Rushworth Speedway hosted the Victorian Sprintcar Association Chevrolet Crate engine powered open wheel machines during the Labour Day weekend.
With many of the drivers visiting from Gippsland it was no surprise that victory on night one went to Dennis Jones from the Latrobe Valley and then the second night to his teammate Justin Barton.
While in Goulburn Valley Production Sedans, Mick Boyle won that final and after being added to the Open Saloon final caused a boilover going on to win that race after starting in position 16.
Saturday night racing had six classes in competition with one final at the end of the evening for the Sprintcars who ran a separate feature event each night.
In the lead up to the feature event on Saturday wins in qualifying went to Shane Steenholdt, Justin Barton, Alistair Bastian and Shaun Lyness.
Barton then led most of the feature event on night one before Bastian and then his team boss and Victorian champion Jones took the lead with a couple of laps to spare and went on to win from Bastian, Adam Greenwood, Steenholdt and David McKay.
All other races on night one were qualifying events for the finals on night two for the Goulburn Valley Juniors, Ladies, Open Saloons and Production Saloons and the visiting Mini Sprints.
Sprintcar racing on day two began with Lyness and Bastian taking opening round wins before moving into round two where Steenholdt and Mark Laity, a former Victorian champion won those races.
It was heartbreak for Steenholdt in the final when he led every lap except the last lap when Barton stormed through to take the lead and the win from Steenholdt, Jones, Bastian and Greenwood.
The Goulburn Valley Open Saloons is arguably the most popular local class, while the Production Sedans give them a run for their money. Based on the feature race result, you would not be mistaken if you were to say the best drivers are Production Sedan racers, since one of those competitors won the Open Saloon final.
Saturday night qualifying wins went to Scotty Smith and Braiden Simmonds, then Mark Bergman and Adam Box won round two races.
Closing the evening Stewart Knight and Box won in the third round. On Sunday Smith opened the night with a victory and Box made it a third win in a row for himself to close out the fourth round.
While the first heat was run and won in the fifth and final round, it would later be declared a non-event after an accident in the second race of the round when Box was seriously injured in a racing incident requiring medical attention, meaning competitors could not finish and earn points. The second round was scrapped for Open Saloons and the Mini Sprints who were due to follow them onto the track so enough time was left for the finals to come.
The Production Sedan drivers were added to the back of the Open Saloon field for the final after the Productions had already completed their feature event.
Simmonds led Bevan Hutchins from lap one until lap nine before Michael Boyle from the Productions moved into second spot.
A lap later Boyle hit the front and led from lap 10 to the chequered flag to win the Open Saloons ahead of Peter Welch, Hutchins, Keith Simmonds and Mark Bergman.
The Mini Sprintcars were visiting and unfortunately for the class some mechanical issues affected the number of cars that remained on track for the weekend.
Sydney’s Danny Stone won the first qualifier on Saturday night then Andrew Burleigh and Michael Conway won races to close out night one. Conway won the only heat competed on Sunday before he went on to win the final in front of Burleigh, Maureen Sell and Rahmon Rivero.
In the Junior Sedan final Bradin Claridge proved too strong as he won from Keiden Britton, Jorden Simmonds, Liam Tooby and Caleb Simmonds.
Claridge also competed in the visiting Victorian Speedway Council state series for juniors and found the competition tougher with Dylan Barrow and Connor Donegan in that field. Dillon Taylor and Barrow won the two qualifiers and the final had Barrow win in front of Donegan, Claridge, Taylor and Abbi Garlick.
Kelly Lamb was competing in her retirement weekend from the sport and she won all three heats for the Goulburn Valley Ladies on Saturday night, while Lisa Chalcraft and Jas Bergman won the qualifiers on Sunday night.
However, Lamb finished off with a win in the final from Bergman, Chalcraft and Nicole Gapes.