The past 12 months have seen Warrnambool’s Jamie Veal embark on a meteoric rise within the Sprintcar racing world, a 2013-14 Australian domestic season that saw him record his maiden World Series Sprintcars feature race victory, go on a barnstorming run at the Classic and also claim overall honors at the Easter Sprintcar Trail.

This past month has seen this steep learning curve and climb to prominence within the Sprintcar industry continue with Jamie and the SWI Engineering Racing team embarking on a whirl wind racing tour based around the prestigious Ohio Speedweek tournament which pits some of the world’s best against the series regulars of the UNOH All-Star Circuit of Champions.

With highly respected crew chief Glen Beaton twisting the wrenches on the 35au Maxim, with assistance from Queensland based Sprintcar competitor Bryan Mann, the team and a very sharp looking race car set about going to work!

The tour got off to an interesting start with the opening night of Ohio Speedweek falling foul to rain, with the SWI Engineering team deciding instead to hit the road and make their way to Bloomington Speedway in Indiana where Jamie would contest a round of the M.O.W.A Series.

A solid qualifying run garnished Jamie a 10th place starting slot in the A feature event, where a strong run in the new car would result in a second place result thus giving the team a big injection of confidence ahead the next stop on the schedule – the famed Eldora Speedway!

With ‘official’ opening night of Ohio Speedweek falling foul to rain, night two at Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway took on extra importance, with 44 cars signing in.

Jamie timed 28th quick in his first visit as a driver to the famed Eldora half mile. This was good enough to see him start from position seven in his heat race, being able to advance one spot to finish sixth at its completion.

This meant that Jamie was consigned to the B-Main, with seat time and laps being all important in the early stages of Speedweek and ahead of an intended return to Eldora for the King’s Royal in July.

Unfortunately Jamie was to fall agonizingly short of a transfer to the A-Main recording a sixth place finish.

Post race Jamie was upbeat, stating that he and the team had learnt a lot and that he couldn’t wait to get the 35au Maxim back there for the King’s Royal!

Next stop was another round of Ohio Speedweek, this time at Waynesfield Raceway Park, and a 1/3 mile high-banked track that is about 80 miles to the North West of Columbus, Ohio.

Jamie quickly found Waynesfield to his liking, perhaps even calling on some of his previous racing experiences to dial in nice and quick, with a qualifying run of 16th fastest out of 45 cars setting his night up perfectly.

The SWI Engineering Maxim was slated to start from position three in the fourth heat of the night, with Jamie displaying good car speed in his run to an eventual second place finish, thus all but guaranteeing an A-Main start.

As the draws were posted Jamie to come from position 15, although with the track lending itself to plenty of passing, should the team make the right changes then anything was possible!

Depending on your definition of ‘anything being possible’, then it is fair to say that anything almost was possible with Jamie rim riding his way to an amazing second place finish behind one of the Masters of the Ohio Sprintcar scene – Dale Blaney!

Once again, the run at Waynesfield was a good confidence booster, with a top four of Blaney, Veal, Jac Haudenschild and Shane Stewart sitting nicely with the #35 team!

The next two nights of Ohio Speedweek were to consist of round at Wayne County Speedway and Sharon Speedway, only for Mother Nature to again intervene.

Qualifying did take place at Wayne County where 49 cars greeted the clock, with Jamie again timing respectively with a tenth quickest run of all starters. That unfortunately was the only racing that would take place over the next two nights.

Anytime 62 cars sign in for a night of Sprintcar Racing, you know it is going to be a tough night at the office, throw into the mix a pill draw for heat positions and that element of luck can play a huge part in the outcome of your night!

That was exactly the scenario as the SWI Engineering Racing team pulled the hauler into Atomic Speedway (KC Raceway) in Chillicothe, Ohio.

Jamie’s night saw him start from position seven in his heat, which just happened to be the opening heat of the night, with the Warrnambool based young gun doing his best to wheel the 35au to a fifth place finish, thus consigning him an 11th place starting slot for the B-Main.

With limited passing on offer during the B-Main, Jamie was able to advance to 10th, thus missing out on a chance to move a little further forward in the points standings.
With a straight racecar and their confidence still high the team turned their attention to Fremont Speedway – The Track That Action Built – another third of mile venue.

Again a good car count was on hand, as is always the way with Ohio Speedweek, at a venue that only a few weeks earlier had seen James McFadden record a stunning victory as he flew the Aussie flag proudly!

Jamie was again fast out of the box, recording a time that was good enough for 18th fastest of the 51 cars that signed in. With all of the heat races during Ohio Speedweek being ultra tough, Jamie was strong again in his heat race where he ran second to a hard charging Shane Stewart.

This result would once again see Jamie qualify directly into the A-Main, starting from deep in the field in position 17.

Never one to be perturbed at the thought of needing to pass some cars, Jamie soon found the Fremont venue nice and racy as he cut his way through the field en-route to an eventual finish inside the top ten, officially being credited with eighth.

With the hectic nature of the schedule for Ohio Speedweek, Jamie, Glen and Bryan were pleased to note that they were faced with only an 80-mile road trip ahead of the next night of competition at Limaland Motorsports Park in Lima.

With Lima being a high banked quarter mile, the scene was set for a strong result, as this type of track is what Jamie has basically been brought up on!

Things were again looking good for the team, with Glen and Bryan giving Jamie a great car for qualifying and Jamie hitting his marks nicely to record a time that was sufficient for ninth quickest of the large field.

From there the Jamie recorded a fifth place finish in his heat which was good enough to earn a start in the dash that would determine the top eight starting positions for the feature event.

Jamie was able to make good of his short track experience as he moved the immaculate #35 from position five to a finishing spot of third, thus ensuring a start on the second row of the feature field.

The feature was all business early with cars vying for position on the racy Lima bullring, with Jamie executing in clinical fashion as he maneuvered his way to the race lead on lap 5, before he began to stretch the legs of the Heytesbury Stockfeeds, Mototech backed entry as lapped traffic approached.

As had been the case for the entire tour thus far, Jamie was at the top of his game. That was until lap 27 when disaster struck with Jamie tagging the wall, resulting in front end damage and thwarting his charge to a maiden victory on USA soil.

Post race the team were far from dwelling on their bad luck as they set their sights on returning to Fremont, for the final night of competition for Ohio Speedweek.

Despite having only competed their on this tour, Jamie liked Fremont at it showed again in qualifying as he cranked out a top ten qualifying performance amidst the 44 cars that ran against the clock.

What this qualifying effort did was lock Jamie into his heat race, drawn to start from position four, with it all up to him as to how far forward he could advance!

Well advance he did, storming to the heat race victory in a commanding display with Glen and Bryan again giving Jamie a car that was ‘on rails’ as he made short work of the quality opposition that was on show.

With a strong qualifying run and an impressive heat race win now under his belt, Jamie would earn a start in the dash where he would finish fifth, thus locking in the fifth starting slot for the final A-Main of the 2014 Ohio Speedweek.

What was to ensure was an action packed feature event, with Dale Blaney continuing his amazing form, along with Jamie and James McFadden. At races end it would be Blaney who would take the win and also the overall Speedweek Championship, from James McFadden and Jamie, thus proving yet again that the young Aussies can certainly take it up to the best in the world, literally in their own backyard!

The end result was that Jamie would finish ninth in the overall points score for the week with 1023 points, 272 behind run away winner Blaney. The week included two podium finishes and but for an ounce of luck at Lima, things could have been even better!

With Ohio Speedweek done and dusted the team made the decision to return to Waynesfield Speedway for the Bob Reynolds’s Memorial 360 race on July 4.

With Jamie having produced a strong second placed finish in open competition at the same track a little over a week earlier, the team was again confident of obtaining a strong result.

With the heats again being drawn via a pill draw as opposed to running time trials, Jamie was able to move forward in his heat to finish second before being drawn to start from position seven in the A-Main.

The 40-lap feature event was again a tight, tough battle with the level of competition right throughout Ohio being ultra tough. Jamie however was able to move forward to come away with a fourth place run having started from position seven.
Continuing with the hectic racing schedule, the team didn’t have long to bask in the results from Waynesfield and the 360 adventures before they again turned their attention to 410 or open competition racing, with their sights set on a return to Attica Raceway Park.

Attica Raceway Park in Attica is located in North Central Ohio and after the opening round of Speedweek was washed out, Jamie was again super competitive, in what was a round of the F.A.S.T series, before spinning while running in the fourth spot during the feature!

From Attica it was back to Fremont, a venue the team had their heads around and one that Jamie was confident at!

The Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprintcar Feature was the event and the promotion at Fremont also have an on-going challenge for the pole sitter to elect to start at the rear for an additional $5000.00 or to double their prize money!

Once again Jamie was fast out of the blocks, setting the third fastest time of the night. Interestingly James McFadden was the driver to set quick time! The Aussies were on song!!

The heat racing saw Jamie locked into the third heat of the night, drawn to start from position six, with a top five finish required to transfer straight to the A-Main, with time trial results then setting the starting order.

Jamie managed to progress to sneak into the A-Main with a fifth place finish, while McFadden ran second to secure pole position and the opportunity to take the Baumann Auto Group Big Bucks Bonus, and start at the tail of the field for an extra $5,000.00 should he advance to take the win!

With J-Mac now at the tail of the field, Jamie was locked into his P4 starting spot and when the first start was recalled, Cap Henry who was to start from P2 went to the work area with a mechanical problem, thus elevating Jamie to a front row start.

