THE Action was thick and fast throughout last Saturday night’s second race meeting of the 2023-24 season for Hessions Auto Parts Grafton Speedway, and it was Chris Corbett who came away as the winner in the event’s headlining act, the Spring Shootout for the V8 Dirt Modifieds.

In what was the first appearance of the season for the V8 Dirt Modifieds at the 440-metre Grafton Speedway track, Corbett, who lives nearby in Coffs Harbour and has been competing at Grafton Speedway since his Junior Sedan days over 10 years ago, put in an impressive display of driving throughout the Spring Shootout feature race and battled it out with 2014 Australian Champion and Queenslander David Clark, after the pair started on the front row together. During the 20-lap journey, Corbett managed to get the upper hand on Clark and went on to greet the chequered flag as the winner.

Despite his best efforts, Clark, who was making only his second outing in his brand-new Bicknell car, had to settle for second, while the Spring Shootout podium was completed by Casino-based racer Trent Scofield in third.

Veteran Kevin Stow from Queensland finished just off the podium in fourth ahead of locals Joshua Rose and Tony Dunn, followed by youngster Seiton Connor-Young, the Armstrong brothers Brock and Kyle, Taylah Firth, and V8 Dirt Modified rookie and third-generation racer Jack Pezzutti, who completed the top-10 finishes. The highest placed of the Sportsman category runners was Shane Laurie in 11th.

The hard-luck story of the night was five-time Australian Champion Kevin Britten, who was making a cameo appearance aboard the # 51 Firth Motorsport car, but his night was brought to a premature end, due to suffering engine woes during the earlier heat races. Britten, who was doing some development with the Firth car with a new suspension and car setup, had broken the lap record for V8 Dirt Modifieds, in a heat race, which was later in the same heat race lowered by Clark.

Casino’s Connor Reeves made it back-to-back RSA Street Stocker feature race wins at Grafton Speedway this season, after he took out the latest Northern Rivers Rumble Series round by defeating Kaleb Daley and Tayler Lofthouse in second and third place respectively.

The AMCA Nationals were a late addition to last Saturday night’s race meeting, but they turned up with a competitive field, and when the feature race came around, local Tony Blanch, who won the season opener at Grafton Speedway, came away with another victory. On this occasion, he managed to defeat the Hardy father-and-son duo of Russ and Matt.

A strong field of Junior Sedans put on some hard-fought racing throughout the night, and it was Brock Stubbs who came away as the ‘Top Stars’ feature race winner after holding out Indi Butcher for the top spot on the podium, while in the ‘New Stars’, Lawson Clarke scored the feature-race win ahead of Marcus Moore and Jake Synnott.

Other feature-race winners on the night were Jeremy Wade (RSA Four Cylinder Sedans), Aaron Hall (SSA Production Sedans) and John Stoward (SSA Street Stocks). Wade managed to defeat Dallas Barnier and Nathan Harper, Hall came away the winner ahead of Dale Corbett and Geoff Hayes, and Stoward outpaced Luke McNabb and John’s son Brandon Stoward.

The 2023-24 season starts to heat up here at Hessions Auto Parts Grafton Speedway, with their next race meeting set down for the Saturday night of December 9. The headlining act will be the thundering V8 Late Models, which are going to be supported by the Modlites (Dondex Series round), RSA Street Stockers, SSA Production Sedans, SSA Street Stocks, SSA Junior Sedans and Stock Cars.

Grafton Speedway would like to thank Hessions Auto Parts for their 2023-24 season support. Based in Grafton, along with their nearby Coffs Harbour location, Hessions Auto Parts stock a wide range of parts and accessories at competitive prices. To find out more about Hessions Auto Parts, contact them on 0266 423 085 (Grafton) and 0256 456 361 (Coffs Harbour) or visit their website at hessionsautoparts.com.au.

For more information, contact Grafton Speedway promoter Mick Corbett on 0427 310 009. You can also visit their website at graftonspeedway.com.au or LIKE them on Facebook by searching Grafton Speedway.

Photo: Butcher Photography