Kerry Madsen got the win in the Prelude to the Championship at Ausdeck Patios and Roofing Archerfield Speedway last night, masterfully taking the lead from Jamie Veal around two thirds of the way in. Jamie Veal crossed the line in second but it was the drive by Gold Coast based young gun Lachlan McHugh that stole the show. McHugh had started the B-Main in position three, but was forced rear of the field after crew worked on his car during a stoppage early in the race. McHugh charged through the B-Main field to snare second, started the A-Main from position sixteen and proceeded to weave his way through the field, eventually displacing Andrew Scheuerle from third and closing in on Veal. McHugh crossed the line third, with Andrew Scheuerle and Jordyn Brazier rounding out the top five.

Qualifying got underway with Jamie Veal eventually topping the leader board, stopping the clock at 11.706 seconds. Jock Goodyer snared second after locking in an impressive 11.850 second lap, with Jordyn Brazier rounding out the top three with an 11.877 second lap. Brent Kratzmann was the quickest of the locals, his 11.883 second lap enough to secure fourth, with Matt Dumesny rounding out the top five and Kerry Madsen in sixth the only other driver to get into the eleven-second bracket. The top twenty-three drivers were separated by just 0.732 seconds making for a big night of Sprintcar racing action.

Heat one started with Karl Hoffmans, in his first competitive drive back after being side-lined with injuries for thirteen weeks, from pole position and Mitchell Wormall alongside. Hoffmans got a great start and led the way into the first corner, securing the lead in advance of Wormall and Mitchell Gee. Jamie Veal spent less than half a lap getting around Jessie Attard and Mark Pholi before starting to chase down Gee, while behind him Kerry Madsen tried to get underneath Attard. Gee searched the high side for a way around Wormall but ended up surrendering third to Veal half a lap later, and while Veal set out after Wormall, Gee had Pholi, Attard and Madsen closing in fast. Attard dove underneath Pholi and Gee as they approached turn one, but climbed over the left front of Gee and careered onto the infield. Unfortunately Gee was unable to continue the race, and the race resumed while Attard was still stranded on the infield. Hoffmans led the restart from Wormall and Veal and while Hoffmans did a remarkable job out in front, Wormall was searching high and low for a way past, patiently seeking the best way past before racing around the top side of Hoffmans a few laps later as they rounded turn four. Hoffmans tried to fight back on the inside of turn one but spun the Q3 racer and backed into the wall before tipping on his side. Hoffmans was unscathed but unable to restart the event. Wormall led the restart from Veal and Pholi and while Wormall and Veal were unstoppable out in front, Pholi faced increasing pressure from Kerry Madsen, eventually surrendering third with one lap left to run. Mitchell Wormall got the win ahead of Jamie Veal and Kerry Madsen, with Mark Pholi home in fourth ahead of Anthony Vanderreyden and Sean Rose. Karl Hoffmans, Mitchell Gee and Jessie Attard all failed to finish the event.

Andrew Corbet and Marcus Dumesny shared the front row for the start of the second heat, with Corbet securing the lead when the green flag flew. Dumesny settled into second ahead of Ian Madsen and Kevin Titman, while Andrew Scheuerle started searching for a way past Peter Lack. Scheuerle had a big look underneath Lack as they rounded turn four, but Lack was able to maintain the advantage and open a small margin on Scheuerle, leaving Scheuerle to defend his position from Matt Dumesny, while Lack himself began closing in on Titman. Andrew Scheuerle brought the race under caution when he uncharacteristically spun the Q25 racer in turn three, leaving Jock Goodyer nowhere to go. Contact between Scheuerle and Goodyer left Scheuerle unable to restart the event, while Goodyer had rear end damage and was given the mechanical defect flag to allow him to pull to the infield but still receive points for the event. Marcus Dumesny led the restart from Andrew Corbet, Ian Madsen and Kevin Titman with three laps left to run, and while the top four positions remained unchanged when the chequered flag flew, Peter Lack and Matt Dumesny exchanged positions a couple of times as they fought over fifth place. Peter Lack secured fifth ahead of Matt Dumesny, Tony Wynne and Jock Goodyer. Andrew Scheuerle and Libby Ellis failed to finish the event.

