2020 South West Conveyancing Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic Champion James McFadden can now add the 2019-20 Parr Motorsports Premier Speedway Sprintcar Track Premiership to his resume having recorded an amazingly strong season of results at Sungold Stadium, Premier Speedway, Warrnambool over the past season.

McFadden, aboard the Monte Motorsport, Kim Buswell prepared W17 Maxim was a dominant force all season long. His results all season long at Sungold Stadium, Premier Speedway, Warrnambool were super consistent, proving yet again that McFadden’s talent coupled with amazing team chemistry and top notch equipment is an on track force to be reckoned with.

The season for McFadden began at Premier Speedway during Round 3 of the Eureka Sprintcar Series as presented by 3YBFM and Coast FM.

Qualifying in his heat group McFadden was quickly into stride setting the fastest lap of his group, before winning his opening heat and backing that effort up with a third place from the rear of the grid in the second round of heats.

From here the pilot of the Month Motorsport Machine led all 30 laps of the A-Main, on a difficult race track and despite admitting post-race that he and the team were trying some different combinations on the car ahead of World Series Sprintcars and the Classic later in the season.

A fortnight later, during the Victorian Sprintcar Title as presented by Go Traffic, McFadden endured a tougher than expected night, finding himself in the unusual position of having to contest the B-Main, from which he was able to transfer before recording an 11th place result.

History will show that Jamie Veal would go on to claim a maiden Victorian Title win ahead of David Murcott and Darren Mollenoyux who along with Grant Anderson were keeping things tight in the early part of the Parr Motorsports Track Premiership.
Max’s Race on December 14, was next on the program with thanks to long time Premier Speedway supporters Chittick’s Bakery.

For the Monte Motorsport Team and James McFadden, the night began as they would have hoped recording a Quick Time performance in their qualifying group, however there would be no stopping the V37 of Grant Anderson, who was most confirming his status as a genuine Track Premiership contender.

Anderson would win Max’s Race while James, who started eighth in the A-Main would still record a healthy-points haul toward the Track Premiership with a fifth place result.

No sooner had Christmas come and gone, than World Series Sprintcars was en-route to Sungold Stadium with the first of two nights of Speedweek set down for decision on December 29 with thanks to Willie’s Manufacturing Industries and Southern Hydraulics and Rubber.

With many predicting a McFadden v Kerry Madsen chase for the overall World Series Sprintcars honors, the Speedweek rounds provided an opportunity for $10,000 pay days each time the teams hit the track, with the extra incentive of claiming the overall Speedweek portion of the series as well.

With Brock Hallett having taken the win in the Opening Round at Murray Bridge and Brooke Tatnell saluting at Borderline Speedway, Mt. Gambier in round two, McFadden was somewhat precariously placed in fifth on points behind Madsen, Hallett, Tatnell and American Cory Eliason heading into Round 3.

McFadden was quick to not only step up in the World Series Sprintcars calculations but also continue his stranglehold on the Parr Motorsports Track Premiership as he claimed Quick Time in his Flight of Qualifying before strong heat results saw him qualify for the Shoot-out which he was able to win with a best lap of 10.257 seconds ahead of Eliason, Madsen and Hallett.

From there McFadden and the W17 machine led all 35-laps of the A-Main to pocket the $10,000 pay day and move up in the WSS points race.

With regards to the Track Premiership McFadden made only minimal ground on his rivals with Grant Anderson also pocketing some very handy points with a fifth place run.

With Round 4 of WSS falling foul to the heat, wind and rain of December 30, Premier Speedway’s Traditional January 1 World Series meeting was the next outing for the World Series Teams.

In terms of the Track Premiership battle, the January 1 meeting as presented by Fresha, would change very little with McFadden again claiming the win, while Anderson would be stout in second, refusing to let McFadden extend his lead, with both driver having enjoyed strong results in the first five nights of competition.

To this point of the season, five races in McFadden had recorded three feature race wins from five starts with Anderson and Jamie Veal being the other drivers to stand atop the podium.

Traditionally, the South West Conveyancing Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic tends to shake up the Parr Motorsport Track Premiership in one way or another, with points allocated to each of the two qualifying nights as well as the third and final night of Australia’s biggest weekend of Sprintcar Racing.

McFadden was set to contest night one and a second place finish behind winner Scott Bogucki, not only set up his Classic weekend nicely, but also added another 148 points to his Track Premiership tally.

Anderson, as the nearest challenger to McFadden in the Track Premiership contested Night Two, with his night coming to an end just eight laps into the Preliminary Feature event, having been forced to qualify via the B-Main.

The one upside of this for Anderson and his Track Premiership hopes was that he still scored points and now needed a strong result on the final night of the Classic to ensure McFadden didn’t create too great of a buffer over his rivals with only two rounds, or as best we knew it at the time, of the Parr Motorsports Track Premiership remaining after the Classic.

Night Three of the Classic, as we all know, saw McFadden take home the $30,000 with another strong performance which garnished him another 154 Track Premiership points, with Albury’s Grant Anderson again coming from the second of two B-Main’s to make the 24 car Classic field, being credited with a 22nd place finish after he was again forced to the infield after just 11 laps.

Anderson’s effort would earn him 108 Track Premiership points, keeping him in what would now be a difficult pursuit of McFadden in the race to secure the $10,000 Track Premiership prize.

With the Penultimate round of the Eureka Sprintcar Series set down for decision at Sungold Stadium, Premier Speedway, Warrnambool on March 14, 2020, the days leading up to the event had everyone on edge as the words Corona Virus and COVID-19 became an increasing part of our vocabulary.

The decision was made, amidst increasing community uncertainty to continue with the scheduled Race Meeting as presented by Wheelie Waste.

With Anderson needing everything to go right and for McFadden to produce a less than perfect night, it was McFadden who produced a second fastest qualifying lap in his heat group, behind only Terry Rankin.

Rankin would again hold sway as he kept James to a second place result in the opening heat of the night before McFadden restored normal transmission with a run from the rear of his second heat to victory in what was heat 6 of the night.

Likewise Anderson was performing with aplomb once again but with the increasing likelihood of the March 14 meeting being the last of the season, it was now McFadden’s Track Premiership.

The 30-lap A-Main would put an exclamation mark on a Super Season for the Monte Motorsport team as McFadden romped to a fifth A-Main win on the season, with Anderson, his usual determined self, displaying his never surrender attitude in chasing all the way to the line, finishing third.

With, as anticipated COVID-19, putting an end to the season, and rendering the 2020 Easter Trail a non-event, James McFadden would cement his position at the top of the Parr Motorsport Track Premiership points table.

McFadden would secure 1180 Track Premiership points for the season, 98 more than Grant Anderson (1082) in second.

Third was Jye O’Keeffe who had an extremely productive season, flying under the radar somewhat while amassing 938 points in a season that saw him qualify for both World Series Sprintcars A-Mains.

Rounding out the top five was Corey McCullagh, who endured a short mid-season hiatus having made the move back to his Family Based Team from the Dickson Motorsport Camp. McCullagh recorded 906 points, while Peter Doukas made it four locally based drivers in the top five with his fifth place finish on 870 points.

2019-20 Eureka Sprintcar Series Champion Brett Milburn, Rusty Hickman, Jock Goodyer, John Vogels and Darren Mollenoyux rounded out the Top-10.

Premier Speedway wish to congratulate James McFadden, Luch Monte and the Entire Monte Motorsport Team on winning the 2019-20 Track Premiership as well as every competitor who contested a round at Sungold Stadium, Premier Speedway, Warrnambool throughout the season.

End Release.