South Australian Daniel Pestka has been thrown a lifeline by local sprintcar owner Matt Eastham with a view towards winning the annual Eureka Showdown at Avalon Raceway on Saturday week.
Pestka (pictured) so impressed the Victory Lane team owner last summer that he offered the Adelaide youngster his primo pink machine to race full time this summer.
To say he has rewarded the faith placed in him would be understated.
He currently leads the Essendon Ford summer premiership, but it all came off the rails on the weekend when his team encountered major engine issues at Moama Raceway.
Not to be beaten by adversity, Eastham (pictured) “We are sourcing him a engine to ensure he is competitive at Avalon against Veal and Daniel knows you don’t get into a fight unless you are ready and prepared for anything,” Mat said this week.
Pestka leads the Essendon Ford $20.000 Sweepstakes by 120 points over Jamie Veal with only the Eureka Showdown and Easter Trail classic left to resolve the premiership.
Veal could pick up 160 points on the leader if he wasn’t to race on Saturday week and Eastham doesn’t consider that an option.
Building a new 410 cubic inch, fuel injected from the ground up, complete with all the trick gear, represents a major investment in firepower that is balanced somewhere between $40.000 and $70.000.
The Eureka Garages and Sheds sponsored showdown is one of the Sprintcar majors at Avalon each summer and when coupled with the Essendon Ford $20.000 Sweepstakes semi final, the meeting is irresistible to anyone dedicated to this form of competition.