With the 2015-2016 race season now concluded the drivers, crews, families, friends and sponsors of Sprintcars Queensland gathered at Easts Leagues Club for the annual end of season celebrations and festivities. Almost 140 people attended the black tie event, with Wade Aunger acting as MC for the night. It was a night to celebrate the season that was – and what a truly remarkable season we have had. It was a season full of plenty of thrills, spills and close competition, but also one that saw the best once again rise to the top, as well as a host of newcomers and young talent that really gave some of our most seasoned competitors a run for their money.

First up were some Appreciation Awards for the Sponsors who have generously supported Sprintcars Queensland and our drivers this past season. These people and their companies have shown unwavering and invaluable support for Sprintcars Queensland and the sport of Sprintcar racing in general and their contribution is endlessly appreciated. Without these people we would have no Kratzmann Caravans Challenge, no Darra Mechanical Hard Charger Award, No Lucas Oils Dash and no Right Price Exhausts Heat Race Championships. Both SuperCheap Auto and East Coast Logistics as series sponsors this season have been such valued partners this season, while Ken Thorn and Myla Graphics have worked tirelessly behind the scenes for all our graphic and signage needs. Glen and Christine Spence and the Darra Mechanical team again stepped up to sponsor the hard charger award while Gary Kratzmann and the Kratzmann Caravans team again sponsored the Kratzmann Caravans Challenge. Mark Wode, who already contributes so much to the Sprintcars Queensland club, together with Right Price Exhausts again sponsored the heat race points championship, while Clem Hoffmans and Downforce Wings generously donated a front wing to be given to the fifth place finisher in each of the B-Main events in the SuperCheap Auto Sprintcar Series.

While all of our sponsors are invaluable, so too are our volunteers. We have a small band of officials who work absolutely tirelessly behind the scenes not only on race nights, but often on those days and nights in between as well. John and Kathy Kelly, who coincidentally celebrated their 21st wedding anniversary last night, are not just the promoters of Archerfield Speedway but both hold positions in our executive committee (President and Treasurer) and their contribution to this sport and this club should never be underestimated. Mark Wode and Lyn Turner have again concluded another year on the Sprintcars Queensland Executive Committee, as Vice President and Secretary, with their endless and relentless efforts behind the scenes a significant factor in the smooth running of this club. What Mark and Lyn do, the time and effort they put in, despite not having a personal connection with any one car, driver or team, is simply incredible - they have helped shape and grow this club for over fifteen years and few people realise just how much they do. Their contribution cannot be measured and there are no words that can adequately portray just how indebted and thankful everyone at Sprintcars Queensland is for all that they have done over the years.

Still on the topic of volunteers, Appreciation Awards were given to Glen Wilson, David Tracey and Chris Dvorak for their work as our crash crew and fire marshals. These gentlemen are often some of the first on the scene when one (or more) of our drivers is involved in an incident and do an invaluable job keeping the drivers as safe as possible. Volunteer officials are hard to come by but Ken Thorn has been a vital part of the infield officials team and crash crew, lending a hand and helping to ensure the smooth running of events. Sprintcars Queensland even gave me a small thank you writing these reports - though it is hard to believe it been over twelve years now!

Once all our sponsors and volunteers had been thanked, it was time to move on to the Super Cheap Auto Series and recognise the achievements of the drivers and teams who contested the thirteen round series. We started with Andrew Scheuerle as the winner of the Right Price Exhausts Heat Race Points chase before moving onto the fifteen series qualifiers.

The SuperCheap Auto Sprintcar Series was hard fought and while Andrew Scheuerle dominated, especially with his remarkable run of feature wins in the early part of the season, there was a large field of drivers who consistently put on truly mesmerising racing that kept everyone entertained on a Saturday night. The final places in the SuperCheap Auto Sprintcar Championship were as follows:

15th: Q43 Scott Doyle
14th: Q3 Clem Hoffmans
13th: NQ11 Brad Ayers
12th: Q44 Dan Murray
11th: Q33 Callum Walker
10th: Q27 Steven Johnson
09th: Q14 Mark Pholi
08th: NQ23 Lachlan McHugh
07th: Q5 Peter Lack
06th: NQ44 Brandon Rawlings
05th: Q47 Andrew Liebke
04th: Q4 Brent Kratzmann
03rd: Q41 Mitchell Gee
02nd: Q59 Kevin Titman
01st: Andrew Scheuerle

Moving on to the East Coast Logistics Crispy Memorial Series that was held over five gruelling rounds at the end of the season, and once again it was a hard-fought championship battle full of thrilling racing action from the entire field. The championship went down to the final night of competition with Sprintcar Rookie Lachlan McHugh beating seasoned racer Andrew Scheuerle by just two points.