Heat three started with Allan Woods and Kevin Britten sharing the front row, with Woods getting the jump on the start and quickly securing the lead, while Ryan McNamara, from position three, quickly followed Woods on the low side, getting underneath Britten and settling into second less than half a lap into the race. Randy Morgan had a look underneath Britten as well but could not quite make it through, while Lachlan McHugh tried to find a way around Dave Whell, only to surrender a position to Brent Kratzmann when Kratzmann came charging through on the bottom. Jordyn Brazier also briefly got his nose in front of McHugh, only for McHugh to charge back on the high side and set out after Kratzmann. It took McHugh a few laps to catch Kratzmann, and then a couple more to make the pass, but McHugh finally found his way underneath the Q2 racer and set out after Dave Whell. McHugh patiently searched for a way past Whell, and timed his run perfectly, racing underneath Whell as they rounded the final corner and stealing fifth with the chequered flag in sight. Allan Woods was untroubled as he raced to victory ahead of Ryan McNamara and Kevin Britten, with Randy Morgan next across the line in advance of Lachlan McHugh, Dave Whell, Brent Kratzmann, Jordyn Brazier, Nathan McFarlane and Dan Murray.

Tony Wynne and Andrew Corbet shared the front row for the start of the fourth heat, with Andrew Scheuerle and Randy Morgan close behind. Wynne and Corbet raced side-by-side towards turn one, with Scheuerle having a look on the inside as well, but it was Corbet who led the way through the first corner, with Wynne in second ahead of Scheuerle, while Randy Morgan defended his position from Mitchell Wormall and began looking to get around the outside of Scheuerle. Lachlan McHugh and Matt Dumesny both tried to get underneath Wormall as the trio made their way through turn one, with the right rear of Dumesny getting over the left front of the Q23 racer of McHugh, spinning McHugh around, pirouetting on the tail tank before coming to a stop entering turn two. Unfortunately for McHugh he was unable to continue the event, while Tony Wynne had looped the NQ8 racer in turn four and would take to the restart from the rear of the field, elevating Scheuerle to pole position for the restart. Scheuerle quickly secured the lead when the race resumed, leaving Corbet in second while Matt Dumesny swiftly made his way underneath both Morgan and Wormall before exiting the first corner. Corbet made a small error in turn two, giving Dumesny the only opening he needed, the N57 racer slipping underneath Corbet and into second with barely half a lap completed. Morgan started applying increasing pressure to Corbet, patiently searching for the right way though, before making his move on the low side coming out of turn two, leaving Corbet to defend his position from Jamie Veal. Andrew Scheuerle got the win ahead of Matt Dumesny and Mitchell Wormall, while Randy Morgan held off Jamie Veal to finish fourth, with Veal, having got the better of Corbet a few laps from home, across the line in fifth. Andrew Corbet finished sixth and led Tony Wynne and Anthony Vanderreyden past the chequered flag, while Lachlan McHugh did not finish the event.

Sean Rose, who has only been back in a Sprintcar for a few shows after a lengthy hiatus, was scheduled to start heat five from pole position, however he elected to start rear of the field, elevating Allan Woods to the front row alongside Mark Pholi for the start. Woods got the best start and quickly secured the race lead while Brent Kratzmann, from position five, had a truly phenomenal drive in the Q2 racer when the lights went green. Kratzmann charged through on the bottom, racing ahead of Dave Whell, then charged underneath Kevin Titman, Marcus Dumesny and Mark Pholi before the end of the first corner, moving into second with just a quarter of a lap completed. Dumesny soon got around Titman and Pholi and started challenging Kratzmann for second, while Titman got underneath the Q14 of Pholi to move into fourth. With barely a lap completed the race was brought under caution when Nathan McFarlane and Sean Rose came together at the rear of the field. Woods led the restart from Kratzmann and Dumesny, with Dumesny soon making his way underneath Kratzmann and leaving the Q2 racer to defend his position from Titman. The race was brought under caution once more just a couple of laps later, this time for Kerry Madsen who had spun the W2 racer in turn four. Woods led the restart from Dumesny and Kratzmann, with Titman close behind and searching for a way past Kratzmann and into third. From the rear of the field Madsen started making his way forward, quickly advancing ahead of Libby Ellis, Dave Whell and Mark Pholi before turning his attention to closing in on Titman. Allan Woods came under increasing pressure from Marcus Dumesny and held on to take the win, with Dumesny home in second and Brent Kratzmann third across the line. Kevin Titman came home in fourth and led Kerry Madsen, Mark Pholi, Dave Whell and Libby Ellis past the chequered flag. Nathan McFarlane and Sean Rose did not finish the event.

