Sprint Cars
Saloons
Streetstocks
Modified Sprints
Stock Cars
Updated 20/5/12
Welcome The Pits Speedway
Bringing to you the latest information from around the South. Featuring updates from Beachlands Speedway, Dunedin, Central Motor Speedway, Cromwell and Riverside Speedway, Invercargill.
Also bringing you a live Speedway Show on a Tuesday night that covers all of New Zealand
Visit the Triple S Sprint Car site by clicking here
Cromwell
Invercargill Scrap Metal 2000 LTD
Mike Butterfield
57 Basstian Street, Invercargill
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Quick Updates
20/5/12 Really sorry for the lack of updates guys, but most have a good indication of whats going on down this part of the country at the moment and its easy to understand why things have been a little slack on the web site front.
Lets start with The Pits Radio Show. Over the last few weeks we have been converting part of my garage into a fully operational studio. While this has been happening, some of the gear that I use for the show, had to be placed into there temporary positions in the rack that is being made up in the studio. There has been so much gear bought for the studio, it mind boggles me to how much I and some of the sponsors have pumped into it. I would expect another 2 weeks before the studio is finished and will be running a temporary scaled down version of the show. I never thought that the show would get as popular as what it is, so the investment has been made to see it well into the future.
The show itself will change in the off season. As many know, we have added extras. Ex Pat Kiwi will be a feature as well as adding a new section that will keep us well informed on what's happening at the World of Outlaws in the states and many more updates from tracks around the U.S. More details on this will be released soon. We start the interviews for election year in the next show up, which will give us all and insight into what makes some of these Directors tick. Sadly, a couple of them have failed to get back to me, but the majority have been very happy to do it. Don't forget to drop in and ask the questions that you may have. Once again, please be respectful. Something that has created a little interest has been the "Road to the NZ Title" we will be starting soon. Even better, we are going to get you to choose who those people are. 2 People from each grade will be interviewed each month to tell us what their road to the NZ Title will be. More on this soon as well.
A full program will be released in 2 weeks time.
Sponsors: What can I say, I have the best sponsors ever. People that have a little vision on what and where I want to go. We have added 2 new Sponsors to The Pits Family. Concut in Christchurch is the first. Big thanks to Steve Duff for offering to help out. Steve's investment in the show has allowed us to buy state of the art phone hybrids and a new mixer desk. Steve has always been a great supporter of mine and I am very happy to have him on board. A very surprising text from the Committee at Beachlands Speedway. They have asked if they could sponsor me over the course of the new season as well. This is huge for me, as the committee believed that The Pits is huge asset for them and want to be involved in protecting and investment. It amazes me how well Cromwell and Dunedin have looked after me over the last season and are continuing to do so in the future. Mainfreight Cromwell and Ainsley Shearing have both come back on for this season as have Nigel Molloy Joinery, Added Energy, Steves Autos and Cleanways. The others I havent caught up with yet. Thanks heaps guys.
Prize Givings ... 3 down 1 to go.. I have been very privileged to be a apart of some awesome prize giving's. Dunedin was the first to have theirs, but sadly, I never prepped much for them having learnt that a large group of guys always get on it earlier in the day and its just hopeless trying to talk over them. Plain simple but effective. A good night was had by all. Riverside is where we up the anti and put on a rather large show. With 5 days of building the show, it went off better than i thought it would. The feedback from it has been amazing. Well all but 2 people that is. Most people know who im talking about, and most agree it is in very poor taste that a statement has even bothered to be made. Woodford Glen's was just amazing. I was grateful to be invited to do this, so a huge effort was made to put on a top show. I found it a wee bit harder because of the fact i only knew a few people personally and was reluctant to take the piss out of people i didnt know. Preferring instead to take the piss out of people I do know..... Thanks Mr Ngatai!!! I am pleased to announce that no one complained. Im also pleased to announce that I went through a whole prize giving without using one swear word. Yep true... not 1!!!!!!! The last is Cromwell Speedway.. and I hope that they will allow me to put on a top show for them as well. Last years was a little laxed...But this year, I want to up the anti for them..... Thank you so much to all the speedways for allowing me to be apart of your end of the season bashes. I have very much enjoyed each and every one of them.
