Sydney's Nathan Smee claimed his second NSW Speedcar Championship and round three of the national Five Crown Speedcar Series at Valvoline Raceway last night; taking the win from young guns Michael Stewart of the ACT and NSW's Matt Jackson. This puts points on the Five Crown Series leaderboard for the hard charging NSW trio, but it's QLD's Michael Harders who to continues to lead after three rounds!
Smee's NSW Title efforts sees him slip into 6th position on the Five Crown leader board, Stewart into 7th and Jackson to 8th. To stay in the running for the bonus $10,000 series payout, the trio need to progress into the top five placings, currently held by Michael Harders (QLD), Paul Murphy (NSW), Anthony Chaffey (QLD), Braydan Wilmington (NSW) and Domain Ramsay (VIC).
Series leader Michael Harders qualified 9th for the 30 lap A-Main and drove the Auto Upgrade Speedsport Racing Q14 home in 15th place; adding to his healthy leadership after the three rounds on 354 points.
NSW's Paul Murphy also retains second place on the Five Crown leaderboard on 330 points. While an electrical issue in his South Australian Hardwyer Motorsport ride saw him miss his opening heat, putting him out of position 21 for the A-Main; Murphy clawed his way forward to finish 13th in The Speedway Shop SA6 at the drop of the chequers.
Queensland's Anthony Chaffey also gained some much needed points back on Murphy, bringing the gap between second and third place in the series to only 22 points! After successfully qualifying from 6th place for the feature, Chaffey was forced to retire from the race with an issue in the Victorian Jaxxon Wrapz VIC6 machine, but was allocated 20th place as at his drop-out position.
The Five Crown Series moves onto South Australia next Saturday March 19th, for the 66th running of the SA Speedcar Championship, at Westline Speedway Whyalla. Competitors can claim a huge $2,500 for the win, plus tow money and more. Nomination details are available at SASpeedcars.com. The final round will be hosted by Western Australia's Quit Bunbury Speedway on April 16th.
FIVE CROWN SERIES POINTS - AFTER THREE ROUNDS:
1. Harders, Michael, QLD - 354 points 2. Paul Murphy, NSW - 330 3. Anthony Chaffey, QLD - 308 4. Braydan Wilmington, NSW - 231 5. Domain Ramsay, VIC - 142 6. Nathan Smee, NSW - 140 7. Michael Stewart, NSW - 135 8. Matt Jackson, NSW - 132 9. Scott Wilson, QLD - 130 10. Stewart Grant-Campbell, VIC - 126 11. Troy Jenkins, NSw - 126 12. Jaimie Mckinlay, NSW - 125 13. Ben Hall, SA - 124 14. Matt Smith, NSW - 123 15. Troy Ware, QLD - 122 16. Rusty Whittaker, QLD - 120 17. Paul Farrell, VIC - 120 18. Grant Draney, QLD - 118 19. Ken Stanaway, QLD - 117 20. Matt Hefford, QLD - 117 21. Trevor Malouf, NSW - 115 22. Reid Mackay, QLD - 115 23. Darren Vine, QLD - 114 24. Gavin Wesble, QLD - 114 25. Justin McMinn, VIC - 112 26. Ashley Booker, VIC - 112 27. Brett Thomas, QLD - 111 28. Nathan Squiers, SA - 110 29. Gary Rooke, NSW - 110 30. Stuart Ferguson, VIC - 109 31. Matt Papa, VIC - 107 32. Cameron Restall, NSW - 107 33. Brad Young, QLD - 106 34. Bob Jackson, NSW - 105 35. Nick Parker, VIC - 103 36. Rodney Harders, QLD - 102 37. Darren Jenkins, NSW - 102 38. Ian Jones, VIC - 101 39. Dean Meadows, NSW - 101 40. Courtney O'Heir, NSW - 98 41. Don Mackay, NSW - 96 42. Andy Pearce, VIC - 94 43. Jeremy Evans, NSW - 93 44. Jordan Mackay, NSW - 91 45. Jack Day, VIC - 90 46. Jack Black, NSW - 89 47. Kaitlyn Anthony, NSW - 83 48. Michael Paice, NSW - 82 49. Aiden Corish, NSW - 79 50. Lance Towns, QLD - 33 51. Jessica Moulden, VIC - 31 52. Craig Smith, VIC - 21 53. Corey Stadart, QLD - 10 54. Mathew Hunter, NSW - 10
Photo courtesy of Valvoline Raceway.