There were nine qualifiers in the East Coast Logistics Sprintcar Series:
09th: Q59 Kevin Titman
08th: Q41 Mitchell Gee
07th: Q54 Richard Morgan
06th: Q16 Bryan Mann
05th: Q83 David Murcott
04th: Q4 Brent Kratzmann
03rd: Q36 Luke Oldfield
02nd: Q25 Andrew Scheuerle
01st: NQ23 Lachlan McHugh

It came as no surprise to anyone in the room that eighteen-year-old Lachlan McHugh also picked up Rookie of the Year. If you haven't already seen him race, you need to. This quiet young man is a huge talent and has a simply massive future ahead of him in this sport. To have achieved several feature race wins, in very tough competition, plus a number of podium finishes and a series win in just his first year in the division is truly remarkable. He is breath-taking to watch on the race track and is without a doubt one to watch in the years ahead. I know I am not alone when I say I cannot wait to see just how far he can go in this sport in next five or ten years.

Encouragement awards this year were presented to Steven Johnson and Ben Hilder, who have both shown a lot of promise this season but have not always had luck on their side. Ben unfortunately could not be with us last night, he is still recovering after a rather nasty crash during the final round a couple of weeks ago, his father Brad collecting the award on his behalf.

Brandon Rawlings had a great season in the NQ44 racer and despite a few nasty crashes, Brandon really learnt a lot this season and was recognised as the Most Improved Driver of the season. Unfortunately Brandon was also unable to attend last nights festivities, an extra-curricular activity leaving him with a broken collarbone just hours before last nights presentation dinner.

This year there were several (too many) nominations for the Wings Award, the most spectacular or most frequent crashing. While Mitchell Gee came close to winning the award last year, this year he, and team mate Brandon Rawlings, along with Kevin Titman were all joint winners of the award they all claim no one wants to win. While Mitchell and Brandon both had several big crashes, they were able to avoid crashing together, through did on occasion crash independent of each other on the same night. Kevin, whose Q59 racer looked immaculate this year, started the season strongly but some misfortune throughout season saw him a deserving joint winner of the 2015-2016 Wings Award.

The crew Chief of the Year award was this year presented to Tony Cochran for his efforts on the Q4 racer of Brent Kratzmann. Tony works tirelessly for Brent, making sure that he not only has a well presented car (it seriously looks spectacular every time it hits the track), but that it is a well maintained and quality package that Brent can rely on.

Andrew Scheuerle and the AusDeck Patios and Roofing team took out the Best Presented Car while Brad Ayers and the NQ11 team were credited as the Best Presented Crew.

Bryan Mann took home the coveted Greg Crispy McClennan Trophy, a kind of 'best and fairest' award in memory of a great man. Kevin Titman and Andrew Scheuerle again took out the Clubmen of the year awards, the pair doing an extraordinary number of race meetings with the club, a true testament to their passion and commitment, as well as that of their family, friends and sponsors. It was the second year running that the pair have been the only two recipients of the Clubmen of the year award, an impressive effort by all involved.

The 2015-2016 Club Championship was a hotly contested battle, with Kevin Titman taking home third overall. Kevin accepted third but credited his best friend and crewman Bobbie for the award, with Bobbie putting in a truly extraordinary effort not just during the reason season but during last winter as he built the new team truck with countless hours spent in the Titman team workshop. Luke Oldfield managed to sure second in the Club Championship, a great effort for his first season in the Titan Garages and Carports team, while Andrew Scheuerle and the AusDeck Patios and Roofing team took out the 2015-2016 Club Championship, as well as the Archerfield Speedway Track Championship, taking the teams trophy tally for the night to seven.

Perhaps one of the most prized awards is the Drivers Driver award, chosen on the night by the drivers present as the driver they most respect both on and off the racetrack. In a first since the awards inception, we had a tie, with both Bryan Mann and Richard Morgan receiving an equal number of votes. Bryan actually won the award last year, and to have been chosen for a second year running is testament to the man that he is and the respect the other competitors have for him. Richard has to be one of the most likable drivers in the sport, always keeping the racing clean on the track and is one of the most easy going drivers in the pits.

The night concluded with some raffle draws and a Major Sponsor Award to John and Kathy Kelly and AusDeck Patios and Roofing Archerfield Speedway. Whilst we love the opportunity to race at some of our country tracks, Archerfield Speedway is the home track of many of our drivers. John and Kathy and the team work relentlessly for not only Sprintcars Queensland and the drivers and teams of this club, but for Speedway in general. Theirs is not an easy job, and is, more often than not, a thankless one, but they give us place to race week in and week out. They do more for this sport and this club than most people realise and their passion is relentless and we could not do what we do without people like them.

Our 2015-2016 season may now be finished but there are already big plans in place for the 2016-2017 race season. Archerfield Speedway have already released their proposed calendar for the coming season, and keep an eye out for a full Sprintcars Queensland Calendar coming soon. We will of course be racing at AusDeck Patios Archerfield Speedway, as well as Hi-Tech Oils Toowoomba Speedway, but we are trying to negotiate with several country tracks for a few shows as well. At this stage our 2016-2017 season kicks off at AusDeck Patios Archerfield Speedway on Saturday 17 September 2016 - enjoy the winter break and see you trackside in about 97 sleeps!