Over the next couple of weeks, we will be doing a review of the season just gone.. Stay tuned for that..
Until the next update..........
17/4/12 There's one thing in this world i hate, playing catch up. Over the last 2 months, working 6 days doesn't allow for to much other stuff to happen, but finally, i have my days back again and we can now get some much need attention done to some of the web sites we look after.
Riverside Speedway managed another meeting over the weekend just gone, and to be honest, it was a very sedate and relaxed affair. Apart from the odd Streetstock race and the Supers battling it out for the Southland Title, it is safe to say it was a very average meeting. The Modified Sprint guys played musical moddys, with drivers jumping into other guys cars, and family members having a go or 2. Interesting to note at the end of the meeting was the 17i Youth Saloon driver of Raymond Phillips having a go in his newly acquired Modified Sprint. Impressive he was. The recent chain race may have made it more difficult to get derby cars, but it was not a very good derby. In all fairness, you cant blame the club for this as derby cars are few and far between. They are effectively worth more as scrap. The Southland Stock Car Title did nothing for me either. Was it the 4 cars that fronted, or the fact that they couldn't even get the end result right. Probably, it was both. Riverside still have one final date on the 28th April. See you all there.
OnDemand gets an update this week as well, with Brent McClymont (2nz Saloon Driver), Ricky Boulton (Director of SNZ) and Dean Brindle 22a Sprint Car drivers being added to the OnDemand. It has become very obvious that the OnDemand section has become a very popular part of the web site. Thanks for those supporting it.
Over the next few weeks we are doing some awesome Hot Seat interviews. Here are just a few who will be fronting up:
Tonight: Dale Ewers
then
Kristan Vermulen 12m Super Saloon
Paul Renton 10t Saloon
Norm Butler 54i Super Saloon
Directors of SNZ (or the ones that want to participate)
Steve Dryden 33i Streetstock Driver
plus many many more drivers from your favourite grades.
But for now, sit back and enjoy the off season as it draws closer and have yourselves a good time at your end of year prize givings.
Till the next update..........
3/4/12 In this update there is a bit to cover off... Firstly. my apologise for the lack of updates over the last week or 3. Had a very nasty kidney infection and was not really in the mood to do anything or go anywhere. It was not a very comfortable trip back form Christchurch after the Battle of the Stocks meeting, but the racing was well worth the pain. Couple of thank you's to Mike and Tesh Dixon for putting me up for the weekend. Both of them offered to let me stay the last time I was in ChCh and its a load better to actually have some company instead of motel rooms. I must admit, I was very spoilt. Also, thanks to The Glen promotion for letting our vision of streaming all major meets a reality with no fore warning. Steve Lennon was outstanding at assisting us to make this happen. Malcolm and Jack just went brilliantly together. Mal on the first night, Jack Miers on the second night, making for a great team effort.
Uploaded to the OnDemand section are 2 Hot seat Interviews. 46e Paddy North and 46a Nigel Ross. Ross's interview is nothing short of brilliant and entertaining to say the least. I would strongly suggest you listen to it even if your not a Saloon person. A true character of the sport.
Last weekend had Beachlands finish their final meeting of the season. 1 word describes that... Brilliant!!! A 2 day meet with action a plenty over both nights. The Saturday night would see 46a Nigel Ross front up for the meet.
Our condolences also must go out to Daryl Ainsley who lost his dad last week. To Daryl, from all The Pit readers, please pass on our thoughts to your family.
This week, the Triple S site gets a new lease of life, as we head to Cromwell for the South Island Sprint Car Title. All updates will be done via that site.
Tonights Speedways Show is a huge one and will start at 7pm The Hot Seat Interview is 2NZ Saloon, Brent McClymont ... heaps of other interviews, reviews and upcoming events.
Until the next update.....
31/3/12 If my web site was a child, I'd be done for neglect. But the people that do know me, know that I havent been well over the last few weeks. But, things are back on the improve. Cheers for the Emails, texts and calls.
