Images: Graham Hughes (Sportsweb Photography)
Qualifying night of the 2026 New Zealand Stockcar Teams Championship at The Toolshed Paradise Valley in Rotorua was full of action, both on and off the track.
Thirteen of the country’s best Stockcar teams lined up for an epic night with the goal of securing a top eight position for the knockout finals format.
Five teams fell by the wayside, including the Baypark Bulldogs, Meeanee Maulers, Cromwell’s Central Coyotes, and the Wellington Young Guns, who all lost both of their qualifying races.
The Auckland Alleycats, who won one of their races, also missed out by the barest of margins. Just five points separated the Aucklanders from the Wanganui Vulcans in eighth position, with the Palmerston North Pumas a further five points ahead in seventh spot.
It’s the second year in a row the Auckland outfit has missed out on a quarterfinals appearance by just five points, after they scored 170 last year, 5 less than the eighth-placed Waikato Raiders.
This year, with two wins from two races, the Waikato Raiders and the Gisborne Giants topped the points standings with 310 points. There was a further tie for third and fourth between the Kihikihi Kings, who demolished the Auckland Alleycats before a close loss to the Rotorua Rascals, and the Otago Outlaws on 265 points.
Two-time defending champions, the Rotorua Rascals, won both races but only amassed 245 points in an underwhelming performance, closely followed by the Canterbury Crushers, with their 220 points seeing them finish in sixth place.
The results changed multiple times throughout the evening as relegations and disqualifications became a major talking point, including a severe penalty handed to teams racing superstar Ethan Rees.
The Gladiator was deemed to have used the pole line to attack and eliminate Cromwell’s Kurtis Tinetti, with the ensuing red light used to not only remove Tinetti’s prone vehicle but also send Rees to the infield.
Shortly thereafter, the big call was announced that Rees was subject to not only a race disqualification, but an eight day standdown, ruling him out of the remainder of the meeting.
Keegan Orr’s illegal maneuver on the Kihikihi Kings’ lead car in their final race of the evening was arguably even worse. Potentially a case for a “race changing event” scenario which could have resulted in a full team disqualification was on the cards for the Rotorua Rascals. Luckily, the officials opted for a softer view.
Even when the crowd had long departed, a further set of points were announced that saw the Wanganui Vulcans, who had initially missed the top eight, reinserted into the quarterfinal bracket after the Canterbury Crushers’ Wade Sweeting was subject to a two place relegation in the final race of the evening. The penalty was justified and the right result was ultimately reached.
The evening began with the Waikato Raiders dismantling the Baypark Bulldogs. Clinton Cheetham took an early lead, which unusually saw no Bulldog opt to run until he had already gained a significant advantage. Cheetham easily won the race as the Raiders cruised home to secure first, second and fourth places.
The Gisborne Giants also had little trouble in their opening race against the Central Coyotes, with Asher Rees and Brad McGee seeing off a fast charging Trazarn Ryland-Annabell. However, the race will be better remembered for the disqualification of Ethan Rees after his roll of Kurtis Tinetti, and subsequent removal from the entire meeting.
Steven Thompson was in outstanding form in the Otago Outlaws’ surprise victory over the Wellington Young Guns. He eliminated both Anthony and Harrison Hocking and even went on to win the race just ahead of Wellingtonian Tim Parker.
It took an educated block from Callum Flavell on the final lap of the Rotorua Rascal’s first race against the Meeanee Maulers to ensure that Dion Henderson collected the chequered flag for the locals. For most of the race, the Maulers had controlled the momentum, and Royden Hynd seemed set for a race win until Flavell’s timely intervention.
Total domination from the Kihikihi Kings saw them accumulate a whopping 170 points against the Auckland Alleycats. The Aucklanders’ lead runner, Gary Lonergan, was walled and eliminated by Cameron Taylor, and they fell apart thereafter. Blake Brooks was the sole Auckland car to make the finish line. Matthew Shaw and William Whyte finished in first and second for the Kings.
The Palmerston North Pumas were in charge for the majority of their opening race against the Wanganui Vulcans and ultimately prevailed through Hamish McLeod and Tyler Walker, who finished in first and second place. Cody Lockett and Dennis Black were both disqualified for the Vulcans, with Black’s attack to wall race winner McLeod well after the chequered flag had fallen.
The Canterbury Crushers benefitted from being drawn as team number 13, with no top seeded team to face and having the advantage of their first race against the battered Baypark Bulldogs. Bryce Carter was the only Baypark driver to challenge for the lead, but when he pulled to the infield with driveshaft issues, the Crushers cashed in. Wade Sweeting, Harley Robb, and Sam Jack finished in the top three for a 165 point haul for the Cantabrians.
Clinton Cheetham showed his class again in the Waikato Raiders’ second race against the Central Coyotes. After Brad Philpott had walled Trazarn Ryland-Annabell early in the race, resulting in both vehicles being removed, the remaining Raiders block cars showed great composure to protect Cheetham and secure another solid victory.
With Ethan Rees’ removal, the Gladiators faced further issues when Asher Rees sat out during their next race against the Wellington Young Guns. However, the class of their remaining drivers was evident when Bryce Simpson and Brad McGee collected first and second place. There was confusion when the chequered flag fell, with Thomas Davis, who was nearly a lap down, convinced he had won the race for the Wellingtonians, and even performed a victory lap.
A superb effort from the Otago Outlaws to protect Shannon Simon saw the Dunedin-based team win their second race of the evening against the Meeanee Maulers. After his impressive performance in the first race, Steven Thompson was a target for the Maulers, but despite the attention, Thompson was still able to cause carnage in a blocking role.
An enormous hit from Matthew Shaw on Dion Henderson on the first lap of the Kihikihi Kings vs Rotorua Rascals matchup gave the Kings a huge advantage for the rest of the race. They looked in control before an illegal hit from Keegan Orr saw Shaw, then their lead runner, overtaken by Callum Flavell, who won the race. With Orr’s postrace removal, the Kings ended up taking all the remaining spots for a rare 100-95 scoreline.
Tyler Walker suffered early mechanical issues as the Pumas faced the Alleycats and he was barely able to complete a quarter of a lap. With the one car advantage, the Alleycats produced a better showing than their result against the Kings, and Gary Lonergan picked up the win for the Aucklanders ahead of the Pumas’ Jared Davis.
Finally, Wade Sweeting looked to have victory secured for the Canterbury Crushers in the last race of the evening against the Wanganui Vulcans. However, he made a crucial pass on the grass in turn three and was rightly penalised after the race. It elevated both Mitchell Lockett and Dion Mooney to first and second for the Vulcans, squeezing them into the quarterfinals.