18/10/2026
Trackman Trophy Opening a Real Treat
It’s a happy sight rolling through gate to see the pits already full at the start of the season, the pit expansion last year proving essential to fit the huge influx of drivers that have joined the club, while a few old heads also returned, the club has never been stronger. I couldn’t remember the last time when Nelson rolled out more Super Stock drivers on opening night than Woodford Glen did on their opening night, our 12 to their 9, the hard work showing off as the club rides the wave, both tracks still have cars to come, but it looks to be an even playing field, Nelson numbers on the rise here as other tracks are on the decline.
The track staff have done an amazing job with the track, they have set the benchmark for the season, if they produce the same track week in, week out, its going to be an epic year. Those looking after the mentor drivers have never been so busy, a sea of Hi-Viz tops on the back of cars in all grades, I was waiting to see Jared Gray and Cody Teece’s sport one on their cars as they made a welcome return to racing after retiring long before Facebook was even a thing (yep that long ago).
While there is a huge difference in age of our oldest competitor to our Youngest 80-8, notably there isn’t a lot of difference in height, Poor Dave Leitch suffering damage to his door, having to make an exit Dukes of Hazard style, which he hasn’t had to do since it first aired back 1980’s.
A good-sized crowd keen to return to the seasonal diet of Speedway Hotdogs had plenty to chat about after busy opening night, the carnage easily surpassed flat tyres ending drivers’ races, the wall still dishing out punishment to those that were keen to take it on. The open wheeler grades while not flush with huge fields, quality rather than quantity more than made up for it, some deft passing on a friendly track made for competitive racing all night.
Alicia Hill had a big moment on the night, as she tagged the wall bigtime, Callum Russ saying he didn’t make contact and Alicia not knowing quite how it happened, it was a chatting point in the post-race rundown, quick to jump on the media spin, Callum is working on the other side of the road from Alicia at Jacks tyres, it now known as the future battle of Three Brothers Corner..
The Ministock numbers are bursting at the seams, 8 new drivers on the night, they did very well keeping race lines as the old heads battled for the trophy, the referees keen to set the benchmark for the season, a few punishments handed down on the night did affect the overall results, Locky Martin fresh from winning SNZ competitor of the Year, backed it up with the overall win from regular visitors Tate Carpenter and Jaxon Dacombe, there’s nothing between the drivers, grid draws and staying out of the referees wrath being the only things separating them, there’s a few more finding their stride as they get more laps and gain experience, its such a highly competitive group, it has the clubs future championship endeavours looking bright.
The Quarter Midgets were probably the most intense competitors of the night, there was little separating the top 3 drivers as they battled like seasoned veterans, Darcy Rasmussen holding off Braye Thompson and Blake Stilwell in the feature, it was pressure racing, needing to hold exact race lines, swaying from attack to defence as they challenged and defended their positions, it came down to millimetres to making or closing the gap as they battled throughout every lap, racing at its purity.
The Production Saloons are a colourful bunch, both in personality and the paintwork on their cars, bold yellows, greens, blues and oranges make the cars stand out. Their ages range from 18 to 80; it’s a great mix of youth and experience that makes the class quite dynamic. It was a the Last of the (Blenheim) Summer W**e Brigade that took the spoils, David Allan grabbing another Nelson trophy, Youngster Easton Salter finishing second overall, with first heat winner Geoff Watson 3rd after winning the first heat, his time spent over the off season doing odd jobs around the track rewarded with a race win.
It was a Greymouth 1-2 in the T.Q.’s, Nelson club Champion Kohen Thompson sorting new car bugs from last week’s meeting at home in Greymouth, clearing out to a dominant feature win, club-mate Camerson McKenzie finishing 2nd for the second week in a row against some high-class drivers, both looking towards the NZ championship at home in January. A happy Jonti Austin might finally be out of the running for the grade hard-luck trophy, 3rd in the feature after a couple of seasons of car gremlins. A couple of new drivers boosting numbers, Bailey Bensemann a happy 5th in his debut as an adult driver, already comparing lap times against dad.
