[Gareth]

Race Report

   

WHO at Nascar in 2026 has received a massive shake up of the rules.  With the chassis restricted to just the Bulldog with bar magnet and the Mega G+, the playing field has been levelled and no one knew how the pecking order would look come race day.

But first of all we had to celebrate the club’s 16th birthday with cake.  While the club has seen much churn in drivers over the years and there aren’t many left on the grid from 2010, it is testament to Andy and Robin’s vision, drive and determination that we all get to enjoy this wonderful club week after week.   

Twenty drivers would be racing at Gateway Motorsport Park, a mid length oval in reality but in HO it had decent straights and a very tricky T1 and 2 that were noticeably tighter than T3 and 4.  It was a punishing layout that rewarded precision braking and good rhythmic driving skills.  Perhaps Mike McCann’s famous headphones would propel him to pole position!  

   

While most people were racing the usual Johnny Lightning Monte Carlo or an AFX body, Andy had chosen a beautiful classic retro Chevrolet Chevelle body to hark back to Nascar’s golden years.

   

But he was out-vintaged by Keith who was racing a ‘57 Chevy!  Keith assures me that we’ll see the body completed with numbering for round 2 as he represents the very earliest days of Nascar racing.  

   

As we worked our way through the heats we saw some familiar names putting in big scores in the form of Andy, Terry, Pete, John, Ollie Bean and Matthew. Dominating all though was Oliver as recorded huge scores across red, blue and white to secure a 9 lap lead on his way to pole.  We rarely see such a crushing performance and it felt like the win would be a foregone conclusion...  

   

Behind this leading pack we had some big hitters like Keith, Mike, Gareth, Rob, Kev and Gary who made a welcome return and was really enjoying life with a borrowed Bulldog.  

   

Further back James, Stephen, Tracy, Kevin, Adam and Oliver were finding the track a bit more challenging.