Speedway: Action aplenty at Oceanview

The action came thick and fast at Fast Lane Spares Oceanview Family Speedway on Saturday night.

A good crowd was on hand and they left the venue well entertained.

A good field of superstocks contested three memorial races and the West Coast Superstock Championship.

Shaun Smith won the opening heat, the Noel Kensington Memorial, with a terrific drive, finishing ahead of Stratford visitors Logan Sharpe and Carl Shearer.

Shearer turned the tables in the second race, the George Podjursky Memorial, heading home fellow Stratford drivers Scott Williams and Hamish Booker.

After two heats, Shearer led the points with 46, well ahead of Booker and local driver Max Holloway.

The third and final heat, the Craig Heibner Memorial, was all action.

From the moment the flag dropped, Ricky Dykstra, his brother Zane and their cousin Elias went hunting Stratford cars.

Booker was the worst affected, being slowed and stopped multiple times as the Dykstras tried to engineer a local victory.

Hawke's Bay driver Hayden Hart led through most of the race before being passed by Wanganui Warrior Dylan Marshall with a lap to go.

Just as Marshall seemed poised to win a second trophy for the locals, he was momentarily slowed on the final bend, allowing Hart through to win by less than half a second.

From a rear grid, Shearer avoided trouble, making his way up to third to take a comfortable win overall.

Hart finished in second place, seven points behind Shearer, with Marshall in third, a further three points back.

The quality of the racing bodes well for the Sharp As Group North Island Superstock Championship at Oceanview in two weeks.

The Trev's Concrete Stockcar Shootout was the second feature event of the night and was taken out by Kaelin Mooney, who beat Shootout sponsor Trevor Greig in the final after four rounds of eliminations.

The highlight of the eliminations though was the race between Wayne Wright and Trazarn Ryland-Annabell in the second round.

Wright got the jump and looked headed for an upset win until Ryland-Annabell made a huge lunge on the final corner, taking Wright into and up the wall, and almost rolling.

The other highlight of the stockcar racing was the return of veteran and legend of Wanganui speedway, Evan Mooney.

Driving son Dion's "old" car, Evan Mooney drove as though he had never been out of the seat, proving that class is permanent.

As if watching three generations of Mooneys compete together wasn't special enough, Evan drew the biggest cheer of the night when he won the last stockcar race after grandson Kaelin had slowed his dad, and Evan's son, Dion, and Blair Lockett.

The Heiby Memorial Youth Ministocks drew a smaller than usual field, with both Palmerston North and Stratford also running on Saturday night.

However, that didn't affect the quality of the racing and a close contest ensued.

Locals Tyler Schicker and Trent James won the first two heats, but Conor Linklater's consistency left him with a one-point lead over James going into the final heat.

Linklater got to the lead early in the final heat, with James hot on his heels, and looked headed for victory until the caution lights came on just as he crossed the finish line.

The officials ordered that the final lap be re-run and Linklater had to withstand a challenge from James and Wellington driver Jayden Bullmore before finally taking the silverware.

James lost several places on the re-run last lap, losing second place overall to Bullmore.

Jemma Barnes was in dominant form in the small Adult Ministocks field, taking a hat-trick of wins, while in the production saloons, wins were shared between Brent Hackett, running the 2NZ livery for the first time at his home track, John Huijs and Matt Buckley.

As the night drew to a close, the team from the Kairanga Lions Club put on a brilliant fireworks display.

Attention now switches to the final meeting of the season, the Sharp As Group North Island Superstocks.

Some of the best superstock drivers in the country will be on hand to bring down the curtain on Oceanview Speedway's 48th season, and it has been a season with plenty of high points.

Tony Stuart, Speedway
Whanganui Chronicle 30/3/21