Two further re-starts were required before the race officially got underway, with Jamie gaining a healthy advantage over the field, as he attempted to gain his first win on US soil!

As the race went on veteran Dean Jacobs was using all of his experience and guile to reel in Jamie as the pair battled for the lead, just as McFadden was beginning to slice his way through the field as well, moving from 20th to seventh in eight laps and then inside the top five by lap 12!

On lap 18 the caution flag flew once more, at the re-start it was Jacobs, who was running very well using the bottom groove of the race track, who was eating into Jamie’s advantage as he continued to blast around the high side of the Speedway, McFadden meanwhile was up to third.

On lap 23 Jacobs would drive off the bottom and take the race lead away from Jamie, just before the caution lights blinked on once again. At the re-start Jamie was closing in once again on Jacobs before another spinning car resulted in a dramatic four lap dash to the finish.

At the re-start Jamie used his preferred high groove to again drive around Jacobs, re-taking the lead with a superb run off of turn four, from here he wouldn’t be stopped as the SWI Engineering, Lucas Oils, Indy Race Parts, Mototech, Heytesbury Stockfeeds, Camperdown Autopro, All-Star Performance backed #35 Maxim made its way for the very first time in the United States to victory lane as a winner!

Post race Jamie was naturally upbeat.

“That was a hell of a race. He (Jacobs) races clean and it was fun. It’s great to get a win here”, Jamie said.

“I really enjoy this joint (Fremont) and I hope we can come back again”, he added.

When asked about McFadden’s charge from 20th to 3rd, Jamie joked, “He’s alright…. I’ve beaten him before”.

With only a short space of time between the race at Fremont and the Brad Doty Classic with the World of Outlaws at Limaland Raceway Park, it was business as usual for Jamie, Glen and Bryan.

The car was prepped and everything was in readiness for the team’s biggest challenge of the 2014 USA Tour.

Come race day for the Brad Doty Classic, before a packed house a Lima, Jamie again continued his strong run of qualifying with a 10.669 second pass which was good enough be classified as 12th quick!

This 12th fastest time saw Jamie start from P2 in the fourth heat of the night, a heat which he was able to go on and win, thus making those that hadn’t already done so, sit up and take notice that in fact the SWI Engineering Racing Team was the Real Deal!

Jamie’s heat win was enough to see him advance to the dash, where the inversion marbles also fell Jamie’s way with the inversion number drawn being enough to see the 35au roll out for the dash in pole position.

Despite being bumped a couple of spots in the early going of the dash, all was still looking strong for Veal as he kept in touch with the leaders that was before he had a motor ‘let go’ on him with a couple of laps remaining.

Jamie would finish eighth and that is where he would start the Brad Doty Classic from, provided the team could effect an engine change in the interim.
That task was completed and Jamie made the call to roll out for the start of the feature. As the field assembled four wide Jamie opted to pull in a warm his motor, thus ensuring everything would be OK for the race ahead.

Unfortunately a miscommunication between the team and the World of Outlaws officials resulted in Jamie failing to make it to the designated Work Area prior to works commencing on the #35au Maxim, thus meaning that Jamie would be disqualified from the main event.

To his credit, whilst disappointed, Jamie took his penalty on the chin as the team set about deciding their next plan of attack given that the Kings Royal was next on the agenda, their good motor had gone south on them, and the spare had maxed out it’s meal tickets with regards to the number of nights it had run!

“To be honest we could have run the motor with 18 nights on it, but it was getting tired and with horsepower and motor being everything at Eldora, especially at a big show like the King’s Royal, we would have been kidding ourselves”, Jamie said upon his return home.

“We had a great trip, had some good results and most importantly learnt a heap of things. Ohio is a great place to go and run and I sure hope to get back there and do some racing again soon,” Veal added.

With the team now home and setting their sights on the upcoming Australian summer, Jamie would like to thank everyone who made the trip to the States possible.

“I have to thank Dad, Mum everyone at SWI Engineering, Jeff Pahlke and his team at Lucas Oil, Bernie at Indy Race Parts, Tim Fisher at Mototech in Geelong, All-Star Performance, Matty, Butch and the team at Heytesbury Stockfeeds, sprintcarworld.com.au along with Jeff and the crew at Autopro Camperdown, I couldn’t do it without their support.”, Jamie said.

“While I’m on it, I have to extend a big thanks to Keez and Matt from PWR, those guys have the best radiators in the game and as a result we will have a very tough looking PWR themed Maxim on display at the Meguiars MotoEX car show this coming Saturday and Sunday (July 19 & 20) at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds. I hope everyone can come and check us out at the PWR stand”, Jamie added.

“Finally a big thanks to Glen and Bryan, they worked so hard over there, it was good to get a win and a couple of podiums to make it worth while for them as well”.

End Release