QUEENSLAND, Australia — Luke Oldfield stormed to victory on night one of the Thunder on the Downs, the first major feature of the season at Toowoomba’s Hi-Tec Oils Speedway.
His dominant win over Lachlan McHugh and Brock Hallet seemed insignificant to the challenge of inclement weather which had delayed the start of the two-night meeting.
It was a battle against the weather for the weekend, with the heavy rains finally prevailing and the second night of racing for the Menz Trading & Hire feature abandoned.
The 39-year-old Oldfield from Highland Park on Queensland’s Gold Coast has been knocking on the door of a major victory for the past few seasons.
Located 80 miles to the west of the Queensland capital, the Hi-Tec Oils Speedway has become the premier venue in the south of the state with the closure of Brisbane’s Archerfield Speedway in June of last year after almost half a century of racing.
Following the running of the Harbour City feature at Gladstone Speedway, the sprint car circus made the 350 mile trek to Toowoomba for the third major open-wheel carnival for the new season.
The heat wins were shared by Halley, McHugh and Oldfield, along with Brodie Davis.
Oldfield dominated the A-main, taking the lead in the early laps and leading the field to the checkered flag.
Jock Goodyer and Matt Egel rounded out the top five finishers.
The meeting featured the debut of the first American driver to compete down under this season.
Washington state competitor, Jesse Schlotfeldt, arrived in Australia to take the wheel of the Motor Guard Motorsports U.S. No. 1.
The 22-year-old west coast driver, who has been racing since 2010, had won his first 410 feature at Skagit Speedway in July.
The Western Washington visitor missed the A-main by one position.
He and most of the field returns to Toowoomba this weekend for the first round of the QSS Ultimate Sprintcar Championship.
Schlotfeldt and New Zealand’s Michael Pickens ensure the international flair continues with a car count of 37 entries with a $5,000 winners check on the line.