On a night that produced an even mix of elation and heartbreak as only a championship event can, it was American Justin Grant who stood tall as the Mobil 1 Australian Speedcar (midget) champion at Western Australia’s Perth Motorplex on Saturday.
Grant was strong all weekend and while results didn’t always go his way, he drove a cool and calculated race to fight off all other competitors and take out Australia’s number one Speedcar prize.
The 40-lap feature race event certainly had its fair share of drama from the get-go, with polesitter Logan Seavey, who had won the pole shuffle event just minutes earlier, found himself with mechanical gremlins, ultimately costing him the chance to even start the race.
This meant that DGR – Dan Golding Racing teammates Daniel Harding and Kaiden Manders would be on the front row together. But, as the race went green they would quickly drop back as another local hope in Tom Payet shot into the lead.
Kiwi Michael Pickens would also be like a bullet shot from a gun, advancing from eighth to second by lap two.
With five laps complete Payet would be leading Pickens, his Graham Jones Racing teammate Alex Bright, Harding and Dyson Motorsports entry Grant.
Grant began to pick up the pace, getting by Harding before Harding found himself spinning infield with eight laps complete to bring out the yellow flag.
Payet lead the restart, now with Pickens and Bright following as Grant continued on in fourth, closing at a rate of knots on Bright and then diving underneath him in turns three and four with 29 laps to go.
Pickens closed on Payet at the front and desperately began moving around looking for a way through with 27 to go, going side-by-side with Payet, but Payet closed the door.
Grant took the opportunity as this happened and dove under Pickens then set out after Payet.
Lapped traffic then came into play, the leaders tiptoeing through them, trying to stay downstairs on the track.
Lap after lap they would weave through, while behind them Manders was coming back into the fray, the only car moving high and passing Pickens for third at the halfway mark, but the move didn’t last long as Manders slowed and bought out the cautions.
He would head to the infield with the emotion of the race clearly showing as he sat dejectedly on the infield ruing what might have been.
Back on track and there was just over half the race to go and it would be Payet leading away Grant, Pickens, Bright and Jade Avedisian.
Payet maintained the lead on the restart, but Grant stayed with him, sticking the nose under several times and even allowing Pickens to catch them and also look for a way through.
With 15 laps to go, Grant was all over Payet’s tail, Grant then winding up to go around the outside when all of a sudden the yellow flag came out again, this time for Joel Watson who spun in turn four, and was lucky to be avoided by the quickly advancing leaders.
15 laps remained on the restart, with the visiting Kaidon Brown now trying to make his presence felt as he went around the outside of the leaders only to lose ground at the same time as Payet lost the lead to Grant.
Payet would drop back through the field and head infield with a flat tire, the pain of his loss etched on his face as he too joined the growing carpark on the infield.
Grant was now in the lead ahead of Bright, Avedisian, Pickens, Nicholas Rowe and the charging Robert Heard. Brown fought back and got back past Heard, setting out after Row, but up front Grant had split the seam.
With ten to go the yellow flag was out again as Alfonso Guadagnino was left with nowhere to go but crash into another car in turn four when they spun.
The restart saw Grant again away but it wouldn’t last long as Heard clipped the infield curb, got up on two wheels and then rolled over heavily, becoming the only rollover for the title weekend.
It was becoming a war of attrition at this point with more drivers heading to the infield under the yellow flag, still ten laps to go and Grant leading away Bright, Avedisian, Pickens, Rowe and Brown.
Avedisian put the pressure on Bright for second but couldn’t quite make the move stick. Lap after lap the duo would be stuck together, but still no move could be made while Pickens also closed on the battling pair once more.
Avedisian finally shot past Bright for second, Pickens following her through but by this stage Grant was well ahead.
With four to go the yellows came out for one final time, this time for Alex Bright who was unable to safely make it to the infield with a flat tIre, seeing Grant lead away Avedisian, Pickens, Brown, Rowe and the hard-Charging Matt Jackson who after missing night one, was charging through from 24th on the grid.
The final stanza saw Grant pull clear quickly of Avedisian, the order remaining unchanged and Grant being crowned the Australian Speedcar champion ahead of Avediaian and Pickens.