SOUR FINISH TO SWEETS VISIT DOWN-UNDER

World of Outlaws star Brad Sweet had dominated the Sprintcars Speedweek at Valvoline Raceway. He looked certain to claim the inaugural title as the field prepared for the final race meeting of the week, the George Tatnell Appreciation evening.

By John Morris – Velocity Magazine Editor

However, an incident between Sweet and Jordyn Brazier during the early laps of the A Main saw Brazier roll and Sweet retreat to the Work Area for repairs to his Spyke. When the American failed to return to the track within the set time limit, his championship hoped evaporated. It was later revealed on the Valvoline Raceway Facebook page that there had been a technical infringement during Sweet’s stop and the car was not allowed to return to the track.

Jamie Veal had been the front runner throughout the evening and raced away from the pole position at the start of the race. Carson Macedo followed the leader, determined for the win after his second place in the Speedcar A Main. Veal edge away from the Dyson Motorsport car until the red flag was shown after the Brazier and Sweet incident saw Brazier’s damaged car stationary on the high line at turn 1. Further cautions followed after contact between Troy Little and Marcus Dumesny (though both managed to keep their cars mobile) and a spin for Atkinson saw the pack swerve either side as the black and yellow car spun around.

Ian Madsen was another to loop on the track surface which remained fast on the cushion but a mix of grip and slick on the mid line. A series of caution periods kept Veal in touch with the front runners as he looked set to break away from every restart. By half distance the cars had actually travelled for more than fifty laps, due to the number of cautions and subsequent delays for cars in the work area. The race was red flagged for a fuel stop as some teams began to run low. At the restart Aaron Reutzel continued to plough around the high line as he had done for most of the race as he moved forward from the rear of the field. A broken wing in his heat saw Reutzel relegated to the B Main. He moved up to join Veal, Macedo and Dumesny in the fight for the lead.

Veal initially lost the lead to Macedo, who was then held up in traffic. Dumesny then pounced on the pair and left into the lead with Macedo in hot pursuit. The American regained the lead as Reutzel began to pressure both Veal and Dumesny. Reutzel and Veal came together at turn 3 on the penultimate lap, which sent Veal into a roll. The red flag brought an end to the race with Macedo the winner from Dumesny, Delamont, Reutzel and VeaI.

Macedo had almost made it a double after storming through the Speedcar field from the rear of the grid, only to miss out by a fraction of a second as he charged at race leader Michael Stewart at the finish.

Photos: John Morris – Velocity Magazine.

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