Geelong’s Avalon Raceway is set to host the unique and rich Sprintcar Jackpot Invitational this Saturday night, October 15th with a classy mix of eligible and wildcard entrants. A whopping total of over $36,000 will be paid out in prizemoney on the night with a massive $10,000 going to the victor of the unique knockout style format.
Defending Jackpot winner Max Dumesny won the 2009 event via a wildcard entry and the seasoned veteran once again will use the wildcard system to gain entry for this Saturday night’s event. Dumesny joins 30 other drivers in the mix for the Jackpot victory with 21 of those gaining automatic entry via winning a heat race or feature at Avalon Raceway during last year’s season. The other 10, including Dumesny gained a wildcard entry into this weekend’s event.
“We wanted a unique event that many of the local racers could qualify for and race for some decent prizemoney,” explained Avalon Raceway’s Jeff Drew.
“Some of these guys only won a single heat race last summer or they may have won a C-main but they still qualify. Sydney’s Glen Saville for example won the B-main when World Series Sprintcars was here in December and he has qualified and will be here Saturday night. Then a guy like Warrnambool’s Darren Mollenoyux won a the Boxing Night feature and then won three heat races so he has well and truly qualified!”
While Drew admits the format gives the local teams a chance at victory, a quick look at the entry list tells a slightly different story. Track specialist and multiple Avalon WSS round winner David Murcott returns to the venue that has seen him score a number of his finest victories. Murcott went on to finish a narrow runner up to Robbie Farr in the 2011/2012 WSS championship and the pair will continue their battle this Saturday night with Farr also set to appear at Avalon as a wildcard. Both Farr and Murcott have tasted success already this season in Brisbane with Murcott victorious last weekend.
West Australian livewire Ryan Farrell takes the reigns of Colin Bulmer’s immaculate Sprintcar for this weekends race as a wildcard, while 2010 Australian Sprintcar champion James McFadden also gains a spot as a wildcard. WSS regular Trevor Green is also keen to compete in the Jackpot while the talented South Australian also competed in the inaugural Jackpot event in 2009.
Another exciting inclusion is South Australian hard charger and Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic winner Steven Lines. The Mount Gambier ace will step back into former car owner Dave Challons’ mount for a special one of appearance before reverting back to his usual Monte Motorsports ride for the remainder of the season.
Albury’s Grant Anderson along with Warrnambool duo Jamie Veal and Darren Mollenoyux have all been exceptionally quick at Avalon in recent outings and have all qualified directly into the field. Tasmanian series champ Kurt Luttrell is making the trip to compete following his qualification via a heat race win at the Easter Trail while Avalon feature winners Mike Van Bremen and Brett Milburn will be keen to fly the local flag.
Essendon Ford Sprintcar track champion Stephen Bell will be keen to continue the form that saw him capture the track championship and the President’s Cup at the Lara venue last summer against some quality opposition. Eureka Sprintcar series champ John Vogels will look to do likewise against the 30 plus nominations on Saturday night.
The unique format will see the competitors seeded into two groups with random starting positions drawn for a pair of 25 lap finals to start the evening. From there the top seven finishers in each advance to the semi final with the remaining finishers being sentenced to a last chance qualifier. The final four spots in the semi final will be filled from the LCQ with the top 12 finishers in the semi final advancing to a pole shootout. The fastest 10 drivers then line up in order of their lap times and race off in a 12-lap dash for $10,000 to win. In all over $26,000 will be paid to those final ten cars with a healthy $5,000 for the runner up and a cool $1,000 to start the Jackpot final.
Public gates open at 3pm this Saturday afternoon with Sprintcar engine starts and hot laps beginning at 6pm.
Admission:
Adults $30
Concession $20
Child 12-16 $10
Child 5-11 $5
Child Under 5 Free
Website; www.avalonraceway.com
For more info contact Jeff Drew 0418 160 985 / Gavin White email gwxp@speedway.net.au