Kane Wins NSSS War of Attrition at Avalon

22/01/09…NASR/SSA Media Release

In another highly entertaining feature race, Queensland champion Darren Kane emerged victorious in round eight of the 2008/2009 Carline Mufflers National Super Sedan Series at Geelong’s Avalon Raceway on Saturday night (January 18).  Kane spent much of the race in third spot trailing previous round winner Matt Pascoe and early leader Brad Smith before pouncing after a late-race restart to assume the lead with just two laps remaining.

Smith set a cracking pace at the front of the field in the early stages of the race, clocking the fastest lap as Kane and Pascoe replicated their Warrnambool scrap with a two-wide duel.  Pascoe looked likely to emulate his round seven success when he stormed around the outside of Kane and Smith.   However, on this occasion, a series a restarts kept the field in close formation and Kane, having disposed of Smith several laps earlier, charged back into the lead with an inside pass.

In a race plagued by interruptions, lapped traffic never became a factor and the leading trio put on a terrific display.  Lachlan Onley narrowly missed his first podium result in finishing fourth behind Smith, his third top-five finish in as many rounds, with Wayne Brims annexing fifth to reignite his championship hopes.     

Shane Best finished in sixth spot ahead of David Nichols and Tony Barklimore, while Ron Bergmeier was the only driver to survive the mayhem.  Despite the numerous interruptions, the race was a terrific spectacle for the large crowd in attendance.

Leading the championship heading into the event, Michael Nicola was an early casualty in the feature.  Having advanced from 17th to seventh, Nicola was unable to avoid a stricken Jarrod Harper and suffered extensive damage, although he stills sits fourth in the championship standings, just 10 points adrift of Brims.

Other casualties included Ron Pyne, who was very quick in his return form injury before collecting the turn one wall, and defending series champ Michael Doblo, who became involved in a turn two pile-up that brought about the final restart.

Pascoe snared two heat wins to clinch pole position for the feature, while the others were shared around between Kane, Onley, Bergmeier, Nicola, Harper, Pyne and Bill Miller, who started the feature from position five but headed infield as early as lap three with a diff breakage.

The series now takes a short hiatus as some teams make the annual pilgrimage to Tasmania while others head home to regroup and refresh. Hostilities will resume at Horsham’s Blue Ribbon Raceway on Friday February 6, with the series finale at Murray Bridge Speedway on February 7.

Heat winners: Matt Pascoe x 2, Michael Nicola, Darren Kane, Ron Bergmeier, Jarrod Harper, Lachlan Onley, Bill Miller, Ron Pyne

Feature Race: 1. Darren Kane, 2. Matt Pascoe, 3. Brad Smith, 4. Lachlan Onley, 5. Wayne Brims, 6. Shane Best, 7. David Nichols, 8. Tony Barkimore, 9. Ron Bergmeier, DNF – Jarrod Harper, Sam Hughes, Lionel West, Steve Vaughan, Michael Doblo, Craig Lappin, Jack Childs, Ron Pyne, Bill Miller, Danny Amato, Michael Nicola

Series standings (top ten) after eight of ten rounds: Darren Kane 3489, Matt Pascoe 3359, Wayne Brims 3235, Michael Nicola 3225, Shane Best 3113, Michael Doblo 2698, Jarrod Harper 2485, Lachlan Onley 2411, Dave Gartner 2344, Brad Smith 2202

Contingency Winners

Shock Doctor Lucky Sevens
David Nichols

Oval Express Best Presented Car and Crew
Ron Bergmeier

The 2008/2009 Carline Mufflers National Super Sedan Series is proudly supported by the                    following sponsors:
Carline Mufflers, Bergmeier Engineering, American Racer Tyres, JD Couriers, Shock Doctor, Oval Express Magazine, Art by Mickey, APCO Warrnambool, Comfort Inn and Suites Robertson Gardens, Rocky Resort Motor Inn, Comfort Inn on Raglan, National Association of Speedway Racing (NASR), Speedway Sedans Australia (ASCF), J & C Carrell Speedway Photography