Battle of the Stocks... Boy oh boy did i enjoy this meeting. It has been almost 4 years since I have even been close enough to touch a Superstock, but the wait was well worth it. Interesting to note is the amount of youngsters that are popping up in the grade. One of which went on to win the event. Jack Miers in the 88p car was just simply outstanding over the weekend and what a person to be teamed up with. 19c Malcolm Ngatai, who changed the colour of his car to resemble a tank. Of interest with these 2 cars is it was the same combination of cars that won last year, with Ngatai behind the wheel of his machine and Stan Hickey behind the wheel of the car that Jack was racing. Even better still, they are sister cars. Outstanding. Action was a plenty on both nights, with a massive congrats to the Woodford Glen Team who turned on a beauty. One things for sure, I will be fronting up next season for the 20th Annual Battle of the Stocks or even the NZ Superstock GP or better still, the NZ Stock Title, or even better still than that, The NZ Super Saloon Title. Hells bells, its safe to say The Glen will be a huge attraction for many next year.
Beachlands Speedway 2 Day end of season meeting... As i sit here in my hotel room, we have completed night one of this event. The Friday night was a make up night for an earlier cancellation during the season, so wasn't sure what to expect. It ended up being a load more better than i intially thought with ok fields and an ok crowd to watch. Streetstock had a last chance Champs that was eventually taken out by a man that hasn't raced in Dunedin for 4 years. 55i Andrew Watson had a run off for first over Donald Savigny in the 827d car (who was flying by the way), but Watty had the better of him, coming through to take the win. Modified Sprints showed up in smaller numbers, but the 17i car of Craig Phillips managed a scorching 14.07 second lap over the course of the night. This is quicker than most Sprint Cars have done there this season. The Rapid Water car is exactly that... Rapid. Night 2 is promising to be a beauty with a rumour that 46a Nigel Ross will front up along with the 5t car of Ainsley. On the subject of Ainsley, we pass our condolences on for his loss earlier in the week. Also on night 2 we will see the Otago Modified Sprint Champs and a Ladies Streetstock Race. Sounds like a load of fun.. Racing starts at the earlier time of 6pm. Bring a small amount of money with you to donate to the Stirling Point Memorial that they are looking to erect for those lives lost at sea between Bluff and Stewart Island.
The Pits Speedway Show.... was not run last week, but we have a beauty for you this week. Ngatai, Brent Harris (Harrisville Speedway), Wayne Hemi and Ricky Boulton and in the Hot Seat will be Brent McClymont.....7pm Tuesday
The Web Site... There is a huge amount of photos that will be uploaded on Sunday night form the Battle of the Stocks...Thanks to Tesh Dixon for these photos. Also, we will upload the very very entertaining interview with 46a Nigel Ross... if you missed that, get into it. He is one hell of a nice guy
Until the next update
24/3/12 What a week, with streaming happening all over the south. But this week we venture to Christchurch to take up the Battle of the Stocks meeting. This has always been a meeting I always try to get too, but with the earthquakes, I decided to avoid the shakey city until all had settled down. Mind you, it has been 4 years since i have been to the glen. My first venture was the NZ Sprint Cars at Ruapuna, and cased the joint out for a return for the battle at the Glen. And what a battle is has been only after night number 1. This has to be the biggest Superstock meeting in the South Island and I strongly recommend that if you have never seen a full field of Superstocks, then you don't know what you are missing. These things cause earthquakes.
