Oldfield who quickly secured the race lead in the Titan Garages Q36 racer, while Harding settled into second briefly before Bryan Mann came charging up the inside as they raced down the back straight. Jensen raced around the outside of Harding as they completed the first lap, but the race was soon brought under caution for the spun car of Jason Pryde in turn four. Oldfield led the restart from Mann and Jensen with fourteen laps left to run and while the leaders had a firm grasp of the first few transfer positions, the battle behind them for the final three transfers was beginning to heat up. Harding had fourth covered for a while, but Andrew Wright and Brandon Rawlings argued of fifth and sixth, while behind them David Whell and Ryan Jones exchanged positions a couple of times. Wright and Rawlings soon caught the tail of Harding, who was putting pressure on Jensen, while young Callum Walker ran around the outside of Allan Woods and Darren Silcock, before racing around David Whell on the next lap. Walker was simply flying on the high side, making the top work beautifully for him as he closed the gap to, and ran around the outside of, Brandon Rawlings. Luke Oldfield went on to take the win ahead of Bryan Mann, Darren Jensen, Andrew Wright and Daniel Harding. Callum Walker managed to secure sixth, the final transfer to the A-Main event, after an inspiring drive on the high side, with Brandon Rawlings crossing the line in seventh and only just missing out on an A-Main start despite a stellar weekend of racing. Ryan Jones finished in eighth and led David Whell, Allan Woods and Darren Silcock across the line. Jason Pryde and Kevin Titman did not complete the 15-lap journey.

Twenty quality cars, with twenty highly talented drivers, fifty laps on the board and $20,000 on the line as we were set for a thrilling edge-of-your-seat A-main event. Brooke Tatnell and Steven Lines led the start, with Kerry Madsen and Andrew Scheuerle from the second row. Tatnell got the jump on the first start, but officials brought the race under caution, blaming Tatnell for jumping the start. Second time around was a much better start but it was still Tatnell who secured the race lead. Lines settled into second with Madsen right on his tail, while Scheuerle ran a fraction wide in turn two and lost a couple of positions that would be hard to get back. Lines and Madsen raced side-by-side as Madsen worked the low line to steal second and set out after Tatnell, sliding underneath the W2 racer less than a lap later to steal the lead, with Lines right on his tail. Tatnell tried to fight back, but Madsen soon started building a small, but comfortable margin over his rivals as Madsen, Tatnell, Lines and Hirst began pulling away from the rest of the field. Donny Schatz was stuck behind Andrew Scheuerle, with Scheuerle running a brilliant race in some of his best form this season. Schatz spent a number of laps behind Scheuerle, eventually taking to the high line in an effort to find his way past, and even then it took a few laps before he was able to get the U15 racer around the Q25 of Scheuerle. Schatz set his sights on James McFadden next, spending a couple of laps watching McFadden before slipping underneath as they rounded turn three. McFadden tried to fight back coming out of turn four with a big look up the inside of Schatz, but was unable to get the job done. Schatz set about closing the gap to Lines and Hirst, which then stood at basically the length of the back straight, while Madsen as the race leader began negotiating lapped traffic, trying to get as much space between himself and his rivals as possible. With lapped traffic in play Schatz further closed the gap to Lines and Hirst, with David Murcott now fighting James McFadden for position after an impressive drive from thirteenth on the grid. Schatz meanwhile slipped under Lines in turn four, setting out after Hirst and spending the next eight laps closing the gap before stealing third. Madsen and Tatnell worked the high line perfectly to make their way around lapped traffic, with Tatnell having built a significant margin over third before Schatz stole the position from Hirst. Schatz started trying to close the gap to Madsen and Tatnell, leaving Hirst to try and defend his position from Lines. As the laps wore on and Madsen seemed to get even more comfortable in the race lead, it became obvious that if Schatz were to successfully defend his Australian Open Crown he would need a stoppage to close the gap to the leaders enough to make a move. While Schatz worked tirelessly to close the gap, the stoppage he needed never came and there simply was no stopping Madsen out in front. Darren Jensen and Bryan Mann had a great battle deep in the field while Lachlan McHugh had an intense battle with Luke Dillon for a number of laps. Mitchell Gee and Jamie Veal had their own race mid-field, with Veal soon moving forward, with Gee soon on the tail of Andrew Wright and Madsen came around to put all a lap down. Gee ran a beautiful race, remaining competitive with his rivals while giving the race leader room to move. Madsen ran the high line to try and make his way through lapped traffic, getting very high in turn three and four for a couple laps and loosing ground each time. Fortunately for Madsen he had enough of a lead on Tatnell that he was able to maintain his lead and go on to take a very popular victory. Brooke Tatnell finished a strong second with Donny Schatz across the line in third. Steven Lines finished fourth with David Murcott rounding out the top five after a very impressive drive through a thick field rich in both talent and experience. James McFadden was sixth home ahead of Jamie Veal with Andrew Scheuerle the best of the Brisbane locals home in eighth. Brad Sweet and Kyle Hirst completed the top ten while young up and coming racer Mitchell Gee crossed the line in eleventh, the second of the Brisbane boys past the chequered flag. Luke Dillon and Jason Sides were next across the line, with Lachlan McHugh the third local home finishing in an impressive fourteenth. Bryan Mann was next across the line and led Luke Oldfield, Darren Jensen, Callum Walker, Andrew Wright and Daniel Harding across the line. Fifty laps, twenty cars, no stoppages, no retirees and just half a second off the 50-lap Sprintcar track record made for a race that will go down in the history books and be remembered, and talked about for years to come.

Sprintcars Queensland will venture to Bundaberg Speedway next Saturday night, before returning to Toowoomba's Hi Tech Oils Speedway on Saturday 06 February 2016 and then AusDeck Patios Archerfield Speedway on Saturday 13 February 2016. We hope you have had the chance to come out and see the racing for yourself over the past couple of weeks and we look forward to seeing all trackside again. Come on out to the Speedway for a great night of family entertainment and cheer on all your favourite drivers! And don’t forget to pop down to the pits after the racing has finished - the drivers and teams love meeting their fans, signing some autographs and posing for pictures!