Images: Graham Hughes (Sportsweb Photography)
History was created at The Toolshed Paradise Valley Speedway in Rotorua as the Canterbury Crushers became the first South Island team to win the New Zealand Stockcar Teams Championship.
Having previously fallen at the final hurdle in the 2022-23 championship in Huntly, losing to the Auckland Alleycats, the Crushers dominated this year’s final against the Gisborne Gladiators and were deserved winners.
It was the fourth time that a South Island team had made the final of the event, with the Crushers, Nelson’s Tasman Thunder (in 2015-16) and Blenheim’s Eastern States Titans (in 2012-13) all previous runners-up.
With the increased accessibility for South Island teams to now contest the event in the 2026-27 season at Woodford Glen, a battle of the Islands could ignite next year.
The Crushers had some fortune in the final as the Gladiators’ early front runner, Bryce Simpson, was forced to seek the intervention of the fire crew when his car spectacularly went up in flames midway through the race.
The Gladiators also lost Ethan Rees when he was tipped up and over in the final, and removed on the red light for losing his racing goggles
At that point, the Crushers had already opened up a healthy lead, with Wade Sweeting and Harley Robb putting themselves a lap ahead of the only remaining Gladiator runner, Asher Rees.
With the educated blocking of Jay “Huggies” Holtham and Hadleigh Smith, the Crushers held a four vs two car advantage for the final few laps, with Asher Rees seemingly more intent at hitting a parked Holtham than making an effort to slow the leading Cantabrians.
Sweeting took the chequered flag to confirm the result, with a partial Bay of Plenty crowd enjoying the dismantling of the more favoured Gladiators.
For the Gisborne contracted lineup, their championship chances materially increased when Ethan Rees’ suspension from the qualifying night was totally overturned. Originally faced with an eight day suspension, the officials reversed their penalty and allowed the team’s racing superstar to rejoin the finals night of racing.
Their only error may have been in leaving out Brad McGee, one of the form drivers of the weekend, and the man with a major impact at last fortnight’s New Zealand Stockcar Championship, on the infield for the final.
Earlier in the evening, the Crushers, Gladiators, Waikato Raiders and Rotorua Rascals had all progressed to the semi finals.
Stoppages during the Raiders’ victory for the Wanganui Vulcans’ Mitchell Lockett, and for the Rascals’ Chris Shingleton when they faced the Otago Outlaws, saw both drivers tended to by the medics. The drivers were transported to hospital and the respective teams announced that both drivers were sore but okay.
In the semi finals, the Raiders had originally taken the chequered flag against the Crushers, but race winner Clinton Cheetham was rightly relegated two spots for passing the Crushers’ block car Jay “Huggies” Holtham on the grass.
Cheetham failed to redress the move and carried on, and with the officials on the ball, it promoted Wade Sweeting to first place.
The Gladiators overcame the two-time defending champion Rascals in the second semi final. Ethan Rees assumed a running role, and after Callum Flavell had led for the majority of the race, Rees took the lead with just a few laps remaining.
The Rascals settled for a consolation victory for third place, with Josh Fraser taking the victory for the hosts over the Raiders in the bronze medal playoff.
Cameron Taylor won the fifth vs sixth race for the Kihikihi Kings against the Otago Outlaws, completing an excellent weekend for the Waipa based club.
Meanwhile, the Palmerston North Pumas settled for seventh place when Josh Mulcahy secured a race win against the Wanganui Warriors.
Throughout the evening, the teams eliminated after qualifying night contested a series of “tier two” teams races, before an “all in” final race.
With most of the teams decimated by that point – the Wellington Young Guns and Meeanee Maulers had no cars for the final race – the Auckland Alleycats’ Gary Lonergan completed a comfortable race win and some commendable prize money.
But the greatest success was that of the Canterbury Crushers, breaking a streak of North Island victories since the championship began in the 1994-95 season.
Holtham and Harley Robb joined an elite group of drivers to win both Superstock and Stockcar Teams Championships, with Robb surely an overwhelming favourite for Stockcar Competitor of the Year, following his second placing at the New Zealand Stockcar Championship and third at the Stockcar Grand Prix over consecutive weekends.
All eyes are now on Woodford Glen for next year’s inaugural South Island running of the New Zealand Stockcar Teams Championship.