It is hard to imagine that anybody who witnessed the spectacle of USA stars Logan Schuchart and Donny Schatz duking it out at Ausdeck Patios Archerfield Speedway on Thursday night won’t be returning on Saturday night (December 30) when the duo are joined by a third highly-credentialed American in Lucas Wolfe for round nine of the East Coast Logistics Sprintcar Track Championship. In a terrific drive, Schuchart chased down Schatz to score his first feature race win in Australia in front of a big Brisbane crowd and the challenge for the locals lies in trying to prevent a clean sweep of the podium by the international trio. In addition to a stellar 35-plus field of Sprintcars, the night will also feature round three of the Super Sedan Summer Slam Tour that has attracted drivers from every Australian state, including five Australian championship winners. With Lightning Sprints, AMCA Nationals and Ford vs Holden vs Sigma sedans also on the program, a veritable feast of speedway action will be served up on Saturday night.

On Thursday, Luke Oldfield, Mark Pholi, Peter Lack and Bryan Mann were the locals who stood tallest in the face of the international challenge, with Oldfield advancing into third place in the feature race to join the two Americans on the podium. Lack surged late to finish fourth, Pholi started the night strongly by setting fast time in qualifying and then maintained his form throughout the night to finish fifth in the feature, while Mann looked on target for a podium result in his first Archerfield outing for the season, before fading in the latter stages to sit sixth when the chequer appeared. Other standouts on the night were Brent Kratzmann, Callum Walker and Andrew Scheurele, although all three would ultimately finish the feature race on the infield, a circumstance that will no doubt serve as motivation for redemption this weekend. West Aussie youngster Kaiden Manders showed glimpses of the form that has carried him to considerable success in his home state and he will be looking to leave a bigger impression on Saturday, while US-based Australian Lynton Jeffery is also amongst 37 competitors who have nominated for a shot at upstaging the Americans.

Round three of the Super Sedan Summer Slam has attracted a star-studded list of drivers from every Australian state and, assuming everybody gets through the opening two rounds unscathed, 30 rivers will converge to do battle, including no less than five Australian championship winners. Matt Pascoe has been the standout so far this season in local competition with three feature race wins and he looked a certain winner of the opening Summer Slam round in Gympie on Thursday night until a blown power steering hose forced him to the infield. Following Pascoe’s demise, it was Tasmanian Callum Harper who emerged victorious, rounding up current national champ Darren Kane in the final turn. Steve Jordan announced a strong return to form with a third-place finish ahead of another Tasmanian in Adam Beechey, who impressed at Archerfield earlier in the season. Add three-time national champ Michael Nicola from Victoria, South Australian young gun Ryan Alexander, WA’s Phil Barton and a six-strong squad from New South Wales into the mix and the scene is set for en epic tin top tussle.

The biggest field of AMCA Nationals so far this season will also hit the track on Saturday night, with consistent category front runners Steve Potts, Matt Hardy and Steve Price facing off against four-time national champion Shane McKinnell, category stalwart Jim Knight and more than a dozen others in round five of the Shock Absorber Therapy Track Championship.

Lightning Sprints have also gathered a solid field of combatants for the latest round of their Everyday Finance Solutions Club Championship, with national champ Kurt Wilson looking to replicate the feature race winning form that he produced in Formula 500 competition on Thursday night. Aaron Kelly, Sean Iacono, Keith Blatch and Wayne Iacono loom as the quartet most likely to prevent Wilson from achieving the rare feat of consecutive feature race wins in different categories.

Tickets can be purchased in advance from the track website at www.brisbanespeedway.com.au, with online ticketholders securing early entry to the grounds from 3.30pm. Early racing gets underway from 5.00pm, with Sprintcar time trials slated for 5.30pm and the main program to kick off at 6.00pm.

East Coast Logistics Sprintcar Track Championship round nine nominations: Adam Butler, Andrew Corbet, Andrew Scheuerle, Anthony Lambert, Brent Kratzmann, Brock Dean, Brodie Tulloch, Bryan Mann, Bryan Zelinski, Callum Walker, Cody Maroske, Dan Murray, Darren Jensen, David Whell, Donny Schatz, Dylan Menz, Jason King, Jayden Peacock, Kaiden Manders, Karl Hoffmans, Kevin Britten, Kristy Bonsey, Liam Atkinson, Logan Schuchart, Lucas Wolfe, Luke Oldfield, Lynton Jeffrey, Mark Pholi, Mitch Gowland, Mitchell Gee, Nelson Reddacliff, Paul Rooks, Peter Lack, Steve Greer, Steve Rowell, Steven White, Stewart Craig

Super Sedan Summer Slam round three nominations: Ryan Alexander, Darren Anning, Phil Barton, Adam Beechey, Sean Black, Ian Brims, Ryan Cats, Jack Childs, Dale Christensen, Barry Craft, Craig Craft, Wayne Dick, Brendan Doyle, Graeme Elliott, Kyall Fisher, Michael Hally, Steve Jordan, Callum Harper, Darren Kane, Bob McCosker, Darryl Moon, Michael Nicola, Gavin Northfield, Lachlan Onley, Matt Pascoe, Justin Randall, Wayne Randall, Sam Roza, Tania Smith, Brian Trevithick, Matt Williams

Shock Absorber Therapy AMCA Nationals Track Championship round five nominations: Anthony Joyce, Chris Wright, Damien Groer, David Moore, Jim Knight, Lewis Gamble, Mark Brownsey, Matt Hardy, Matthew Herne, Michael Denning, Nathan Jones, Nick Storey, Ricky Sendall, Russ Hardy, Shane McKinnell, Steve Potts, Steve Price, Terry Ward, Wayne Simpson

Everyday Finance Solutions Lightning Sprint club championship round seven nominations: Aaron Kelly, Andrew Sparks, Danny Stone, David Van Vegchel, Garry Thorne, Jason Rae, Jeremy Hassall, Jim Kennedy, Keith Blatch, Kirsty Kelly, Kurt Wilson, Michael Gollagher, Sean Hill, Sean Iacono, Wayne Iacono

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