Steven Gartner’s 2019-20 season reached another level at Renmark’s Riverland Speedway last weekend, after he was able to successfully defend his South Australian Street Stock Title. 
Since last season’s breakthrough South Australian Title win at Whyalla’s Westline Speedway, Gartner has since picked up the Northern Territory Title; however, the first half of this season’s campaign hasn’t been ideal, which was highlighted by a second-place finish in the recent Blue Lake Classic at his home track: Mount Gambier’s Borderline Speedway, but that all changed at last weekend’s South Australian Title.
“Winning back-to-back South Australian Titles was without a doubt a major relief, as I hadn’t had the best lead up to the weekend but my team and I made a number of changes in order to improve the car,” commented the 31-year-old racer.
“The changes we made to the car worked really well and it was without a doubt one of the keys to my successful South Australian Title defence.
“With a lot of the major shows still remaining this season, these improvements to the car and the South Australian Title win have done the world of good for my confidence.”
Gartner, aboard his SA # 32 South East Collision Repairs / Merrett Logging supported FG Ford Falcon, had qualified for the South Australian Title feature race on pole position after he had won two out of his three heat races and finished fourth in the other heat race.
In the feature race, he was outpaced in the early stages by local and former National Champion Rhys Heinrich before going to take control on the lead in lapped traffic on lap six. Once out in front, the Penola, South Australia-based racer paced the field for the remainder of the 30-lap event and scored a comfortable victory.
With another South Australian Title win in the bag, Gartner now has several major events remaining in the 2019-20 season. The next major event is going to be the NSW Title at Moama’s Heartland Raceway on March 14, followed by the Victorian Title at Hamilton’s Western Speedway on March 27 and 28, and then the National Title at Latrobe Speedway in Tasmania on April 9, 10 and 11.
Gartner and his team are proudly sponsored in the 2019-20 season by:
South East Collision Repairs
Merrett Logging
CW Wines – Coonawarra
Horsham Auto Wreckers
PMD
ATI – Adrian Thomas Industrial
Beaurepaires – Penola
Elite Shock Services
Craig Carrison Racing Engines
IPTA Fibreglass
EB Graphics
Special thanks: Megan Cheeseman, Mark Jennings, Corey Crafter, Jason Duell, Justin Devlin and Scotty Merrett.
To find out more about Gartner and to follow his racing activities, LIKE him on Facebook by searching Stevieg Racing.
