Tasmanian Jock Goodyer wrapped up his second consecutive Clay-Per-View Sprintcar Speedweek on New Years Day at the Premier Speedway in Warrnambool after securing a runner-up result behind local star Jamie Veal in the series Grand Final. After three wins to start the series Goodyer’s worst result of the five-night tournament was his fourth placed result at Avalon and as a result he finished a clear 210-point winner ahead of Portland’s Brock Hallett and Texan Aaron Reutzel. 

“Going into the week I knew it was going to be tough so to win Speedweek for a second time is cool. I really must thank the tracks and the organisers for putting it all together and hopefully we can build on it again next year to make it even bigger. Also, I must thank all my guys for their hard work during the week and all of the fans who bought my merchandise. It’s been a good week” added Jock. 

Second placed Brock Hallett was pleased with his Speedweek run, which included two podium results and no result lower than seventh. “We had a good week. The car was consistent and to make all of the dashes and to run up front in all of the mains was really pleasing” added the runner-up. 

Despite crashing out of the final Reutzel had done enough to claim third place overall edging out Lachlan McHugh by 5 points. 

“I really must thank Mick and his team for bringing me back out to race in Australia. I have really enjoyed getting out on the road with Speedweek, taking in new tracks and racing against the best drivers in Australia. It wasn’t the best way to end the week, but we will just head on to the next race and see how we go” added Reutzel following the event. 

Despite not being in the overall Championship chase Warrnambool’s Jamie Veal played the role of spoiler holding out Goodyer in a spectacular finish to Speedweek with the pair racing side by side with Veal denying Goodyer a double celebration. Leading up to the event Veal had been heavily involved in the work that was undertaken at the venue. 

“Over the past couple of days, I had been more concerned with the track than my car, so this was a great result as the other guys have been racing more than I have lately. Tonight, it was good to able to move around a bit more after the changes that have been made to the track. It seemed to race a whole lot better than before. It was fun to be able to race side by side like I did there with Jock after that restart, so it was obviously a step in the right direction” commented Veal when asked about the new configuration of the track. 

“It’s a bit of a relief to finally get a win here this season. We haven’t been off the podium, and we now have a handy lead in the Track Championship. This car has been so consistent here all season so it’s a good sign for what’s to come later in the month” added Jamie following his win. 

World of Outlaw regular James McFadden started his new year with a third placed result after starting from position 11. Fourth place went to V8 Supercar competitor Cam Waters, who had his best Speedweek performance, while Gant Anderson completed the top five. The top ten was rounded out by Brock Hallett, Marcus Dumesny, Jack Lee, who was the quickest in qualifying, Justin Peck and Rusty Hickman. 

The hard luck story of the night was by far Lockie McHugh, who had led from the drop of the green, until his right rear tyre exploded on lap 27, bringing out the caution to set up an eight-lap run to the flag. Under the same yellow Sam Walsh, Jessie Attard and Jy Corbet all pulled infield with flat tyres. After a track inspection a piece of debris buried in the surface was later discovered to be the culprit. 

It was following this caution that Reutzel crashed out of the race after making contact with the front straight wall. 

Heat winners on the night included Dane Court, Tate Frost, Ben Morris, Sam Walsh and Scott Enderl while Luke Dillon and Sam Walsh were victorious in the B-mains. 

Young Texan Chase Randall ended a tough week the way it started with another big accident, this time in his heat race after clipping the turn three wall, while Jamie Heyen and teenager Kobi Wright also rolled over. 

Overall, 2023/24 Clay-Per-View Sprintcar Speedweek points (Top 10 of 78): 1. Jock Goodyer 1160, 2. Brock Hallett 950, 3. Aaron Reutzel 835, 4. Lachlan McHugh830, 5. Jessie Attard 701, 6. Chase Randall 700, 7. Jordyn Charge 685, 8. Luke Dillon 670, 9. Marcus Dumesny 645, 10. Daniel Pestka 591.