In front of packed
Lismore crowd, Nathan Smee captured his second victory of
the 2007-2008 Speedcar season by winning the highly sought after
66th NSW Speedcar Championship.
An historic race first run in
1938 at the Sydney Sportsground, 70 years later it was Lismore Speedway where
Nathan would lead the entire event flag to flag.
With marble
drawn grids starting the nights proceedings, Nathan began his
crusade from a rear 10th position. Storming through the field
utilising his well-known outside manoeuvres, before switching low on the tacky track, Nathan had advanced to 4th position
with only one lap remaining. Tailing third,
Nathan dove low for the very last time, sweeping under his competitor
out of turn four capturing 3rd place across the finish line.
An
inverted grid was programmed for the second round of heats with Nathan
returning to the circuit off pole position. Grabbing the lead from
the outset in the 8 lap race, Nathan drove a smooth and
consistent line to claim his first win of the night, in doing
so, earning
valuable points towards the starting grid of the NSW
Championship feature race.
PHOTO BY Stephen Pickering
Leading by one point on the
championship leader board, Nathan had successfully placed the
United Oil Spike/Fontana Speedcar 6 in the top qualifying position and was set to start
the A main off pole!
Twenty racers
were vying for winners rights over the thirty laps with Nathan
setting the pace before the green flag fell. Shooting to the
front as the cars dove low behind him, the fight to the podium
had begun! Fighting off challenges as cars dared the outside line,
Nathan remained low and steady to protect his lead position for
30 laps!
Click to view
the feature race courtesy of ovaltrack.net
Leading the
entire event from flag to flag, Nathan crossed the line to win the
prestigious 66th NSW Speedcar Championship, successfully adding his name to an
honour roll of Australian motor
racing champions; Sir Jack Brabham, George Tatnell, Ray Revell,
Barry Pinchbeck and Johnny Stewart to name a few; in addition
to the Nathan Smee Racing engine owner Terry King, a NSW
Champion who won the event in 1990.
"We were aiming
for a top 5 finish so we're rapt to win this race" said a
jubilant Nathan after the race. "Topping the points and starting
the feature off the front row was the best thing that could have
happened to us. I knew if I held my line it would be tough for
them to get around me on the outside line and there was no way I
was going to make a mistake! Thanks to Terry, the car has more
to offer, so hopefully we'll back up the win with similar
results next weekend in Toowoomba."
"I would really
like to thank everyone who came out to watch at Lismore,
especially David Lander who gave us the chance to race the
championship here," said Nathan
"There are
plenty of people behind this team who I need to thank, some
couldn't be here tonight but I know Glen (Gleeman), Mick, Dave
and John (North West Trucks) were on the phone all night and my
good mate Rhino (Kingsfeld) flew in this afternoon after racing
was cancelled in Sydney; my family, friends and crew are here so
I'm glad we can celebrate this win together."
Nathan Smee Racing head
further north
this weekend when they travel to Charlton Raceway, Toowoomba for
the final round of the Speedcar Super Series (Sat 26th Jan) and the Queensland State Title the following night.
Remember to head to
the pits, congratulate Nathan and check out Speedcar #6!
QUICK RESULTS
HEAT ONE
START POSITION
FINISH
10
3
HEAT TWO
START POSITION
FINISH
1
1
FEATURE
START POSITION
FINISH
1
1
Nathan Smee Racing would like to thank their valuable Sponsors:
