The Lift N Shift Streetstock Tri-Series round 2 at Milestone Homes Top of the South Speedway on Saturday gave fans a wee taste of what might be expected when Nelson hosts the 2026 NZ Streetstock title next month. There was wall-to-wall action in all three heats as drivers from both ends of the country battled away on a hot Tasman evening.
A full field of 26 cars made for a busy time, the odd spin having a ripple effect for the following cars - plenty of carnage and bent bumpers as the pace was on.
Rotorua’s Shane Bracken got the first heat win from teammate Phil McNamara with local Perry Soper in 3rd.
The second heat provided the roll of the season so far, Auckland’s Korry TeRito clipping the spun car of Matt Baldwin and barrel rolling four times on the back straight. The driver was fine, but the car will need some major repairs over Christmas. It was TeRito’s first roll over in his career. The race was won by Dunedin’s Ben Jenkins.
It was a hot race for local driver Ryan Musgrove, catching fire on the way back to the pits. The final heat went the way of Ben Jenkins again, making huge inroads towards the series title after a DNF at the opening round in Greymouth. Kahu Epiha finished second, with Perry Soper getting another 3rd place. The overall points for the round went to Jenkins, with Soper 2nd and Dunedin’s Mitch Lavender 3rd after a 4th, 6th and 7th heat placings. The overall series points after round 3 in Blenheim produced a Dunedin trifecta, 1nz Allan Finch on 181 points, Lavender on 179 and Jenkins on 174.
A huge field of Super Stocks for the closed club champs, with veterans Brett Nicholls and Shane Harwood tied after 2 heats. Nicholls got past Harwood in the final heat to win it by a couple of points. Alex Hill’s last heat win moved him into 3rd place overall, with Roydon Winstanley just a point back with a 5th in the final heat. The final meeting before the NZ title here on 10 and 11 January will see a few visiting drivers turning up on Derby night on 28 December.
The Pam Nixon memorial was a trophy valued by all the Production Saloon drivers. After two heats, Kaylim McNabb held a 1-point gap from Vaughan Cornelious and Eddy Frans and Dave Leitch were tied for third, 3-points back. Frans picked up the final race win, but Cornelious was able to grab the title with 2nd place, with McNabb 4th, a tie for second place between McNabb and Frans, with Frans claiming 2nd with a faster lap time.
The Quarter Midget club champs had its dramas, a few relegations to drivers changing the outcome. Darcy Rasmussen got the feature win to take the title in his new car, Bailey Bensemann nabbing 2nd with Taylor Martin 3rd overall.
The Stock cars were a late call-up after the cancelling of the South Island title due to weather in Invercargill. There was plenty of action in the opening heats before the final heat turned into a smash-fest, battles all over the track to keep the crowd entertained.
Youth Ministocks results were as tight as can be with Leilah Jefcoate highest on points at 69, a 3-way tie for second between Andre Musgrove, Conley Webley and Canterbury’s Jaxon Dacombe, all on 67 points. The T.Q. feature saw Alicia Hill untouched at the front but there was plenty of action behind. Solid battles between Kohen Thompson, Ben Stillborn and Jayden Corkill behind the leader kept the crowd on edge throughout the race.
There was action aplenty through a busy night of racing, a rest before Christmas and the Derby up next on December 28 - the final meeting before the NZ Super stock championship. The are over 100 entries for the biggest title in NZ Speedway and tickets are still available, with a full-size range of NZ title shirts available next meeting.
