Opening night saw more good weather which was a relief as there was no rain out date for this meeting. A good crowd turned out which was good to see and not too many big accidents during the night -- another positive. Man it was good to be back. Anyone who has been to Western Springs Speedway before will know what I’m talking about, the smell, the atmosphere, the sound and of course, the full noise, super competitive racing only found at the home of open wheel racing.
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You could not have asked for better weather for a day’s racing. Saturday afternoon at Western Springs Speedway saw the first and only practice day for competitors. Everything seemed to run smoothly throughout the day and the track surface we practiced on was excellent. It remained smooth all day with an outside groove early on and then turned slick for the second and third runs. On such a hot day I think the track, with the new clay, held up very well. However, opening night will be the first real test for the new track. It wouldn’t take much to improve on some of the rough tracks we were served up last season.
For myself and the team it was also a sucessful day. With a couple of new guys on the crew this year, it was good to practise some of our procedures and routines with them before a real race night. The car ran very well with the new engine and we tried some different things with the chassis setup to gain more grip on the dry track. But, most importantly, it was good for me to get behind the wheel again and gain some seat time. With cancellations due to bad weather, I have been anxious to get a run over the last few weeks so it felt great to be out there with 850hp under my foot again.
In terms of the other sprintcars present, I thought the presentation and colour schemes were just awesome and best of any other season. Judging by the speed of the guys this early on. I think it’s going to be one hell of a season! It looks like anyone of ten guys could win a feature this year which will mean even better racing. Below is a picture from Saturday afternoon’s practice. See you all on opening night next Saturday, November 7.
JMAC
This is just a quick update before our first meeting at Western Springs on November 7.
Unfortunately, due to bad weather, our first practice last Saturday was cancelled. However, the 71 sprintcar is ready to go but we are still hoping to get a run during the second practice on Saturday, October 31. We have fired it up and it sounds perfect. However, it’s not until you step on the gas on a dirt track that you can sleep at night, knowing the car will perform at the first meeting.
We are very fortunate to have our major sponsors, Makita and Wynn’s, supporting us again this season and we would also like to welcome to our racing family two new sponsors, Porter Hire and Hydraulink. I ask that, whenever possible, you support these companies as they allow us to put a great team together so that we can put on an exciting show for you, the race fans.
I’m pleased to announce we now have a team racing cap available for sale as shown in the picture below. They can be purchased from the apparel page or from my pit at the track along with my t-shirts.
You will find new photos in the photo gallery which show the 71 sprintcar with these new sponsors’ logos in addition to the familiar Makita and Wynn’s logos. I have also loaded some photos taken from when I raced in America.
The car we are campaigning this year is a J&J chassis with a brand new New Zealand-made Katipo Block 410 race engine. In addition to this, we have a spare chassis and a spare engine. It’s nice to have spares but we hope we don’t need them. This season we plan on doing approximately 20 shows spread between Western Springs, Baypark, Ruapuna, Cromwell, Palmerston North, and Harrisville.
I hope you are all looking forward to the start of the season as much as I am. See you trackside.
Cheers
JMAC