Tonight we take in the second night of the Battle of the Stocks and we start streaming from 6.45pm. Tune up to listen to Jody, Jared and sometimes Jase for what will be an unreal night. But for now, click in and have a look at the Pictures form the 19th annual Battle of the Stocks by clicking here. A huge thanks to Tesh Dixon for taking these photo's. If you want to purchase some of these photos then email Tesh tesh2009@windowslive.com
Here's a wee few to start you off:
13/3/12 Its safe to say that The Pits web site does everything in its power to insure that there is really no negative comments around the whole site. The one and only comment that I have seen on there was taken care of very quick smart. But sadly, I have had to change my thoughts a little bit on this due to the pending Stock Car Teams Racing that was due to run at Riverside Speedway this coming weekend. Sadly, there are only 2 teams in the teams event which has put a real downer on it for me. For a few months I have been trying my hardest to promote this event by telling friends that if they wanted to see some real hitting racing then this would be the best event for them to come to. I have gone about creating some hype about the event only to learn that none of the invited teams can be bothered attending the event. I say "cant be bothered" because of the nature of some of the excuses that we have heard. How are our guys supposed to get competitive on the national level, if the tracks in the South Island don't support them to better themselves? Don't they understand that by coming here and running this event, they could attract that much interest in it that it would benefit the sport as a whole. Why is it that its to far to come to Invercargill, but yet our Invercargill guys will do what they can to get to other tracks events? More importantly, I feel sorry for our guys that have travelled. Kelvin Lawson in the 4i has been 3 quarters of the way up the country to be a part of events. 72i Marc Whaley or even the Taylor clan. What a frustrating situation for them. Its not just in this grade, but in most. Riverside Speedway has a huge fan base that are constantly punished because of our geographical location. The thing that does amaze me, is the people that do come and race, cant get over the hospitality that is shown to them. Why? Cause we appreciate it, and appreciate what they have done to get there. Ian Easton is a regular who travels from Palmy. Not once does he say.. Its to far to come. Even myself as an announcer... I have travelled a huge amount of miles to be a part of some wicked events. Hell, I even travelled to Ashburton for a pie after driving most of the night to get there. I am just so disappointed that Nelson, Blenheim and Greymouth have let us all down. I get that you guys have had a very busy season, but I don't get why you wouldn't come down here and show us what real teams racing is about. In my 12 years as a commentator down this part of the country, I have never seen a real teams race. And by the attitude of these guys.. I never will. I am just massively disappointed. I don't wish to offend anyone, but it just becomes a broken record.
Some great things are about to happen to the radio show and more details of this will be released over the next couple of weeks.
Uploaded to the OnDemand section this week is the interviews from last week. Ian Easton and Jonathan Allard have been added. Allards interview was outstanding and would recommend having listen.
This week will see us streaming from Riverside Speedway again. Hopefully the weather will agree with us. The meeting was to be the Stock Car Teams Champs, but as above...well ... you know the rest. There is a meeting in Dunedin on Sunday but we will not be streaming that one. But the following weekend will see us in Christchurch for the Battle of the Stocks. Fingers crossed, this all goes according to plan.
Until the next update.....
5/3/12 What an awesome couple of nights racing we got to witness for the ELF Super Saloon Series over the weekend. We headed to Dunedin for their round and right from the get go the first race was nothing short of impressive, with the 21n car of Ian Burson bolting off to the lead. The meeting was brewing up to be a beauty, but sadly the rain had other ideas. With 2 rounds down, a shower came through that was long enough to stop racing after they tried to get the track to come back for the remainder of the races. The rain had threatened all night and left it to the business end before it reared its ugly head.
Cromwell looked much the same, and there was a cloud lingering over the mountains. Thankfully it never amounted to anything. The start of the night had it very cold, but as it went on, it turned out to be a very mild night. With cutting all the bull shit..... The racing was just amazing. I haven't seen a good field of Super Saloons so far this season, but by geezus did i get a decent one when i did see them. That Burson boy can drive and so can that Verdona in the 25i car. What a battle between these 2 in the feature that would see the lead change several times before Burse just drive away with it. Josh Boulton in the 891c car was the overall winner and did very well to get his car across the line after it was overheating for the last 2 runs of the night. He took it easy in the feature and still finished well. Congrats to Josh.
This week, we stay at home for Riversides meeting with the rerun of the Southland Modified Sprint Champs. That's hope the field is as good as what it was going to be when it was supposed to run. We will be streaming this event starting from 4.30pm.
The Wayne Hemi interview has gone OnDemand. I have never had so much feedback about this interview, with many that failed to tune up on the night asking me when it was going OnDemand. That's be clear on this, we put things OnDemand 1 week after the interview. There's only one way to listen to it any sooner and that is to front up on the night we do them. Not only that, you get to ask your own questions via chat.
Who wants a T Shirt? Yup The Pits are getting some new T Shirts, and even better, there are some drivers that have offered some spaces on their cars to ad some advertising stickers as well. we will name these when we have stuck them on. More details will follow.