Heat six started with Jessie Attard and Kevin Britten sharing the front row and while Attard easily secured the lead in advance of Britten and Ian Madsen, chaos unfolded behind them that brought the race to a stop. Peter Lack was running the top side, searching for a way around Ryan McNamara and Mitchell Gee, while Jordyn Brazier tried to charge through on the bottom. Contact between Brazier and McNamara as they exited turn two pushed McNamara up track and into a luckless Lack, who then made heavy contact with the back straight wall and essentially rolled end-to-end towards the infield. McNamara did a remarkable job to avoid further contact with the airborne Q5 racer, while Lack emerged from the wreck a little winded and with a sore knee. Lack was unable to restart the event. A full restart followed with Attard again securing the advantage over Britten and Madsen when the lights went green, while Mitchell Gee had a breath-taking run on the top side as he raced around Jordyn Brazier and Ian Madsen before getting underneath Britten half a lap later and moving into second. Brazier brought the race under caution soon after, having spun the NS21 racer in turn four, with Attard, Gee and Britten leading the field back to the green. Jock Goodyer momentarily got underneath Madsen, only for Madsen to fight back on the top side, the pair racing side-by-side for a couple of laps before racing either side of Britten as they went three-wide through turn one. Goodyer and Madsen continued to argue over the minor position, while Gee held down a solid second until he clipped an infield tyre in turn four and damaged the front end of the Q1 racer. Gee spun to a stop, bringing the race under caution, his race prematurely over. Jessie Attard led the restart with three laps to run and went on to take the win ahead of Ian Madsen and Jock Goodyer while Kevin Britten came home in fourth. Jordyn Brazier had been searching for a way past Dan Murray, making one final charge on the low line as they exited the final corner of the race. The pair raced across the line side-by-side, with Brazier securing fifth just one thousandth of a second ahead of Murray. Ryan McNamara rounded out the finishers while both Mitchell Gee and Peter Lack did not finish the ten-lap journey.

A pre-Dash draw left Jock Goodyer and Brent Kratzmann from the front row for the start of the Dash event, with Goodyer getting the jump when the green flag flew. Goodyer secured the lead and while Kratzmann initially challenged a small mistake in turn two a few laps in saw him fade as Jordyn Brazier and Jamie Veal slipped through. Goodyer made an error in turn four a few laps in that cost him the lead, with Brazier and Veal both slipping underneath the T22 racer, leaving Goodyer to try and defend his position from the hard-charging duo of Kratzmann and Kerry Madsen. Kratzmann challenged on the bottom, relentlessly pursuing Goodyer before finally securing the advantage as they rounded turn one, with Madsen following him through soon after. Madsen took to the high line in an effort to find a way around Kratzmann, while Andrew Scheuerle was trying to get around Matt Dumesny. Jamie Veal eventually got the better of Jordyn Brazier and got the win, earning pole position for the main race, with Brazier home in second ahead of Kerry Madsen, Brent Kratzmann, Jock Goodyer, Andrew Scheuerle, Matt Dumesny and Allan Woods.

Jessie Attard and Ryan McNamara shared the front row for the start of the B-Main, Attard quickly secured the lead ahead of McNamara, while Lachlan McHugh fought to get ahead of Kevin Britten. Deeper in the field though chaos unfolded as Peter Lack, back after his heat race wreck, was trying to get underneath Andrew Corbet as they raced into turn one to start the second lap of the race when contact between the pair launched Lack into the air once more. Lack rolled several times towards the turn one fence, another big wreck for the Team Navy Q5 racer, with Andrew Corbet, Mitchell Gee and Anthony Vanderreyden all getting caught up in the incident. All four cars were unable to restart the race. Attard led the restart from McNamara, Britten and Mark Pholi, while Lachlan McHugh was sent rear of the field after his crew worked on the car, fixing a broken right front shock, during the stoppage. McHugh was on a mission from the back, making it look easy as he raced around Karl Hoffmans and Libby Ellis in quick succession before setting out after Dan Murray. McHugh was magnificent on the high line, spending a few laps closing in on Murray before challenging him for position, and while Murray fought valiantly on the bottom, racing wheel-to-wheel with McHugh for a lap or two, there was little he could do to stop McHugh moving ahead. McHugh turned his attention to Tony Wynne, who in turn was trying to find a way past Pholi and McNamara. McHugh had a massive look on the inside of Wynne but Wynne fought back hard on the top side, managing to maintain his position and then get around Pholi as well. McHugh was not done though and after slipping underneath Pholi returned his focus to Wynne, making his way underneath the NQ8 racer as they exited turn two just moments before Wynne slammed the back straight wall. Wynne faded quickly after that, eventually slowing to a stop without completing the race. Jessie Attard got the win while Lachlan McHugh gave us a little taste of what was come and crossed the line in second after charging from the back of the field. Ryan McNamara finished a strong third while Mark Pholi crossed the line in fourth and secured the final transfer to the A-Main. Dan Murray finished fifth ahead of Libby Ellis. Tony Wynne was classified as seventh while Karl Hoffmans spent the last part of the race circulating slowly on the inside edge of the track to claim eighth. Kevin Britten, Andrew Corbet, Mitchell Gee, Anthony Vanderreyden and Peter Lack all failed to finish the fifteen-lap journey.

