Kicking Up The Dirt – Sprintcars Queensland 2015-2016 Presentation Dinner

Kicking Up The Dirt – Sprintcars Queensland 2015-2016 Presentation Dinner

Joanne White

With the 2015-2016 race season now concluded the drivers, crews, families, friends and

sponsors of Sprintcars Queensland gathered at Easts Leagues Club for the annual end of season

celebrations and festivities. Almost 140 people attended the black tie event, with Wade Aunger

acting as MC for the night. It was a night to celebrate the season that was – and what a truly

remarkable season we have had. It was a season full of plenty of thrills, spills and close

competition, but also one that saw the best once again rise to the top, as well as a host of

newcomers and young talent that really gave some of our most seasoned competitors a run for

their money.

First up were some Appreciation Awards for the Sponsors who have generously supported

Sprintcars Queensland and our drivers this past season. These people and their companies have

shown unwavering and invaluable support for Sprintcars Queensland and the sport of Sprintcar

racing in general and their contribution is endlessly appreciated. Without these people we

would have no Kratzmann Caravans Challenge, no Darra Mechanical Hard Charger Award, No

Lucas Oils Dash and no Right Price Exhausts Heat Race Championships. Both SuperCheap Auto

and East Coast Logistics as series sponsors this season have been such valued partners this

season, while Ken Thorn and Myla Graphics have worked tirelessly behind the scenes for all our

graphic and signage needs. Glen and Christine Spence and the Darra Mechanical team again

stepped up to sponsor the hard charger award while Gary Kratzmann and the Kratzmann

Caravans team again sponsored the Kratzmann Caravans Challenge. Mark Wode, who already

contributes so much to the Sprintcars Queensland club, together with Right Price Exhausts again

sponsored the heat race points championship, while Clem Hoffmans and Downforce Wings

generously donated a front wing to be given to the fifth place finisher in each of the B-Main

events in the SuperCheap Auto Sprintcar Series.

While all of our sponsors are invaluable, so too are our volunteers. We have a small band of

officials who work absolutely tirelessly behind the scenes not only on race nights, but often on

those days and nights in between as well. John and Kathy Kelly, who coincidentally celebrated

their 21 st wedding anniversary last night, are not just the promoters of Archerfield Speedway but

both hold positions in our executive committee (President and Treasurer) and their contribution

to this sport and this club should never be underestimated. Mark Wode and Lyn Turner have

again concluded another year on the Sprintcars Queensland Executive Committee, as Vice

President and Secretary, with their endless and relentless efforts behind the scenes a significant

factor in the smooth running of this club. What Mark and Lyn do, the time and effort they put in,

despite not having a personal connection with any one car, driver or team, is simply incredible –

they have helped shape and grow this club for over fifteen years and few people realise just how

much they do. Their contribution cannot be measured and there are no words that can

adequately portray just how indebted and thankful everyone at Sprintcars Queensland is for all

that they have done over the years.

Still on the topic of volunteers, Appreciation Awards were given to Glen Wilson, David Tracey

and Chris Dvorak for their work as our crash crew and fire marshals. These gentlemen are often

some of the first on the scene when one (or more) of our drivers is involved in an incident and do

an invaluable job keeping the drivers as safe as possible. Volunteer officials are hard to come by

but Ken Thorn has been a vital part of the infield officials team and crash crew, lending a hand

and helping to ensure the smooth running of events. Sprintcars Queensland even gave me a

small thank you writing these reports – though it is hard to believe it been over twelve years

now!

Once all our sponsors and volunteers had been thanked, it was time to move on to the Super

Cheap Auto Series and recognise the achievements of the drivers and teams who contested the

thirteen round series. We started with Andrew Scheuerle as the winner of the Right Price

Exhausts Heat Race Points chase before moving onto the fifteen series qualifiers.

The SuperCheap Auto Sprintcar Series was hard fought and while Andrew Scheuerle dominated,

especially with his remarkable run of feature wins in the early part of the season, there was a

large field of drivers who consistently put on truly mesmerising racing that kept everyone

entertained on a Saturday night. The final places in the SuperCheap Auto Sprintcar

Championship were as follows:

15 th : Q43 Scott Doyle

14 th : Q3 Clem Hoffmans

13 th : NQ11 Brad Ayers

12 th : Q44 Dan Murray

11 th : Q33 Callum Walker

10 th : Q27 Steven Johnson

09 th : Q14 Mark Pholi

08 th : NQ23 Lachlan McHugh

07 th : Q5 Peter Lack

06 th : NQ44 Brandon Rawlings

05 th : Q47 Andrew Liebke

04 th : Q4 Brent Kratzmann

03 rd : Q41 Mitchell Gee

02 nd : Q59 Kevin Titman

01 st : Andrew Scheuerle

Moving on to the East Coast Logistics Crispy Memorial Series that was held over five gruelling

rounds at the end of the season, and once again it was a hard-fought championship battle full of

thrilling racing action from the entire field. The championship went down to the final night of

competition with Sprintcar Rookie Lachlan McHugh beating seasoned racer Andrew Scheuerle

by just two points.

