ROUND 10 of the Eureka Garages and Sheds Sprintcar Series moved to Moama’s Heartland Raceway last Saturday night and yielded strong results for south west competitors.
Ecklin’s Jack Lee claimed a career first podium finish in Sprintcar competition, as he crossed the line third at the end of a torrid 30-lap feature event.
Warrnambool’s Jamie Veal was the series points leader heading into the round and looked as though he would build on that advantage with a promising run as the A-Main commenced.
Veal started from fifth and within eight laps was up to second position before striking trouble.
Heading into turn one on the ninth circulation, Veal carried far superior corner entry speed to that of leader Darren Mollenoyux, consequently making contact with the left rear wheel, sending Veal into a spin where he then made a significant impact with the concrete wall, bringing his race to an end.
Dubbo driver Jeremy Cross went on to win the event, making an inside pass stick on Mollenoyux down the front straight just on half race distance.
Cross pulled away from the field in the closing stages to score his first feature victory in the series.
Mollenoyux’s second place finish was enough to see him inherit the points lead over Veal heading into the next round at Hamilton’s Western Speedway on February 18.
Lee, who had qualified seventh for the A-Main, was hot on the heels of Mollenoyux as the checkers waved.
Earlier in the night, Lee recorded a strong heat race victory after a last lap battle with Mollenoyux which saw the pair exchange slidejobs at either end of the circuit.
After starting from position four, Lee scorched to the lead following a stellar outside move on lap one.
Mollenoyux would reel him in to take the lead just after the white flag, however Lee got a run down the back straight and made the move stick in the final turn to greet the checkers first.