Until the next update.....
28/2/12 On Demand has been updated to include interviews from last weeks show. There is a very good interview with the 1NZ Minisprint driver, Dayne Maxwell and also a chat to Campbell McManaway and Malcolm Ngatai. Sadly, both Riverside and Beachlands cancelled their meetings during the weekend due to the weather, but Beachlands has little time to worry with the next round of the Elf Super Saloon Series about to hit town on Friday. This leads into Cromwell on Saturday night with the final round scheduled to hit there. We will be streaming both events, so you wont miss any of the action.
As we said earlier, we have secured the opportunity to stream the Battle of the Stocks meeting at Woodford Glen at the end of July. This would have to be the biggest Superstock meeting in the south and if you can't make it to there, we will obviously have a free stream running for this event as well. This comes at a great expense to myself, but you just don't so no to opportunities like that. Thanks to Woodford Glen and in particular the Promoter, Steve Lennon.
Tonight's Speedway Show will be based off the same format that we used last week which allowed us to finish at a reasonable time. We will be covering the main meetings from around the country including Gisborne's North Island Stock Cars and Woodford Glens, Rumble by the River, Stock Car event as well. To top it off, Dave Birdling tells us about the South Island Streeties. Interviews tonight will be Martin Halcrow 4w Super driver, who we have interviewed before, but want to catch up with again and of course our new segment is "In the Hot Seat". Tonight, in the hot seat is the 591p driver, Wayne Hemi. this is your chance to come in and ask any question that you have ever wanted to ask him. Thanks to Wayne in advance. We will be kicking off at 7.30pm ...Straight after The Dirt :-)
Thats it for this update, but be sure as to get on to Facebook and type The Pits Southern Speedway in your search and hit "Like", this will keep you up to date with what we are doing daily.
Until the next update.....
22/2/12 Firstly I need to mention that at 7pm tonight we will be picking up a stream from Gisborne Speedway for the "Evening with Peter Ree's" event. This will be run through The Pits Streaming page and will allow anyone to pop into the Chat room and ask Peter Ree's any questions that you like. Peter will be able to see those questions and will answer them accordingly. Be sure to get your questions ready and we will see you at 7pm.
The Hall of Fame is back. That's right, its important to me to recognise some of the achievements over each season we race, so I have revived the Hall of Fame page. Check it out by clicking Hall of Fame at top of the page. Furthermore, if there is someone that you think should be on the list, email me to thepits@xtra.co.nz
As the season starts to wind down, The Pits web site starts to wind up more offering some off season entertainment in the form of The Pits Speedway Show. Yes, we will be continuing throughout the season delivering the interviews and news as it becomes available. The off season will see a bit more of a focus on getting the show out to the masses as well with a good advertising campaign being planned. But still, there is a load more to come before the racing season finishes with news through this week that The Pits will be streaming the Battle of the Stocks event out of Christchurch. This is one event that I always try to make every year to get my Superstock fix. It amazes me that I have to travel so far to see Sueprstocks and sometimes living in the deep south can be a hindrance for those that love Superstock Racing. Many times I have pondered whether I would post a question on MacGor's asking if any Superstock drivers would ever come here and what they would want. It seems that we 3 clubs can send a few cars from different grades to the many events that are run around New Zealand, but yet, they cant return the favour. That's be honest, Speedway in Invercargill is massive at the moment. The crowds have been huge and the racing has been good. Even the Sprint Car guys that visited over the last couple of years can't get over the hospitality that they experience when they come here. Why is that? Because we really appreciate the efforts they have gone to to get here so we give something back to them. At Riversides last meeting, I made mention to a spectator that I was going to the Battle of the Stocks coming up in Christchurch. They asked what that was, so I proceeded to tell them that it is a fantastic event in Christchurch that involves Superstocks. This person that had been a spectator in Invercargill for 5 years then turned to me and asked what a Superstock was. Sad that the premier grade in Speedway forgets about the little people at the bottom of the country. The age old excuse always comes to the fore...... Its just to far away, or the weather is shit. Man, I have heard them all before. Riverside Speedway would absolutely hum if they came down here. What do you think it would take to get a good number of them to come here? Would they take advantage of us and turn it into a money making ploy or would they come here to show the fans what the premier grade in the country is like? Email me your thoughts to thepits@xtra.co.nz Perhaps The Pits might try and organise a sponsored event if there was interest. Your thoughts would be appreciated. Please don't take this as a negative, but more a blog outlining the frustrations that we as a speedway community don't get to see these big monsters. Mate, I wouldn't even give a toss if they didn't even hit, the sound of those things is enough to get me going. I would guarantee there would be more fans when they left due to the southerners being very passionate about their racing.
