|
5 American’s, $10,000 and a night
to remember at Rolling Thunder |
Bacchus Marsh will come alive to the
tune of 372 Sprintcars this Tuesday
night (January 3) as no less than five
American stars battle some of
Australia’s best drivers for a $10,000
winners prize. In what is shaping up
to be a USA vs AUS battle royale,
there will be more than cash on the
line as the Aussie drivers look to
show the American stars that they have
the ability to win on what is arguably
the fastest track in the country, the
pride of a nation also ultimately at
stake.
Travis Rilat fresh from a strong
podium at Sydney’s Parramatta Raceway
on Friday night, will be joined by
compatriots Jason Johnson, Daryn
Pittman, Brian Brown and veteran Jimmy
Sills. Rilat starred at the December
17 event before mechanical problems
eliminated him prior to the A-main,
the Texan turning in some hot laps
during the heats, setting a best time
of 13.574 at an average of over
170km/h.
“We’re really disappointed that we
couldn’t be there to challenge Troy
and my old nemesis David Murcott in
the A-Main but we’ll be back on
January 3 to take that $10K, you can
be sure of that,” the Texan promised
post-race.
WSS stars Ian ‘the fly’ Lewis and
Allan Barlee will also be looking to
improve on their December 17 Rolling
Thunder performances, while the winner
of that event, Parramatta Champion
Troy Little will be hoping to continue
his impressive winning streak and add
the $10K to his $5K payout a fortnight
ago. Murcott conversely will be forced
to miss the big one at RTR after two
car rebuilds in a week following the
World Series trail. He is promising to
be back for the February 18 event
though after such a solid run on
December 17, the local star hounding
Little all the way to the flag prior
to a last-lap spin avoiding a slower
car.
Currently the entry numbers are
hovering around 30 cars but with two
big days at Premier immediately prior,
and the next round of World Series two
days after the big Rolling Thunder
event, it is possible that many of the
local drivers are waiting to assess
the condition of their equipment prior
to committing entry. Circulating the
pits at Avalon last night, Rolling
Thunder promoter Ray Solomon was met
with great enthusiasm by some of
Australia’s biggest Sprintcar stars,
many of whom suggested that they would
be there if the opportunity arose.
“We already have a very impressive
field of entrants for the third
(January),” Solomon said, “but are
happy to accept entries up until the
day, and expect from what I’ve heard
tonight that we may well have a fair
number more than what we have now.”
The sight of 24 Sprintcars lining up
for the A-main last time out on the
600 metre clay oval was something that
many spectators and competitors
continue to talk about and something
Solomon is keen to see happen again,
but it won’t just be the winged
warriors that will entertain the
crowd, with the stunning Late Model
Sedans (more than 20 entered already)
campaigning their Kings of Thunder
event on the same night.
Topping off the night will be the AMCA
Nationals who will be campaigning the
final round of the Hooters Pro Cup
NASCAR Challenge which will give the
winner the chance of competing against
a stream of other hopeful Australian
drivers looking to earn a ride in a
round of the US based NASCAR Series
during 2006.
All in all Rolling Thunder looks set
for a night of fantastic action, and
with Tuesday’s forecast of fine
weather in the mid-20’s it’s sure to
be a night to remember. Gates open at
4:00pm with racing starting at 5:30. |
