By Daniel Neville

The 2020/21 season of racing at TWS Paradise Valley Speedway ended on Easter Sunday with the finale of the Hickey Contractors Easter Extravaganza. Some of the championships resumed their Easter champs from the previous night with two classes swapped out, Saloons and Streetstocks replacing Production Saloons and Ministocks for a memorable night to end the season.

The Toolshed second tier Superstock Easter champs opened the meeting with just 10 cars that missed the cut on Saturday night. Early leader 98r Calyn Clarke was run down by 18r Tony Gallagher driving the 3nz Mitch Vickery machine, who won the race from 38m Ross Ashby. Heat two was won by 272r Seth McConchie from 33a Robbie Mabey but with Ashby in third that gave him the nose in front with a heat to run. Heat three pretty much ran it’s course with Gallagher taking the race win from Ashby which gave the 38m driver the overall win from Gallagher with McConchie third.

Toolshed Easter Superstocks Points

The top tier Superstock Easter champs featured the top 26 from night one. A fast paced heat one went to local hotshot of recent meetings 335r Ken Hunter who collected maximum points from his front row start. There were a few casualties along the way with 98m Mark Costello, a dual winner from night one, the most notable. Heat two saw 19m Kerry Remnant shoot to the lead among the turn one push. The red lights were on when 66r Steve Hampton was tipped onto his sidecourtesy of 94r Dale Stewart. Remnant kept it clean for the race win from 19r Jason Brown. Heat one winner Hunter come home fourth to claim the points advantage with one heat remaining. The final heat was action packed with 351r Paul Vazey going wheels up after contact with the wall. A few laps later 638r Robbie Morris launched into 12r Glenn Clarke andtipped him over out of turn four. 9r Brent Stewart took the race win but a frenzied last few laps saw Hunter make a couple of critical passes to take the championship from 7r Michael Rumney with 58k Stefan Roigard on the pace for third overall.

Superstock Easter Champs Points
Superstock Best Pairs

The Modifieds were next with part two of their Easter champs and points leader 11a Jamie Fox continued his charge with an impressive win as he made his way through lap traffic, he was hotly pursued by 67s Bunter Pierce in second with 2nz Blair McPhee making up ground on the last lap for third.The penultimate heat went to the the 1nz of Luke Brown after a ding dong battle with 78a Ray Chatfield. The win closed the gap in the championship as Fox was unable to progress much from his grid start which made things closer heading into the final heat. The decider saw the two points leaders, Fox and Brown off the back but neither were unable to make many passes. 193h Syd Ferguson collected the race win but Fox had done enough to secure his second title of the weekend from Brown with 12s Jason Kalin beating 2nz Blair McPhee for third in a run off.

BOP and Easter Champs Points
Modified Best Pairs

The Stockcars were back and the second tier Toolshed Easter champs opened the racing for them. 1nz Benjamin Ellis made up for his car troubles from the first night to record the race one win. Heat 2 saw a hefty hit for 15r Kendall Reid who was unlucky to be collected while stationary. A couple of stoppages later it was 15h Hadley Dixon who won just ahead of Ellis which gave the national champion a 2 point buffer with a heat to go. Heat threewas another win for Ellis who carved his way through the field to claim the championship. 53r Aaron Powell did good enough for third overall with 5v Jack Purcell racing well for third.

Toolshed Easter Stockcars Points

The top tier Stockcar Easter champs was on from the start with the top 26 going into battle for the title. Plenty of taps and spins and a few out on the grass with damage. 144r Steven Pattle made the most of his front grid with a trouble free run to the flag. Heat two started with a slippery track with many taking it easy in the opening laps. It was 544r Dion Henderson, who had won twice on the first night, who managed to get out front again until 28r Alex Jones decided enough was enoughand took the leader to the wall and out of the race. That opened the door for 45r Sean Wepa to take the win from 733r David Rumney. In third was 14b Jemma Palmer and in doing so took the points lead before the final heat. The last heat had Palmer spun quite early then there were dealings all over the track. 18r Jayden Steiner had the lead but was taken to the grass late in the race and failed to re-enter the track correctly and was disqualified. In the end 96r Courtney Young took the race win. A run off for third saw Wepa prevail over Palmer then another run off was needed for first and second with Young escaping the clutches of Pattle for the championship win overall.

Stockcar Easter Champs Points
Stockcar Best Pairs

The Streetstocks boasted a huge field for their Easter champs with a bunch of South Island cars joining the Northernersfor three great races. A reasonably tame first heat went the way of local 858r Shane Bracken as the rest sorted themselves out behind him. Heat twosaw 33i Steve Dryden make a good start and lead for a while until he was spun and left facing the wrong way. The action continued to the end where 46b Brent Redington took the win. A fourth from Bracken saw him take the points lead before heat three. Itwas all go for the last heat with cars on the pole line waiting and many bundled into the wall or spun out which changed the points with every lap. At end therewere damaged cars all over the place as 75g Shaun Kingi took the win but it was Bracken who recovered from an early spin to accumulate enough points for first overall. Second went to 59d Benji Smaill who beat Redington in an entertaining run off for second leaving the 46b in third overall.

Easter Champs Streetsock Points
Streetstock Best Pairs

Saloons made a rare but welcome appearance with ten starters for their Easter champs. A very tidy drive by 116a David Ingram, who had 8m Jared Fletcher breathing down his neck for much of the race, absorbed the pressure to take the win. Heat two was tight from start to finish and it was 12s Blake Hooper who made the right moves for the win but it was thethird place Fletcher who took the points lead before heat three. The last heat saw Fletcher dash away from pole for the win but Ingram finished third to make the pair tied for first. The run off went Fletcher leaving Ingram in second. Third overall was Hooper who was consistent all night.

Easter Champs Saloon Points
Saloon Best Pairs

The meeting came to a close with the Bobcat Services sponsored demolition derby featuring 32 once roadworthy cars going at it on a waterlogged track to see who could last the longest. After about 25 minutes crash and bash it was the unidentifiable number 36 car of David Leitch who delivered the final blow to claim the final victory of a successful season at TWS Paradise Valley Speedway.

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