The NZ Saloons are not far away in Kihikihi and a small contingent of Saloons is heading away to contest it. We wish al those guys the very best. Local hope must rest with the 5t car of Daryl Ainsley, who has continued to grow both as a driver and a ambassdor to the sport and his club. Thats hope all the wheels are tightened this time round.
Coming soon is the Hall of Fame. I have been so busy doing other stuff that the web site sometimes lacks some of the attention it needs. One of the main reasons for setting up the messageboard was to allow a bit more interactivity. If you need to post something, do it there and when I get some time I will add it to the main site.
Streaming dates for the rest of the season will feature some very good events. Lined up are the last 2 rounds of the ELF Cup for Super Saloons from both Dunedin and Cromwell. These are on the 2nd and 3rd of March. We will return to Cromwell for the South Island Sprint Car Title at Easter but not before we head to Christchurch for the Battle of the Stocks. Our Speedway Live sister site will also be streaming a load of content from out of the North Island including this weekends North Island Stock Car Title.
WAYNE HEMI IS COMING !!!!!!!
That's right, the big man himself will be fronting up in the Hot Seat in next weeks main interview on The Pits Web Site. Any question will be answered..........But be warned!!! Anything that is said in this interview MUST NOT be used against him. I am for not 1 min saying that its going to be anything controversial, and as far as I know it won't be, but remember The Pits web site is a private web site and anything recorded or used against the owners of the site or Wayne Hemi will be in breach of the copyright. Any person that abuses Wayne or is derogatory in any way will face a life time ban from the site. Sorry to be harsh on this matter, but I want Wayne to feel comfortable to talk about anything he wants without retribution.
Just a quick we plug for our guys in the Modified Sprints. There is a great wee web site that offers all the latest information on Modified Sprints that is very up to date offering awesome profiles and results. Check it out at www.modifiedsprints.co.nz .
Finally, the OnDemand section has been updated with the Greg Keegan interview. Big thanks to Jody Scott for conducting this interview.
7/2/12 Both The Pits and the Triple S web sites will be getting substantial updates over the next week as we get everything sorted out from Speedweek and the NZ Sprint Car Title. Check out the Triple S web site for some updates there, but for now, enjoy the interview that we had with the 1NZ Superstock driver, Joe Faram. You can get to this by clicking on the On Demand section... see you guys soon.
4/2/12 Night one of the NZ Sprint Cars is out of the way, and now we move on to night 2. Personally i think that everyone is going to be very hard pushed to beat Jonathan Allard who is very determined to win back the crown he already holds. With no disrespect to Sammy Swindell, I would say that Allard has the better of him over the New Zealand tracks. I won't take it away from Sammy, but Allard was very quick in the heat race they were both in. Or maybe Swindell was just doing what he needed to. Either way, Its brewing to be a rip roaring finals night. Kiwi hopes, at this stage, lay on the 22a of Dea Brindle. Brindle was quick around the Ruapuna circuit, but not as quick as the Americans. Duff was on pace in the new car and engine package, but needs to iron out the gremlins if he is to have nay chance. Failing parts were taking care of his night for him. Barry Martinez in the the 66usa car was scoping the joint out for tonight's final try some different combinations. A Very interesting pit crew member for him is multiple NZ title winner, Alan Wako Wakeling. Martinez was just not his perky self over the night, but learnt that he had lost a close family member over night. Barry has asked me to pass all his thoughts onto his family at home in this time of sadness and know that he is thinking of you all. Jamie McDonald in having some real bad luck over the course of this South Island Tour, and his luck was no better on qualifying night. Jamie was very grateful to Barry Martinez, who has loaned him another engine after his one failed during the speedweek. No problems with the engine, just everything around it failed. First up was the diff, and in his final heat there was a vibration starting to rear its ugly head. A late night/ early morning is well on the way for Lee the crew chief and JMac. Don't forget to tune up to hear the drama unfold as we head back to the Holland Collision Collision Centre, Ruapuna Speedway for night 2. And we are streaming it live!!!
