11/11/2025
Definitely a character building night!
Thanks John for the opportunity, and thank you Owen, Jason, Ray, Luka and Paul for all of your work on the night.
It was a night that promised so much for the J&S Drilling W60 team, but unfortunately, we did not manage to turn any laps at speed.
James Nightingale was set to make his debut in the West Coast Stabilisers Sprintcar Series - SAWA at Pithara Speedway Club Inc and the team was excited to see what the 17-year-old could deliver in his first drive.
James sensed that something was not right immediately during his hot laps run and pulled infield. After a check over he was sent out to do a qualifying run, but it still didn’t feel right.
The team set about a more thorough check-over prior to the first heat race and headed out hoping that the issue was resolved. Unfortunately, the issue was still present, and he pulled infield once again.
James was due to start the second heat from pole but chose to start from the rear just in case he lost power as he didn’t want to cause an accident for the drivers behind. This was a wise choice as once again the car failed to launch and he pulled infield.
The team exhausted every avenue possible to diagnose the issue that James was reporting but it could not be determined. It was a tough initiation for James, especially given that it was his first official outing and with very limited experience he was trying to provide feedback to help the crew.
A subsequent on-track test prior to the dash confirmed that there was an issue that was not allowing the car to run and the W60 was returned to the trailer and packed up.
The team will put a new motor in the car this week in preparation for Owen Peet to run the W60 in the J&S Drilling King of Wings West Coast Stabilisers Sprintcar Series - SAWA this Saturday at the Perth Motorplex.
It has been a little while since Owen has run at the Motorplex, but it is a track that he enjoys and he is pumped to be back in the seat for the first time this season.
We would like to thank Phil and Jo and all of the Pithara volunteers that put on a great event – it’s a shame we couldn’t have been involved in the on-track action.
And thanks to all the sponsors that allow us to go racing: J&S Drilling, PJW Haulage, NAPA Auto Parts, Mincon, East Coast Logistics, Danny Porter Mechanical, Castrol Edge, Motorsport Media Australia, Peet Racing Products and Meyer Shircore Architects
📸 Motorsport Media Australia