Just one week after winning the penultimate Western Sydney Street Stocker Club Championship round, Chris Marino found himself back in victory lane at Sydney’s Valvoline Raceway last Saturday night, claiming top honours in the championship grand final.
Once again taking control of the feature-race lead from the drop of the green flag, Marino could not be headed, crossing the finish line in first place to score back to back wins.
Marino couldn’t have asked for a better conclusion to his Club Championship campaign, banking significant points throughout the past two rounds, but while his recent two wins proved he was a formidable contender, he certainly didn’t go unchallenged.
History seemed to repeat itself for former Australian Champion Shaun Davoodi, who placed second to Marino during the penultimate Club Championship round and was forced to do so again last Saturday night, despite mounting significant pressure on the leader throughout the 20-lap duration. Davoodi was also running double duties on the night aboard the AMCA National he purchased from former Australian Champion Jeremy Moore.
Following what was a monster crash in the previous round, which caused significant damage to his car and resulted in some hasty repairs, Steve Walsh bounced back in pleasing fashion to qualify on the inside of the second row for the feature race, managing to hold onto his position to complete the podium, while Ray Tyler also retained his starting position to come home in fourth.
Rounding out the top five was Blake Eveleigh, followed by Justin Bardin, Sean Isherwood, Stephen Kurtz, Shannon Alexander and Jay Davey, who completed the top 10. Remaining finishers included Butch Dawes, Troy Dawes, Mark Alexander, Peter Handley, Steven Sharpe, Charlie Dodson, Matt Hope, Huey Vanderveen and Patrick Molan.
The night ended in a disappointing manner for Mat Alexander and Dave Hamilton, both of whom had their races cut short and were forced to take up residence on the infield.
Proving that he was in no way deterred by his recent crash, Walsh was the best in the heat races, clinching two wins, while remaining wins went the way of Mat Alexander and Marino.
With their Club Championship now concluded, the Western Sydney Street Stockers have only a handful of race meetings remaining in the 2018-19 season, the next of which will be a Country Series round, which will take place at Nowra Speedway on the Saturday night of April 20.
To find out more about the Western Sydney Street Stockers Club, LIKE them on Facebook by searching Westernsydney Street Stockers.
