Local speedway young gun, Daniel Drewett took the honours for the 2nd round of the south Australian MJS Street Stock series held in Remarks Riverland Speedway on Jan 7th. Drewett qualified out of 2nd position for the feature event after a consistent run in the heat races, placing 2nd in both of them. Drewett was happy with the car speed and handling after the heat races and was looking forward to the 20 lap main event.

“Starting off the front row for one of the series rounds is an achievement in itself,” chuffed Drewett after the meeting. When asked if he thought he had a chance of taking out the event he stated “You always go into a meeting believing you can win but with the quality of cars here tonight you know you have to be on top of your game. Any slip up and these guys will pounce on it straight away.” Drewett flew to the lead into the opening corner on 2 attempts but the race was yellow flagged before he could complete a lap. On the 3rd shot at getting the race under way Drewett once again flew to the high line and rounded up the pole sitter into turn one. Drewett lead the final from start to finish despite several attempts from Mick Clark who qualified out of pole position.

Ballarat’s Mick Clark is one of the fastest street stock drivers going around the country at the moment and this is represented by coming 2nd in the Aussie Title held in Mildura last March. Clark would eventually finish 4th behind Murray Bridge’s Craig Buhcanan and 2nd went to Jason Duell from Mt Gambier. There were several restarts in the duration of the final but Drewett outclassed and outdrove his rivals on each occasion. Drewett used the low end torque of the #36 Ford Falcon to gap his fellow competitors on the small sand surface of Riverland Speedway.

This was Drewett’s break through feature win. “I’ve won a few club shows back home in Mildura but to take out a round of this series is a real achievement for both me and my hard working crew,” explained Drewett. He thanked his crew and the support of his family and friends behind his breakthrough. “Without the help of my family and friends I wouldn’t be able to go racing. Crossing the line I got a bit emotional but that’s what makes the sport of speedway so amazing,” fessed Drewett. Winning the event gave the young speedster a fatter wallet, taking home $1000 for his efforts. Earlier in the night another up and coming local hard racer in Jason Bolitho took out the B Main without even raising a sweat. He motored his way around the tight track and blew away all competitors.

This gave him the chance to start the feature event off the back of the qualified field. Bolitho was moving through the field before he had to retire to the infield with a mechanical issue. “We’ve started to get some speed into the car and are enjoying the racing a lot more this season,” explained Bolitho. Fellow local, Jake Drewett also travelled across the border to compete in the street stock feature. Jake, younger brother of Daniel, had some mixed results with his first time on the circuit and only his 4th meeting. Jake had a 5th in his first heat and was looking good for a top 3 in the second heat until some hot headed driving from another driver ended his night. He managed to still qualify out of 5 for the B main but with a lack of spares in the rookie’s truck the team was unable to get the car going again. “We will get her home and strip the panels and bumper off it and have good look at the damage. I would say it would need a full front end suspension put in it along with a day on the rack to straighten it out,” bled the devastated wheel twister from Irymple.

Local modified sedan driver Dave Smith smoked all comers in the Victoria VS South Australia battle. Smith Had a win and a 2nd place in his heats earlier in the night. Smith powered his way to victory in the final from local 2nd generation steerer in Wade McCarthy. Wade has moved back to the region from Adelaide and is sharing driving duties with his famous father, Peter ‘Spider’ McCarthy. Other locals to make the trip for the modified class were Michael Solomon and Angelo Halacaus. Solomon was all over the rear bumper of Smith in the feature and was unlucky on the last corner. “We had a radiator hose blow on the last corner and unfortunately this caused us to spin,” explained the young BMW racer.

Angelo, driving for Methanol Clothing Motorsports was happy with the progress he has made with the car in his first season back to sedan racing. “I’ve forgotten how much there is to change and set up with these cars. If you miss the setup then they can be a real handful. If you hit that setup they are a dream. The start to the season has been a real learning curve for the whole team in a build up to the Australian Title in Mildura this Easter,” answered Halacus.

The MJS Street Stock Series will hit Mildura on the 28th of January for Round 3. Supports will be from Modifieds, Juniors and Wingless Sprints. Adults are $15, Aged Pensioners $10, Children aged 12-16 $8, Children under 12 free. Gates open at 5.00pm and racing from 7.00pm. For more information go to www.milduraspeedway.com