Jamie Veal and Jordyn Brazier led the field to the green for the start of the thirty-five lap A-Main event, with Kerry Madsen and Brent Kratzmann from the second row. Veal got the jump and quickly secured the lead while Brazier settled into second with Madsen right behind and challenging Brazier for position. Brent Kratzmann tried to run the top side to get the advantage on Madsen, only get a little too high and surrender positions to Andrew Scheuerle and Jock Goodyer. Kratzmann was left to try and defend his position from Matt Dumesny, while Allan Woods fought to keep Marcus Dumesny behind him while also challenging Matt Dumesny and Brent Kratzmann for position. Three laps into the race Matt Dumesny spun in turn two, bringing the race under caution.

Jamie Veal led the restart from Jordyn Brazier, Kerry Madsen, Jock Goodyer and Andrew Scheuerle, while mid-field Jessie Attard caught the infield tyre as they came around to take the green and dropped a number of positions before rejoining the race. At the front of the field Madsen was on a mission as he charged around the high side trying to get around Brazier, while Allan Woods managed to get underneath Brent Kratzmann, and, much deeper in the field, Lachlan McHugh began making his way forward. Having advanced a few positions in the first three laps of the race McHugh now had Randy Morgan and Ian Madsen in his sights, with McHugh quickly following Morgan underneath Madsen when the opportunity presented itself. Madsen of course fought back but McHugh was only focused on the car in front, while mid-field the battle between Allan Woods, Brent Kratzmann and Marcus Dumesny was heating up, with Dumesny making his way underneath Kratzmann before getting past Woods half a lap later, leaving Woods and Kratzmann to negotiate over track position for a moment before Woods pulled out of the event and left Kratzmann with Mitchell Wormall on his tail. McHugh eventually got the better of Morgan and began chasing down Wormall but the race was brought to another stop, this time for the spun car of Marcus Dumesny in turn two.

Jamie Veal, Kerry Madsen, Jordyn Brazier and Andrew Scheuerle led the field back underway when the race resumed, while Lachlan McHugh had advanced to eighth in just nine laps. It took McHugh just over a lap to displace Mitchell Wormall from seventh, with McHugh then setting his sights on Brent Kratzmann, while behind them Jessie Attard began challenging Randy Morgan while defending his own position from the very hard-charging duo of Ian Madsen and Kevin Titman behind him. Matt Dumesny had another spin in turn two, bringing the race back under caution, and, it being his second stop, also bringing about a premature end to his race.

Jamie Veal, Kerry Madsen, Jordyn Brazier and Andrew Scheuerle again led the way when the lights returned to green, and while both Jessie Attard and Ian Madsen tried to race around the top side, Randy Morgan and Mark Pholi were strong on the bottom. Lachlan McHugh spent a few laps closing in on Brent Kratzmann and had a couple of unsuccessful looks on the inside before finally getting the job done and started to close in on Jock Goodyer. Andrew Scheuerle managed to get ahead of Jordyn Brazier, while Veal and Kerry Madsen began navigating lapped traffic. Madsen is a master at weaving through traffic and, after only a few laps, challenged Veal for control of the race. The lead changed with around two-thirds of the race completed, with Madsen making his way into the lead and, despite the best efforts of Veal, quickly started to open a comfortable margin. Andrew Scheuerle held down a very solid third, unaware of how quickly McHugh was making his way through the field. McHugh made his way past Brazier and started to close in on Scheuerle, with the laps beginning to run out. McHugh was magnificent as he used the low line to not only catch Scheuerle, but race underneath the Q25 racer as well, stealing third just a couple of laps from home before setting out after Veal. Kerry Madsen got the win ahead of Jamie Veal but it was Lachlan McHugh who stole the show after driving from ninth in the B-main to third in the A-Main. Andrew Scheuerle finished fourth with Jordyn Brazier fifth ahead of Jock Goodyer, Brent Kratzmann, Ian Madsen, Mitchell Wormall, Marcus Dumesny, Jessie Attard, Mark Pholi, Randy Morgan, Kevin Titman, Dave Whell and Ryan McNamara. Matt Dumesny and Allan Woods did not finish the event.

It was a huge Wednesday night of Sprintcar racing but with around double the car count expected for the 57th Australian Sprintcar Title, proudly presented by BK Trading Australia, this weekend at Ausdeck Patios and Roofing Archerfield Speedway, chances are, there are plenty more thrills and spills to come. Kerry Madsen puts his A1 on the line and while he got the win at the venue last night, can he successfully defend the crown? Will it be Jamie Veal or any of the other interstate guests standing atop the podium this Sunday night? Or will Lachlan McHugh, or any of the other Queenslanders, get the A1 for themselves? Come on out to Archerfield Speedway and join us this special Australia Day, Saturday 26th of January 2019 for night one of the Australian Sprintcar Title, and then again on Sunday 27th January 2019 for the final where we will crown our newest Australia 1… See you trackside….