There were nine qualifiers in the East Coast Logistics Sprintcar Series:

09 th : Q59 Kevin Titman

08 th : Q41 Mitchell Gee

07 th : Q54 Richard Morgan

06 th : Q16 Bryan Mann

05 th : Q83 David Murcott

04 th : Q4 Brent Kratzmann

03 rd : Q36 Luke Oldfield

02 nd : Q25 Andrew Scheuerle

01 st : NQ23 Lachlan McHugh

It came as no surprise to anyone in the room that eighteen-year- old Lachlan McHugh also picked

up Rookie of the Year. If you haven’t already seen him race, you need to. This quiet young man

is a huge talent and has a simply massive future ahead of him in this sport. To have achieved

several feature race wins, in very tough competition, plus a number of podium finishes and a

series win in just his first year in the division is truly remarkable. He is breath-taking to watch

on the race track and is without a doubt one to watch in the years ahead. I know I am not alone

when I say I cannot wait to see just how far he can go in this sport in next five or ten years.

Encouragement awards this year were presented to Steven Johnson and Ben Hilder, who have

both shown a lot of promise this season but have not always had luck on their side. Ben

unfortunately could not be with us last night, he is still recovering after a rather nasty crash

during the final round a couple of weeks ago, his father Brad collecting the award on his behalf.

Brandon Rawlings had a great season in the NQ44 racer and despite a few nasty crashes,

Brandon really learnt a lot this season and was recognised as the Most Improved Driver of the

season. Unfortunately Brandon was also unable to attend last nights festivities, an extra-

curricular activity leaving him with a broken collarbone just hours before last nights

presentation dinner.

This year there were several (too many) nominations for the Wings Award, the most spectacular

or most frequent crashing. While Mitchell Gee came close to winning the award last year, this

year he, and team mate Brandon Rawlings, along with Kevin Titman were all joint winners of the

award they all claim no one wants to win. While Mitchell and Brandon both had several big

crashes, they were able to avoid crashing together, through did on occasion crash independent of

each other on the same night. Kevin, whose Q59 racer looked immaculate this year, started the

season strongly but some misfortune throughout season saw him a deserving joint winner of the

2015-2016 Wings Award.

The crew Chief of the Year award was this year presented to Tony Cochran for his efforts on the

Q4 racer of Brent Kratzmann. Tony works tirelessly for Brent, making sure that he not only has a

well presented car (it seriously looks spectacular every time it hits the track), but that it is a well

maintained and quality package that Brent can rely on.

Andrew Scheuerle and the AusDeck Patios and Roofing team took out the Best Presented Car

while Brad Ayers and the NQ11 team were credited as the Best Presented Crew.

Bryan Mann took home the coveted Greg Crispy McClennan Trophy, a kind of ‘best and fairest’

award in memory of a great man. Kevin Titman and Andrew Scheuerle again took out the

Clubmen of the year awards, the pair doing an extraordinary number of race meetings with the

club, a true testament to their passion and commitment, as well as that of their family, friends

and sponsors. It was the second year running that the pair have been the only two recipients of

the Clubmen of the year award, an impressive effort by all involved.

The 2015-2016 Club Championship was a hotly contested battle, with Kevin Titman taking home

third overall. Kevin accepted third but credited his best friend and crewman Bobbie for the

award, with Bobbie putting in a truly extraordinary effort not just during the reason season but

during last winter as he built the new team truck with countless hours spent in the Titman team

workshop. Luke Oldfield managed to sure second in the Club Championship, a great effort for his

first season in the Titan Garages and Carports team, while Andrew Scheuerle and the AusDeck

Patios and Roofing team took out the 2015-2016 Club Championship, as well as the Archerfield

Speedway Track Championship, taking the teams trophy tally for the night to seven.

Perhaps one of the most prized awards is the Drivers Driver award, chosen on the night by the

drivers present as the driver they most respect both on and off the racetrack. In a first since the

awards inception, we had a tie, with both Bryan Mann and Richard Morgan receiving an equal

number of votes. Bryan actually won the award last year, and to have been chosen for a second

year running is testament to the man that he is and the respect the other competitors have for

him. Richard has to be one of the most likable drivers in the sport, always keeping the racing

clean on the track and is one of the most easy going drivers in the pits.

The night concluded with some raffle draws and a Major Sponsor Award to John and Kathy Kelly

and AusDeck Patios and Roofing Archerfield Speedway. Whilst we love the opportunity to race

at some of our country tracks, Archerfield Speedway is the home track of many of our drivers.

John and Kathy and the team work relentlessly for not only Sprintcars Queensland and the

drivers and teams of this club, but for Speedway in general. Theirs is not an easy job, and is,

more often than not, a thankless one, but they give us place to race week in and week out. They

do more for this sport and this club than most people realise and their passion is relentless and

we could not do what we do without people like them.

Our 2015-2016 season may now be finished but there are already big plans in place for the

2016-2017 race season. Archerfield Speedway have already released their proposed calendar

for the coming season, and keep an eye out for a full Sprintcars Queensland Calendar coming

soon. We will of course be racing at AusDeck Patios Archerfield Speedway, as well and Hi-Tech

Oils Toowoomba Speedway, but we are trying to negotiate with several country tracks for a few

shows as well. At this stage our 2016-2017 season kicks off at AusDeck Patios Archerfield

Speedway on Saturday 17 September 2016 – enjoy the winter break and see you trackside in

about 97 sleeps!

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