WARRNAMBOOL, Australia – Scott Bogucki took one for his home land on Friday at Premier Speedway, roaring to victory during the opening night of the 48th annual South West Conveyancing Grand Annual Sprint Car Classic.
Bogucki, a regular with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series over the past several seasons who hails from McLaren Vale, South Australia, took the lead on lap four of the 30-lap preliminary feature and never looked back.
The popular Australian led the rest of the way, pacing the final 27 laps and holding off several spirited charges from QSS World Series point leader James McFadden en route to victory.
McFadden kept Bogucki honest, coming up just .327 seconds short of the win, with American Tim Kaeding completing the podium and bringing in a third-place finish.
Reigning Classic champion Robbie Farr and Ben Ellement crossed fourth and fifth, respectively.
Troy Little, Jason Kendrick, Rusty Hickman, Jack Lee and Matthew Dumesny were the balance of the top 10.
Other than Kaeding, it was a rough night for American travelers in the Grand Annual opener, as Buddy Kofoid placed 15th, Shane Stewart was 16th and NASCAR Cup Series star Kyle Larson couldn’t even get out of the B-main on Friday.
Half of the entries in attendance competed Friday under the split field format, with the other half set to run Saturday before the finals are contested on Sunday night.
The finish:
Scott Bogucki, James McFadden, Tim Kaeding, Robbie Farr, Ben Ellement, Troy Little, Jason Kendrick, Rusty Hickman, Jack Lee, Matthew Dumesny, Peter Doukas, Luke Oldfield, Brett Milburn, Randy Morgan, Buddy Kofoid, Shane Stewart, Ben Atkinson, Brenten Farrer, Luke Dillon, Brock Hallett, Jock Goodyer, Jordyn Charge, Mitchell Gee, Aidan Hall.