Flinging the dirt in an epic battle fought at mega-speeds, a closely-matched field fought tooth and nail to find the edge, and the win, at the South Island Sprintcar Championships in Cromwell.

As the dust settled, three Christchurch drivers stepped up to the podium – Jamie Duff 19C in first place, flanked by Caleb Baughan 95C and Jamie’s brother Steve Duff 15C.

Sprintcars are the world’s fastest speedway cars, and they threw plenty of excitement for the thousands of fans in the arena, with only nine making it through to the finish. Local sprintcar driver Andy Erskine reviewed the night.

“It was amazing Central Otago weather again, great racing and people descended on Cromwell from all over New Zealand.

“The field was closely matched, resulting in some eventful moments. A 25-lap final is a long race with lots of variables forcing drivers to their limits to get to the front and score the win.

“For some drivers luck played a part. Early leader Matt Honeywell 64C got tangled up in lap traffic. Once Matt retired, Jayden Dodge 7T was leading but mechanical issues put him out.”

Andy says the final laps were all about the Duff brothers and Caleb Baughan fighting it out, Jamie Duff showing his superior skills to take the win.

Other highlights of the night were the ‘Central Otago Chargers’ winning round one of the Production Saloon Tri-series, and the pairing of experienced street stock drivers with youth mini-stock drivers in a teams race.

“The Chargers showed their class in what was very fast racing on home clay.”

Andy adds that on the night, the sport and the community were the winners. Speedway events attract thousands to the region, including visiting drivers along with their support crews, families, friends, fans.

“It was a fantastic night; thankyou to everyone who made it happen. Drivers put on an exciting show, the community got behind us, people travelled from all over to watch the racing here in Cromwell – and they’ll be back.”

And he's right. Look out for the sprintcars returning to contest the Southern Sprintcar Series on January 1st, 2023, New Year's Day. Tickets available online here.

Article added: Friday 16 December 2022