The Midget numbers seems at least as many as ever which is good for the class.
There were a couple of new guys there who had shown in practice the weekend before that they could foot it with anyone, and the return of a couple of guys who may go straight back into the top fast group. The cars all looked fantastic, and its good to see the range of good quality sponsors turning up on the side of the cars, the future is bright. The track seemed to be as smooth as it has ever been and suggested it was going to get faster as the night went on.
We had ended up in the 2nd heat which gave me the opportunity to see how the first group of cars went. After about 5 laps I was back to the car trying to loosen it up as much as I could. Having too much drive was not the answer at this time of the night as a couple of them had found out. Brad settled into the race well, having no restarts and needing the finish to get through to the Feature Race was the plan. This is one thing he has learnt in the USA, finish the heats and then go for it in the Feature Race. Finished 3rd which was good.
The rest of the night went well with a 5th in the second heat saw us get grid 5 for the Feature Race. They normally have the highest points scorer draw a marble which inverts up to the top 6 rows, this time they went with fastest of the front.
Michael Pickens had had a great night so he started on the front row with Bryce Townsend and the rest of the field stacked up behind them. Watching the green to finish race was one the best I have seen. Brad and Graeme Standring swapped 3rd and 4th position at least 4 times.. The track provided 3 lines and they raced on all of them. Brad finished the day in 3rd place which was to be our first podium for the season. Great drives from both Michael and Neville Basalaj to finish 1st and 2nd.
The National Points Series this year is a little different. The point’s favour the podium finishers so finishing mid field won’t cut it this year, the other is you cannot drop your worst result and apparently the top 6 in the Series after 6 rounds is the NZ Team. So the trick is to be fast and consistent which can be a real challenge to all of us.
What ever happens its good to be back at the “Springs” and we are all looking forward to the next couple of months which also sees the start of the out of town Midget Tour which will be great.
Until next Saturday when it all begins again…………….Greg.
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