Steven Ellementhas tonight started his quest for a third WA State Title in the best possible fashion by leading the points after Night One and then going on to grab the inaugural Bill Richards 44 Salute!
With four heat races conducted on the first night, Ellement was able to grab a win and a third place to be equal top points with Cody Turacchio who also grabbed the same positions in his heats. Chris Dymock and Thomas Davies shared the other heat wins.
Points from the heats would determine the starting order for the Bill Richards 44 Salute, but the race would be simply all about Bill, with no points on offer.
In what was quite obviously a mark of respect for Formula 500’s WA Inc longest serving driver, the seventeen cars still running at the end of the night all took the green flag in the fifteen lap event.
As the race went green Ellement would jump into the lead but the start was called back with him deemed to have gone too early. The second start was better and Ellement would lead closely followed by Turacchio, who would then be passed by Davies on lap two.
After a restart for a spun Jeff Hedington, Turacchio would retake the position three laps later after another spin, this time by Aaron Higgins, after Davies was relegated two positions to fourth, elevating defending State Champion Matt Brown into third.
Brown would then make his move two laps later, grabbing second from Turacchio. From here the order at the front would remain unchanged, Ellement going on to grab the win from Brown and Turacchio.
Bill Richards was trackside to present Ellement with his plaque and also dug into his own pocket to donate $500 to the winner of the race in what was an amazing gesture.
After night one Ellement and Turacchio are tied on points with one more round of heats to go tomorrow. A full point score is listed below, with all drivers expected to return to compete tomorrow.
Stay tuned tomorrow night for all the results as they happen!

Release by DTN Media.
Pictures Courtesy Jon Gall Photography.

Official Results
Heat One, 8 laps: 1.Chris Dymock, 2. WA1 Matt Brown, 3. Steven Ellement, 4. Glenn Carstairs, 5. JyeMckenzie, 6. Shane Andersson, 7. George Eaton, 8. Todd Broadwood, 9. Ben Stockdale, 10. Ken Worroll.
Heat Two, 8 laps: 1.Thomas Davies, 2. Ryan Higgs, 3. Cody Turacchio, 4. Aaron Fullgrabe, 5. Aaron Higgins, 6. Jeff Hedington, 7. Matthew Edwards-Pope, 8. Jayden Maughan. DNS: Cameron Mckenzie.
Heat Three, 8 laps: 1. Steven Ellement, 2. Jeff Hedington, 3. Ryan Higgs, 4. Glenn Carstairs, 5. Todd Broadwood, 6. Shane Andersson, 7. Matthew Edwards-Pope, 8. Ben Stockdale. DNS: Cameron Mckenzie, Jayden Maughan.
Heat Four, 8 laps: 1.Cody Turacchio, 2. Aaron Higgins, 3. Matt Brown, 4. Thomas Davies, 5. George Eaton, 6. Chris Dymock, 7. JyeMckenzie, 8. Aaron Fullgrabe, 9. Ken Worroll.
Feature, 15 laps: 1. Steven Ellement, 2. Matt Brown, 3. Cody Turacchio, 4. Ryan Higgs, 5. Thomas Davies, 6. Glenn Carstairs, 7. Jeff Hedington, 8. George Eaton, 9. Shane Andersson, 10. Matthew Edwards-Pope, 11. Todd Broadwood, 12. JyeMckenzie, 13. Aaron Fullgrabe (14), 14. Aaron Higgins (14), 15. Ken Worroll (14). DNF: Chris Dymock. DQ: Jayden Maughan. DNS: Ben Stockdale, Cameron Mckenzie.

Points After Night One
1. 2 Steven Ellement 38
= 5 Cody Turacchio 38
3. WA1 Matt Brown 37
= 29 Thomas Davies 37
= 7 Ryan Higgs 37
6. 60 Aaron Higgins 35
= 3 Chris Dymock 35
8. 10 Jeff Hedington 34
= 49 Glenn Carstairs
10. 117 George Eaton 30
= 90 Shane Andersson 30
= 42 JyeMckenzie 30
= 92 Aaron Fullgrabe 30
14. 17 Todd Broadwood 29
15. 14 Matthew Edwards-Pope 28
16. 26 Ben Stockdale 25
17. 43 Ken Worroll 23
18. 79 Jayden Maughan 13
19. 41 Cameron Mckenzie 0

Heat One
3 Chris Dymock and 2 Steven Ellement
42 JyeMckenzie and 49 Glenn Carstairs
WA1 Matt Brown and 90 Shane Andersson
117 George Eaton and 17 Todd Broadwood
43 Ken Worrall and 26 Ben Stockdale

Heat Two
14 Matthew Edwards-Pope and 29 Thomas Davies
7 Ryan Higgs and 92 Aaron Fullgrabe
41 Cameron Mckenzie and 60 Aaron Higgins
79 Jayden Maughan and 5 Cody Turacchio
10 Jeff Hedington

Heat Three
26 Ben Stockdale and 10 Jeff Hedington
17 Todd Broadwood and 79 Jayden Maughan
90 Shane Andersson and 41 Cameron Mckenzie
49 Glenn Carstairs and 7 Ryan Higgs
2 Steven Ellement and 14 Matthew Edwards-Pope

Heat Four
5 Cody Turacchio and 43 Ken Worroll
60 Aaron Higgins and 117 George Eaton
92 Aaron Fullgrabe and WA1 Matt Brown
29 Thomas Davies and 42 JyeMckenzie
3 Chris Dymock