Words & Images: Jason Hill
Patient supporters were rewarded with an epic evening of Superstock racing at Wellington Family Speedway on Saturday with the qualifying night of the New Zealand Superstock Championship.
The entire event had been pushed out by a day to accommodate the poor weather in the Wellington region on Friday, and it proved to be an excellent decision by the club.
An initial qualifying list exceeding 100 drivers was reduced to a final tally of 94 spread across five supremely competitive groups.
Defending New Zealand Superstock champion, Mount Maunganui’s Todd Hemingway, secured victories in the first and third heats in the Humphries Steel & Performance group to easily qualify with 50 points. Hemingway saved his best for last, moving from grid 16 to first place in the third heat.
However, Hemingway was the sole Baypark car to progress from any of the groups, and he goes into the finals without the club support that proved so crucial to his success last season.
Meanwhile, Ethan Rees was rarely troubled, finishing in third, fourth and fifth places, to qualify second in the group with 48 points. Group sponsor William Humphries (47 points), first time qualifier Brad Uhlenberg (46 points), and former two-time New Zealand TQ Midget champion Scott Joblin (45 points) also earnt their spots in the final.
Regan Penn had a wretched evening, winning the second heat of the group alongside a pair of DNFs. Stratford contracted Matthew Picard and Palmerston North’s Mike McCarthy were next closest, finishing with 40 and 39 points, respectively.
Chad Ace was a late withdrawal from the sponsored Ace Performance group, which was headlined by the flying Jayden Ward. Two fifth place finishes and a victory in the second heat saw the Woodford Glen contracted driver top the group with 49 points. Josh Prentice (46 points) and Blair Uhlenberg (45 points) also comfortably qualified.
Trent James won the opening heat of the group and was well positioned heading into the final heat. Second on subtotals, he had a disastrous end to the evening, and a fourteenth placed finish in heat three saw him miss out on qualifying.
Bailey Warner was also well placed, sitting third in the group after two heats. Brodie James turned his attention to Warner in the third heat, blocking him out of contention, before James rolled with the chequered flag out, tangling with Wellington’s Shane Hollow.
The misfortune of Trent James and Warner provided a lifeline to third heat winner Ethan Levien and Rotorua’s Mark Costello. The pair finished with 41 points, pinching the final qualifying places in the group.
Drama filled the Pro Tyres & Automotive group, with subtotal leader Jordan Baldwin blocked by Palmerston North’s Justin Roberts in the final heat. Aucklander Baldwin was the last finisher in the group in heat three, scoring just five points and missing a qualification spot.
Local favourite Keegan Levien (44 points) finished top of the group, despite being sixth on subtotals. Levien’s second place in the final heat from his best grid of the evening was critical. There was a similar pattern for third heat race winner, Tyler James (42 points), who was the eight equal ranked driver after two heats, before qualifying as the third highest in the group.
Rotorua’s Dion Henderson showed great consistency throughout the evening, with third and fourth placing finishes, and a tenth (from grid 19), scoring him 43 points. Hayden Hart (41 points) and William Hughes (38 points) secured the final qualification spots in the group, although Hughes had to win a runoff against stalwart Kerry Remnant.
Former champion and defending 3NZ Shane Harwood was caught up in the first heat, finishing in sixteenth place from his midpack grid. Despite a victory in the second heat and fourth place in the third heat, the Nelsonian could only place ninth overall in the group.
A hotly contested Rees Race Cars group was dominated by Cody McKee. Victory in his first heat, followed by third and fifth place finishes, saw the Aucklander accumulate 51 points, the highest of any driver across the different groups.
Kaelin Mooney and Josh Patterson were consistently pacey throughout the evening, with both collecting 48 points. Mooney won the group’s second heat, whilst Patterson took the chequered flag in the third heat. Cantabrian Braydon Lennon (47 points) was also rarely troubled, and he made the finals of the championship for the first time.
The final spot in the group was eventually filled by Peter Rees (42 points) who benefitted from a first corner pile up in the final heat that saw the demise of Max Holloway and Scott Tennant, both of whom were strongly placed after two races in the group. Tennant’s car was removed from the track and although Holloway continued, he retired shortly thereafter. The incident also saw Wellington’s Tim Parker and Meeanee’s Zach Glenny carted to the infield.
Remarkably, it was Rees’ nineteenth qualification to a New Zealand Superstock Championship finals field, now an outright record. Rees had entered the event tied with Simon Joblin for most qualifications in the history of the championship.
Finally, former 3NZ Zane Dykstra (47 points) cemented his place in the finals with victory in the third heat of the Dewtec Hydraulics & Engineering group. Last weekend’s Superstock Grand Prix winner, Stratford’s Hamish Booker (42 points), also impressed.
Victory in the group’s second race assisted Asher Rees (42 points) in his attempt to regain the national title that he lost last season, having previously won the championship across three consecutive seasons. Alongside Kevin Free and Craig Boote, Rees is also the only driver to win the New Zealand Superstock Championship three times.
Wellington favourite Dale Robertson (41 points) finished in fifteenth place in heat one, before two second place finishes saw the former New Zealand Stockcar champion finish in fourth overall in the group. An unfortunate incident with rookie Lachlan Timmins in the first heat saw Robertson playing catch-up for the rest of the evening but he showed incredible composure and was arguably the most impressive driver in the group.
Tim Ross (39 points) narrowly secured the final qualifying spot in the group, one point ahead of Meeanee’s Brett Loveridge and two-time former New Zealand Superstock champion, Simon Joblin.
The winner of a “last chance” repechage race to start the finals evening, at the earlier time of 3pm, will join the finals field, before the three action packed heats of Superstock racing to determine this season’s New Zealand champion.
2025/26 New Zealand Superstock Championship Finalists
| 1NZM Todd Hemingway | 2NZW Ethan Levien | 4C Brayden Lennon |
| 5W Keegan Levien | 10G Peter Rees | 26V Kaelin Mooney |
| 28S Blair Uhlenberg | 31W Josh Patterson | 38V Zane Dykstra |
| 45R Dion Henderson | 52P Scott Joblin | 72A Cody McKee |
| 82S Hamish Booker | 85V Brad Uhlenberg | 89S Tyler James |
| 89W Dale Robertson | 94P William Humphries | 99S William Hughes |
| 126G Asher Rees | 127G Ethan Rees | 144G Tim Ross |
| 166V Hayden Hart | 198R Mark Costello | 971C Jayden Ward |
| 5G Josh Prentice | TBC REPECHAGE WINNER |