Jamie Collins and Mick Dann were the two big winners at Redline Raceway January 14, with Collins leading flag to flag to win the Victorian AMCA Nationals Championship, and Dann doing similar, leading all but one lap of the unique, DuO Mobile Eliminator feature for Street Stocks.

The earlier Street Stock heats and events had provided plenty of spectacular action with three rollovers including Eugene Bennett’s once pristine Commodore whose engine burst into flame’s upon landing. Bennett was quickly out of his car without injury and even assisted to shut down the fuel pump that appeared to still be pumping fuel to the fire.

South Australian Matthew Maynard was the next to turn turtle, however the biggest flip was for the unlucky Dean Jenkins who clipped an infield tyre in the pole shuffle and rolled four to five times just when he was all set for a top starting position in the Duo Eliminator final.

In the other final run Scott Whittle scored the Open Sedan feature as the impending curfew quickly approached.

The AMCA Nationals Victorian Title featured a stellar field with local and interstate racers including the current National Champion Matt Hardy and defending State Champion Steve Potts both from Queensland.

In the main event former Victorian Champion Jamie Collins made the best start and eventually led all 30 laps from Tony Blanch who poked and prodded for the duration. Hardy held third for the majority of the race before Grant Cullinger grabbed the final podium position on the last lap after being part of a huge melee earlier. Hardy hung on for 4th ahead of Tim Reidy, Dean Heseltine and Potts.

Numerous spins and one big pile-up that involved ten cars occurred at the mid-way point with most able to restart. Further minor skirmishes punctuated the event but Collins was able to maintain his lead throughout.

Heat wins fell to Jason Robinson, Potts, Blanch, Sharon Tindal, Collins, Keenan Casey, Reidy, Frank Thierry and Heseltine, with former Champ Darren McCarthy winning the shortened B-Main.

Redline Raceway is home to the best weekly Street Stock field in the country and again that was the case.

In the Duo Mobile Eliminator event a field of 24 cars take the chequered and race for ten laps. The last eight cars are eliminated and the direction of racing is reversed for the next ten laps leaving the final eight cars to reverse direction once again and complete the final 15 laps.

Mick Dann had earned top points by virtue of two heat wins from three attempts and made the most of his position to lead Len Bates, Shaun Henry, Michael Clarke and Darren Giacometti to the first break.

He did the same in the second part this time leading Clarke, Bates, David Barrie and Henry to the change of direction.

In the final stanza Bates mounted a challenge and actually hit the lead for a brief moment before eventually slowing and pulling infield. Clarke was on the charge and putting extreme pressure on Dann and while he could get alongside he couldn’t make the pass eventually finishing a close second ahead of Giacometti, Henry, Barrie, Jason DeGoldi and Darren Forrest.

The earlier heats provided some spectacular racing not including the roll overs. Heat 2D was the best of the night with Aaron White and Chris Hay spending almost the entire 10 laps side by side in a brilliant display of close, clean Street Stock racing. Plenty of other heats had close finishes and exceptional racing, as expected from the “Streeties”.

Heat wins went to Jenkins (x2), Clarke, Dann (x2), Darren Paisley, Giacometti, Bates (x2), White, Hay and Henry.  Nick Hill won the B-Main from Lee Beach, Jamie Crutchley, Collen Tate, Darren Matthews and Scott Secombe.

The open sedans where dominated by Scott Whittle who won the main event as well as two of the four heats, Leigh Bourke who ran second in the main event also took a heat win in his Falcon with Lucas Conder winning the other heat. Garry Monti brought his big beast home in third in the final just ahead of Sean Lister who’d stormed from the rear of the field to be on Monti’s tail as they crossed the line.

A loud field of V8 Thunder sedans contested only two heats due to the time curfew with Shane Stephenson winning the opener and Kieran Brennan Jnr taking the other heat.

Racing returns to Redline Raceway on February the 4th with the return of the Eureka Garages Sprintcar series & 410ci Sprintcars for the first time in a few seasons, a show not to be missed!

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Written by
Brett Swanson
DMT Sports Media

For Belmont Speedway Drivers Club