The Streetstock numbers are almost matching Ministock numbers, a huge influx of new drivers, it’s the only time the panels are straighter than the drivers (lol), it didn’t take long for the carnage to begin, Steve Soper on a visit from his base in Perth, he will attend a few selected meetings, the usual stirrers found trouble with a heap getting undone in heat 2. A tie for the lead heading into heat 3 between Shane Chapman and Laurie Harrington had both on edge, and hoping to have a trouble-free ride, there were a few close calls but Shane managed to keep ahead of Laurie as the laps wound down, they finished behind race winner Ashburton’s Mason Bland with Father Simon 2nd their 3rd and 4th respectively, Chapman taking the trophy by a point. The newbies were supposed to stay out of trouble while on their mentor program, but the message looked like it got lost in the post, they looked at home getting amongst it from the get-go, an impressive start to the Streetstock season, I hope all the drivers are well stocked up on welding rods.
Stock cars, Stock cars, Stock cars, the trackman trophy wreck-fest was a more adapt way of describing the opening meeting, Cody Teece’s intentions quickly shown as he tried to send Kynan Robinson up to the Ice Cream stand, a place Cody knew well from feeding the kids in his time watching from the stands, a few bugs made for an indifferent night, the early form from Kerry Walker undone in heat 3 with his front suspension looking very second hand a very hard serve. It was a 2-horse race between 3nz Riley Eathorne and veteran Adam Hall for trophy honours, Riley winning heat 3 to win by a point, Jacob Lutherus surviving a few hits to come 3rd overall, many cars taking multiple shots throughout the night, It going to be great viewing if the bumper work keeps up throughout the season, Cody Hogarth in her debut from Youth Ministocks having a great night finishing 4th overall.
As mentioned before, it been a long time since Nelson has outdone Christchurch for Super Stock numbers on a race night, it’s happy days here in Nelson, the class continues to slowly grow, having a consistent field of cars is the backbone of the club, with the Tigers looking to make a return, the fan base will grow towards Palmy teams. The return of Boris aka Jared Gray in his Rees race car adds to the intrigue of the class, the battle between the Higgins and Rees cars likened to the Holden v Ford battles in Supercars when it was at its peak. There is a separation of drivers, the younger drivers of Blake Hearne, Callum Russ, Luke Higgins and Josh Lovell absorbing plenty of support and advice from their seasoned competitors, while the older brigade are still keen to keep them chomping at their heals, the calibre of cars is right up there with any other club in the country, it makes for some close fought races, the bumpers still put to subtle use rather than the more explosive energy of the Stock car grade.
It was a family affair in the opening heat, Alex Hill battling for the opening race win against wife Alicia, a big cheer went up when they finished 1st and 2nd over the line, Alex went on to win heat 2 with a 3rd place in heat 3, the Trackman Trophy was his. It’s been a long while that Alex hasn’t been tied for the lead with either Shane Harwood or Brett Nicholls going into the final race, a bit of relief this year. Ben Taylor loves his new ex Baypark Busters Rees car, a late last season purchase, he will get plenty of seat time this year, not afraid to use the bumper he will be a key part of the Tigers line-up if selected. Callum Russ was a favourite of the flat-tyre fairy in recent seasons but with the new anti-stalking laws in effect, he enjoyed a good run on opening night to claim 3rd overall, getting one up on good mate Blake Hearne who left his wing lying on the front straight in heat 1, it was a bit of a settling period, there is plenty of racing ahead, getting laps under the belt while still working on new car set-ups key for the business end of the season. The club need the class to continue to grow, the key is to keep bringing in the youth drivers in to sure up the future of the grade, luckily there’s plenty of talent coming through the club, they just need the resources to step into the Super Stock grade, that’s the hard bit.
Riley Eathorne was awarded the John Pomeroy Trophy for best club driver on the night, a great start to what will be another huge season with individual and teams racing events ahead, the expectations of having a low number on the door not lost on a fairly seasoned young driver, luckily there won’t be too many boat rides as only the NZ championship is up North, the GP, Teams and South Islands all on the Mainland.
A great night’s racing from the biggest opening meeting numbers-wise in the club’s history, the turnaround of races set at record pace, a slick job from the track crew, a full club room at prize giving, a happy start for the SNZ Volunteer run track of the Year.
