North Geelong’s Brad McClure has led a big contingent of Geelong drivers with a win in the feature race at Redline Raceway’s season-opening Trophy Day.
McClure’s Street Stocks win followed a “sensational final with leaders zipping in and out of traffic” at the Mount Buninyong track, said DMT Sports Media’s Dean Thompson.
“The biggest field for competition was the Street Stocks, with a couple of South Australian competitors in Anthony Beare and Jeremy Weston visiting for a club show that out-of-towners normally would not travel to,“ Thompson said.
“Nine heat races sorted out the qualifiers for the feature race later in the evening. Local Ballarat racer Shaun Henry kicked off the night taking out the first win, Beare and Mick Clark completed the list of winners in the first round.
“Beare, Clark and McClure took the wins in the second round, while in the third round drama struck for Beare when in the final heat and in the lead his engine let go. Weston and Jason DeGoldi won the other heats in the final round.
“The Street Stock final was terrific. The pace at the front was distinctively quicker than at the back half of the field.
“McClure, Clark, Weston, DeGoldi, Henry, Darryl Atkinson and Dean Jenkins were carving up them and the track. A rollover for Gerrard Mabbitt in front of an unlucky Eugene Bennett caused a domino effect of other cars crashing into Bennett and wrecking his car, which put a halt to proceedings before McClure, Clark and DeGoldi continued the charge to the line.”
McClure won ahead of Clark and DeGoldi, also from Geelong.
“I knew that Mick (Clark) was pushing hard behind me and there was still a tough field behind him and it was just the type of race we needed to get under our belts before the King of the Mount in two weeks,” McClure said.
“The track is certainly a lot different from last season due to all the work the club has put in during the off season. It’s a great new challenge for us all.”
