|
Brian Chalmers
KWINANA BEACH, Western Australia. (March 9) - As A speedway fan I am looking forward to this weekend when two of America's best young guns take on the best Australia has to offer at the upcoming Australian Late Model Nationals at the Perth Motorplex.
Wooster, Ohio resident Doug Drown returns for his second assault of the west coast teaming up in a second Craig Vosbergen machine, while Jeep Van Wormer hits our shores for the first time, racing the Warren Oldfield #15 car that he usually competes in.
As a sedan fan it has you salivating to see these to compete, and as one competitor joked this week "It would be worth parking the car to watch these two this weekend."
I won't agree to him parking his car, but he is right in what he is saying about the quality these two will provide to the two nights of action to be seen at the Motorplex.
Twenty seven year old Drown has been here before and those of you that saw his performances last year know what he is capable of and he has to be recognized as a serious threat to take out the crown. His 2008 results of 4 wins from twenty three starts shows that he is no slouch behind the wheel of a racecar and will be chasing the win with all the intensity he showed last season.
Once again he will be competing in a Rocket chassis provided by Vosbergen, with the finishing touches being completed at his workshop this week. "Craig (Bottrell) from Empire Graphics has just finished the wrap (sign writing) on the car and it looks a treat. Now its just a down to setting the car up the way Doug likes it, and that's where we are fortunate that Doug has competed here before and we know what he likes. We both run a similar set up and so it's not a problem to give him the car he likes. After that it's just a matter of fitting his seat in the car and we are ready to go." He said on the phone over the weekend.
Drown will then stay on for a further 5 nights of racing, culminating in the Easter weekend two night 'Rumble by the River' at Margaret River Speedway.
Warren Oldfield decided that he needed some inspiration and some help, and after a talk with former racer Warren Bishop from Geraldton a deal was done to get Van Wormer over for the two night Nationals. "I'd become a little despondent with how things were going this year, especially on the slick tracks we have been experiencing, I was having a lot of problems hooking up to that style of surface. So after a talk with Warren we decided to go ahead running Jeep. He is brilliant on slick tracks and has been driving the Masterbuilt product for the last couple of years so we have the opportunity to learn a hell of a lot from someone like Jeep." He said from his Ultratune workshop on Sunday doing final preparations on the machine he will step away from, his #15 Carahaul/Valvoline beast.
"I really gotta give credit to Warren (Bishop) for getting this deal happening" he continued. " He has supplied Jeep with the tickets and everything else to get here as a way of paying him back for all the times he has been looked after by Jeep over in America. They've become good mates and I think Warren is as pumped as I am about it happening"
Van Wormer hails from Pinconning, Michigan, and comes here as a bit of an unknown quantity. Not really known as a household name in Australia his resume shows that he has many wins under his belt, one of them being the 2007 Eldora track championship. His most recent win was at the Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway on March 6th, where he held out one of the all time greats of American Late Model racing Billy Moyer for the thirty lap journey.
He too had a successful 2008 campaign winning three of the 68 races he entered with his Iron Motorsports Team. For this year he is joining the highly competitive Lucas Oils Late Model Series for 2009 and will be one of the new comers to watch this season
If you are a sedan fan, or a speedway fan in general, you can do yourself a favor and head down this weekend, as I'm sure what you are going to see is something pretty special when these two racers hit the black high banks of Kwinana Beach, starting this Friday the 13th of March.
Two of the Best from the West.
When it comes to Late Model Sedan racers in the west, they don't come much better than Marc Giancola and Brad Blake.
Giancola has been one of the form drivers this year and would go in as one of the favorites for the Late Model Nationals, while Blake has struggled, or has he?
Blake to me is a bit like Max Dumesny in Sprintcars, if he doesn't win ten times in a season and only wins twice or three times, it is seen as a poor year. So far he has been in contention to win nearly every event he has competed in this year, and apart from a couple where he experience mechanical problems, he has generally been in the top three.
I asked Blake has he been happy with his season so far. "Of course I'm happy with the season except for the motor problems I've had. Now that I'm a one man band with my business I've found it hard to find the money to run all the shows so I will pick and choose what I will be doing from now on." He said from his business Blake Auto Centre this week.
But was he confident going in to this weekend? "Yep for a top three not the win. Jeep and Doug are the ones to catch I believe, and don't get me wrong I want to win, but I've seen what Jeep can do in a racecar and I reckon he will lap the entire field, but if there is an opportunity, I will be ready to take this one out."
Giancola has been the 'find' this year since spending some more time in his Late Model rather than his Super Sedan. He has been exceptionally consistent wherever he runs, but especially at the Motorplex. This has seen him running around the top of the series points for both the Champion Canopies Pro Dirt Late Model Series, and the Perth Motorplex points standings as well.
He, like Blake, believes the two Americans are the ones to watch. "I think I'm being realistic when I say that I doubt I will take the win. These two, Drown and Van Wormer are good and I believe I'm a chance for the top three, along with Blakey, but I think the car speed these two yanks will have will be pretty darn hard to keep up with."
But he did have a warning for Van Wormer. "I've lent Jeep a car to get around in from the yard (Giancola Auto Sales) and if on the Friday night he makes me look to stupid, he will be walking to the Motorplex on the second night let me tell you." He said with a laugh.
Both these drivers are fierce competitors on the track, and personally I think they are selling themselves a little short. But who knows? The only way to find out is to be at the Late Model Nationals this weekend to see just what they can do about the 'American Invasion'.
|
