New national champion Jamie Veal on his way to winning the title at Latrobe on Saturday (Angryman Photography) (Video Highlights from SpeedShiftTV.com)
by Allan Roark
The Australian Sprintcar Championship is always the biggest meeting of the national season and produces some of the most incredible wheel to wheel racing.
This weekend's event at Latrobe Speeway certainly lived up to the hype and expectation.
Jamie Veal survived a war of attrition and despite numerous challenges over the 40 lap final refused to lose his first Australian Sprintcar Championship.
American prodigy Sofia Kenin has beaten Spaniard Garbine Muguruza in three sets to become the youngest Australian Open champion in more than a decade.
The eight heats on Friday night provided eight different winners such was the closeness of competition.
Sadly precipitation prevented the B Main and A Main final scheduled for the end of the night.
At the conclusion of the first night, former champion Robbie Farr was leading the points tally despite not actually winning any of the heats.
Heavy rain overnight caused much conjecture for the second night of racing with track crews working frantically to prepare the track to go racing.
This delayed the start by approximately two hours but all race fans declared it was well worth the wait.
Veal started from pole, however, the first of many incidents occurred early taking out defending champion Andrew Scheuerle and David Murcott in turn four.
Veal was challenged hard by James McFadden and Tasmanian star Shaun Dobson.
Dobson worked his way passed McFadden and the three contenders raced wheel to wheel for several laps including going three wide until Dobson clipped the wall near the halfway mark.
He was then collected by McFadden and Farr with all three out of the race.
At the restart Kerry Madsen immediately went on the attack.
Veal admitted to watching the big screen to see where Kerry Madsen was challenging.
A main finish (started):
1. Jamie Veal V35 (1)
2. Marcus Dumesny N47 (5)
3. Kerry Madsen W2 (6)
4. Steven Lines Q83 (11)
5. Jack Lee V25 (18)
6. Brooke Tatnell V55 (19)
7. Matthew Dumesny N57 (14)
8. Danny Reidy NQ5 (13)
9. Jamie Bricknell T10 (20)
10. Peter Doukas V98 (16)
11. Jessie Attard N53 (10)
12. Brayden Parr V77 (15)