by Geoff Rounds
TRAVIS Mills will be aiming for his third consecutive victory in the prestigious Beasley Family Speedcar Memorial this Saturday night at Avalon Raceway.
While Mills would like his name again etched on the perpetual trophy, one that he’s held onto of late, he will also have added incentive to win as this event doubles as the second round of the Lucas Oils Southern Speedcar Tour.
He was superb in this event last season, coming from pole position to win from Andy Pearce, Troy Jordan and Matt Hinton and will be keen for another win in the 23rd running of the race.
Mills of Echuca is a past winner of the Tour and is fresh from competing in the national Speedcar Pro Series and will be looking to get his Eagle machine to the front after suffering power steering dramas in the opening round at Avalon recently.
He boasts a rich speedcar background and the 33-year-old has captured state titles in Victoria, Queensland and also won the Australian Championships in Compact Speedcars.
While he will the man to beat he will be challenged all night by Pearce, Jordan, Keith Giles, Darren Power, Paul Farrell and likeable Geelong sprintcar regular Domain Ramsay.
The open wheel madness will also see a tough fight for victory in round two of the Victorian Formula 500 BargainBikeGear.com.au 500 Series Stampede has attracted 20 cars.
The 12 round series features the reigning champion Andrew Rae who will again be hard pressed by Mat Turner and Steve Horton who ran the final placings to Rae.
The popular Dylan Willsher has been the form driver this season with wins in South Australia and a recent strong showing in Victoria as has current Victorian Formula 500 champion Jye O’Keeffe, who could also figure highly on the final podium.
Add to the mix Terang brothers, Ash and Dale Sinclair, while Geelong’s James Aranyosi, and Warrnambool pair Rob Trewartha and Shane Van Duynhoven and it’s a very handy field.
The opening round at Portland was washed out recently and drivers and their teams will be eager to get early-season valuable points banked.
While the open-wheeled brigade of the Speedcars and the Formula 500s will be the main attractions the support will be just as popular with the Super Sedans and Junior sedan drivers all making Avalon a night of true speedway action.
Racing from 7pm.
Pit Gates open at 2pm
General Admission Gates open at 4pm
Admission:
Adults $25
Child 12-16 $10
Child Under 12 Free
Website: www.avalonraceway.com
For more info contact Jeff Drew 0418 160 985 / Geoff Rounds 0413 024413.
