A different night, a different track, same result. That was the story in round two of the 2016/2017 Super Sedan Summer Slam at Ausdeck Patios Archerfield Speedway on Friday night (December 30), with Darren Kane and Matt Pascoe again finishing in front of the field in the feature race. In a replica result from the previous night, Kane again emerged victorious over Pascoe, but not before the two had put on a terrific display in their battle for the lead. In fact, the entire top five comprised the same quintet of drivers who filled those positions in the opening round, albeit in a different order. On this occasion, South Australia’s Ryan Alexander finished in third spot ahead of Matt Williams, who put in great drive to advance from 16th, with Sean Black finishing fifth on this occasion.

Presented by Tania’s T’s, the event attracted a 28-car field and a very healthy Friday night crowd with competitors dished up a racy multi-groove race track that offered great reward for those willing to explore beyond the pole line.

The opening heat saw David Musch get things underway with a win over Pascoe, who endured a buffeting from several competitors in his progression through the field from the fourth row. Lachlan Onley finished third ahead of Mick Sauer, who was piloting the #111 Rocket normally campaigned by Wayne Brims, while Matt Williams endured an inglorious start to proceedings, heading infield on lap seven.

Heat two proved a reasonably straightforward run for Alexander, quickly disposing of the front row-starting pair of Justin Randall and Dempsie Pails to ultimately finish more than four seconds clear. Pails held on to second spot, with Dubbo’s Darren Anning in third position.

Kane triumphed by an even bigger margin in heat three, leaving Campbell almost seven seconds in arrears at the fall of the chequer. Likeable long-time NSW racer Robert Carrig snared third ahead of Michael Nicola.

Matt Williams bounced back to score maximum points in heat four, leading home Black, Wayne Dick and Queensland champ Peter Nicola, who was well below his best.

Heat five provided the most contentious moment of the night when Pascoe, who finished more than four seconds clear of the field, was relegated two positions for an alleged infringement in his pass on Jason Campbell that took him to the front. Fortunately, the decision didn’t have any bearing on Pascoe’s feature race fortunes as Justin Randall was awarded the win over Leigh Williams and a bemused Pascoe.

A win in the final heat for Gavin Northfield secured the Rockhampton-based racer a spot in the pole shootout. Northfield downed Sauer and Kane to wrap up the preliminaries.

Aboard the supercharged 6-cylinder normally campaigned by Gary Pagel, former national champ Steve Jordan looked to have the B Main in his keeping until a flat left rear tyre sent him backsliding through the field and eventually onto the infield whilst still occupying a transfer position. Onley took out the race and was joined by Mark O’Brien, Bob McCosker, Brendan Doyle and Glenn Boulter in securing a start in the feature race

Sauer was the biggest mover in the Pole Shootout, taking out the bronze round before joining Pascoe in advancing from the silver shootout to the gold clash to determine the starting order for the first two rows of the grid. It was Pascoe who prevailed in the final showdown against the clock though, securing pole position ahead of Kane, Alexander and Sauer. Rounding out the top eight qualifiers were Northfield, Black, Campbell and Randall.

Experience, preparation and a willingness to use all of the race track in their pursuit of victory, Pascoe and Kane were a class above the rest, clearing away from the field even whilst engaged in a great dice for the lead. Their display at the front of the field proved a fine advertisement for Super Sedan racing, although their efforts were undermined somewhat by some craziness at the back of the pack that ultimately resulted in several restarts and the race being reduced by five laps to accommodate the track curfew. Despite an absence of power steering, it was Pascoe who held sway out front until lap 20 when Kane pounced as they negotiated lapped traffic. Once in front, Kane established a buffer over Pascoe, who enjoyed a considerable margin over third-placed Alexander. Further back, Black and Matt Williams were being rewarded for their willingness to run the outside as both drivers advanced into the top five. With Pascoe struggling to hold on and no doubt relieved at the reduced distance, Kane cruised to the line for his second win in as many nights. Pascoe survived in second spot ahead of Alexander and Williams, who put in a splendid drive after starting 16th. Black was good again in fifth, while Onley also put in a mighty charge from deep in the field to snare sixth. Campbell was the best of the rest, followed by Randall, Leigh Williams, Musch and Northfield, with Dick, Pails, Doyle, Peter Nicola and McCosker completing the finishers.

Round three of the Super Sedan Summer Slam will be contested at Toowoomba Speedway tonight (December 31) and it will be interesting to see if anybody can rise to the challenge that presents in trying to keep Kane and Pascoe from dominating the results once again.

The final round of the inaugural Summer Slam tour will be staged in conjunction with the Australian Street Stock Championship at Kingaroy Speedway on Sunday evening (January 1).

The 2016/2017 Super Sedan Summer Slam is proudly supported by:

Super Sedan Association
Ian Boettcher Race Parts
Ford Wreckers Redcliffe
Think Money
Tania’s T’s
Speedway Sedans Queensland
Speedway Sedans Australia
Speedway Australia