Pascoe Too Good in Gympie
30/12/09…NASR National Office
Matt Pascoe stormed to victory in an action packed round two of the 2009/2010 Carline Mufflers National Super Sedan Series at Gympie’s Mothar Mountain Speedway on Tuesday night (December 29). After biding his time behind defending champion Darren Kane, Pascoe took his NQ Proline Plasterboard Contractors Sweet-Dodge Avenger to the front with a terrific outside swoop and then survived a series of late-race restarts to emerge victorious.
Aboard a brand new Ian Boettcher Race Parts Dominator-Mazda RX8, Kane qualified on pole position but found himself languishing behind runaway leader Gary Pagel in the opening stages of the race until the latter inexplicably spun to a halt in turn four. Kane assumed the lead at this point before ultimately succumbing to Pascoe’s highline swoop to finish in second spot.
After enduring a week of misfortune, Steve Jordan salvaged some joy with a methodical drive into third place ahead of a barnstorming Michael Nicola, who picked up the Super Charge Hard Charger Award after advancing from position 18. Shane Best finished in fifth spot ahead of Brad Smith, Wayne Miles, Ashley Bergmeier, Chris Jensen and Bill Miller, with Graeme Elliot the only other driver to go the distance.
Following the loss of the opening round to inclement weather, teams gathered in Gympie under threatening skies and, although there was a heavy downpour just a couple of hours before showtime, the race meeting was completed without interruption in front of a very sizeable crowd. The racing, for the most part, was excellent and included some strong performances from several drivers who had never previously visited this utterly unique circuit.
Hard luck stories in the feature event included Jamie McHugh and Clayton Pyne, both of whom exited with flat right rear tyres whilst safely ensconced inside the top four. Tony Barklimore was another who endured miserable luck, crashing out on the opening lap after an impressive qualifying performance. Having restarted from the rear, Pagel’s race ended against the main straight wall when his East Coast Traffic Control Dominator-Mustang shed a wheel. In a race of attrition, others who failed to go the distance included Rookie of the Year contenders in Sam Hughes and Trent Wilson, along with local ace Tim O’Shea, South Australia’s Dave Gartner, a luckless Steve Pearce and the Ocean Tyres-backed duo of Chris Bussey and Michael Doblo.
Two-time national champ Kevin Purton endured a rough and tumble series debut, rolling his Ford Falcon along the main straight in a preliminary heat. Other heat race casualties included Chris Albert, Dale Christensen, Mark Pagel and Des Korn, who looked to have the opening heat wrapped up until a broken axle intervened and ended his night prematurely.
Barklimore got proceedings underway with an impressive win under pressure in the opening preliminary. However, it was Kane who dominated qualifying, securing pole position with two heat wins. Best, Pyne, Pagel, Gartner, Hughes and O’Shea, who was the standout amongst the non-contracted entries before exiting the feature after a restart infringement, also recorded heat victories.
Contingency winners:
AFCO Shock Doctor Lucky Sevens: Wayne Miles Ian Boettcher Race Parts Hard Luck Award: Jamie McHugh Super Charge Hard Charger: Michael Nicola Oval Express Best Presented Car and Crew: Trent Wilson
2009/2010 Carline Mufflers National Super Sedan Series progressive pointscore top ten (after 2 of 10 rounds): Matt Pascoe 639, Darren Kane 589, Steve Jordan 528, Michael Nicola 471, Shane Best 447, Brad Smith 408, Wayne Miles 369, Ashley Bergmeier 346, Grame Elliot 313, Clayton Pyne 312.