Superbowl 2008
There is an old adage that time flies when you are having fun. Nothing surer in stock car racing as it only seems like yesterday that it was March with so much to look forward to. We still have three championships up for grabs with the Saloons taking centre stage as they battle it out for Superbowl XX and the Charlene Kingston Memorial Trophy. The F2's have the Champion of Champions to contest plus the climax of the track championships mean that there will be plenty of talking points before the curtain finally comes down on Sunday evening.
The Saloons have provided the most entertainment during the year and have provided most of the talking points amongst fans both on and off the track. The World final at the end of August certainly lived up to all its hype and more with Shane Brown's love affair with the Racewall continuing as he took the title back down to the West Country. Chris Lattka belied his critics by winning the Scottish championship then proved me wrong by winning the Turner trophy as I predicted that he would struggle to win from the back of the grid. Looking back at my preview of the season back in March I did say that he would take time to find his feet in the formula. It has been a long old struggle but now he has started winning we could see the same dominence in 2009 which he shown in the Stock Rods for over a decade. Fraser Clark and Dean Alexander are great prospects for the future along with the already established stars of Frankie Cunningham and Stuart Shevill jnr. The Shevill/Webster battle was the topic of conversion on most fans lips in the second half of the season. I have not commented on it much but suffice to say that I am disappointed that things got out of hand which resulted in bans for Graeme Shevill and Shaun Webster plus an extension to the ban already imposed to Stuart Shevill snr. Hopefully a good number of visitors will be here and make it on a par with some of the great Superbowls of the past.
The domestic season for the Brisca F2's comes to its conclusion with the Champion of Champions event. I have only seen the F2's race in Scotland this year but the highlight for me was the difference that 7 days made to the performance of the Barry Goldin car. At the Scottish, the car was going like a pig in a poke yet a week later at the World semi-final Barry proved that it could be competitive by winning impressively. Nationally, Chris Bradbury took the silver top away from the banned Gordon Moodie and crowned a great season by winning the Grand National championship down at Barford at the beginning of the month. It would be nice to think that he would make the trip North for the event but it is unlikely after his encounter with the wall at the semis. World champion Ian Thompson may well come over on the other hand as he has been a regular competitor here down the years.
Robbie Dawson won this title when he was still learning his craft in the formula. This year has been one of his most successful to date with a month at Superstar status. Lee McGill and Ryan Walker have improved leaps and bounds during the year but the highest praise must go to Paul Ford who has managed to hold down superstar status for much of the year in what is the most competitive oval short circuit formula.
The fact that almost 30 drivers are eligible for the race and the probability that over twenty are Racewall regulars speaks volumes for the strength in depth in the formula. The banning of Gordon Moodie after engine and tyre checks at the World final has made the racing far more wide open with many drivers now say that they are trying harder to win races as before as soon as the number 7 car passed then they gave up any hope of catching him.
The weekend is not just about Saloons and F2's. The Hot Rods, Stock Rods and Prostox will all play their part.
Even before the season is over plans are afoot for 2009 which will see the return of more regular racing at Knockhill during the summer. Crimond are optimistic of getting more F2 meetings than they had this season which helps the Scots as far as having to travel great distances for racing. There is still racing down south during the month of November with the ORC championship for the Saloons at Mildenahll and the Unlimited Banger World at Ipswich amongst the highlights. If you are looking for a way to clear your new year hangover then there is a meeting here on January 4th before the NEC show the following weekend, then it is only a month or so before it begins all over again.
In the meantime have a great festive period and for the last time in 2008 may I say sit back and let the action commence.