After teaming back up with long-time crew chief Craig Munday, Marcus Kelly sped to victory in last Saturday night’s annual Tas Truck Refinishing Formula 500s Mainland Invaders event at Carrick Speedway, proving what a winning combination they are.

Due to the wet weather, the event, which was scheduled to be a doubleheader commencing on the Friday night, was reduced to one night only, with drivers contesting qualifying time trials, three rounds of heat races, a pole shuffle and a feature race on Saturday afternoon / night.

In his first race back in Australia since his Tulsa Shootout campaign in America, Kelly lined his Tas # 47 Yoshimura / Joinery Products supported CS9 machine up out of position three for the 25-lap feature race and chased after long-time leader Nick Kingston and passing him for the lead on lap 23, which set him up to take the victory and pocket $1,500 prize money in the process.

Re-joining forces with crew chief Munday after 12 months apart, Kelly was in strong form from the outset of the event, posting the fifth fastest lap in qualifying time trials, winning his second heat race and finishing third in the other two, before going on to win the pole shuffle which placed him on pole position for the feature race but he was post-race docked two positions for jumping the start and therefore had to start from the inside of the second row.

“It’s great to have Craig back on board,” expressed the 40-year-old racer, whose victory was made even more special due to the fact that he celebrated his 40th birthday on the Friday.

“We’ve achieved a lot of success together, including an Australian Title (2013), and to get the win in our first race back as a team just further proves how well we work together.”

For his next event, Kelly will head to Latrobe’s Gulf Western & Independent Oils Raceway for a club show this Saturday night, before contesting the Tasmanian Title at Carrick Speedway on the Saturday night of February 4. After a month’s break, Kelly will return to Carrick Speedway on March 12 for the annual Titch Jordan Memorial event, before travelling over to the mainland to contest the Australian Title at Murray Bridge Speedway in South Australia on April 14-15.

“This season, I’m a running a limited schedule this season, due to business commitments, so I’m focusing on as many of the major shows as I can,” explained Kelly.

“Despite a limited season schedule, I’ve enjoyed a lot of success, and the goal is to continue this run of form in the remaining race meetings, especially the Australian Title.”

Kelly would like to thank the following 2016-17 season sponsors for their valued support: Joinery Products, Maxwell Industries, Steve Watt Enterprises, and TI-FX.

To find out more about Kelly and his team, LIKE them on Facebook by searching Joinery Products Racing.

-ENDS-

Photo courtesy of Bestmann Photography