Wicked night, get your backside...trackside
1/2/12 Just a quicky update to do some work on the Triple S web site and to do a quick update on The Pits web site. The On Demand section has been updated with interviews from the Show a couple of weeks ago. Sorry about the delay, but having announced Speedweek, this has made it a bit harder to get round to editing everything up. Last nights interview with Joe Faram has been labelled one of the best interviews I have ever done by many, and is a thoroh look into the man that took the 1NZ in Superstock Title in Huntly over the weekend. I will post this next week, but it will be well worth the wait.
Its a busy week for The Pits and also our 2 other sister sites. Triple S will be the site to go to for info regarding the Speedweek after next week, as the final round is not until Ashburton on the 5th. I have not done the update because I thought it would be better as a whole article. Speedwaylive.co.nz will also be busy streaming the North Island Supers. Head to the site to check out details. Here at The Pits, well we will be in Christchurch streaming the NZ Sprint Car Title. We are expecting a large number to tune up to this event so will tell you that if you cannot get onto the page that has the chatroom, then type the following address into you web browser. http://111.65.227.179:8900 This will load into a page. At the top centre there will be a little icon that says listen. Click that and it will do the rest for you. If you really want to chat, then you can go to http://thepitsspeedway.chatango.com/ Pretty easy really. The other stream we will be doing is the Ashburton round of Speedweek. This is being held on Sunday.
Beachlands have the South Island Saloons which looks to be a very good meeting. Because of the long weekend, they will race Saturday and Sunday. Stife will be on the mic there
And for those of you heading to the Palmy Teams Champs. Have an awesome weekend and we will see you back here for a huge update after the weekend.
Until then...........
26/1/12 This update is more to update the Triple S Racing web site for info regarding Speedweek. Please click on the link below: http://thepits.racing.org.nz/Sprint%20Car/index1.html to see the latest on Sprint Car Speedweek
13/1/12 Hey all, Coupe of things to get out before we get into where and what we are up to over the next month or so. The Pits will be having a name change soon to The Pits New Zealand Speedway. It is really what it has turned into now, so we will align everything to reflect that. I am astounded at the support that we are getting for this venture. People seem very happy with the lay out, so that will remain the same.
A huge good luck to all the southern drivers heading away to their New Zealand Titles. The NZ Streetstocks has had qualifying in Gisborne Speedway last Friday, but sadly the weather got the better of the Saturday night and racing was canned for the week after weather forecasts weren't favourable for the coming days. Incidentally, the weather has been hot. 27i Peter Knight, 37i Arnie Tuhura, 33i Steve Dryden and 3nz Paul Simon have qualified. Best of luck to these boys for tonight.
Dion McMurdo in the 31i and Mike Verdona in the 25i are both in Nelson for the NZ Super Saloons that is running on both Friday and Saturday night. Best of luck to these boys in the champs as well. Thats hope someone comes home with one of those 3 numbers huh.
Both of these events will be streamed live with a bit of a balancing act going to happen so we can try and listen to both. The main stream will focus on the Super Saloons, but we will cross to Gisborne when the 3 heats of the title are on. We will start the build up at 6.30pm. Come if for a great night of speedway.
If your a Facebook junky, you can now join The Pits Speedway facebook page, loads of photos and up to date info can be found on there. Click on the icon on the top of this page to get into it.
And now for the stream details over the next month:
We start on the 13/1 with the NZ Super Saloon Title and NZ Streetstock Title
14/1 Final night of the NZ Super Saloon Title from Nelson
Sorry Riverside people, the meeting scheduled for the 14th of Jan will not be streamed.
22/1 Ashburton Speedway for Sprint Car Speedweek
24/1 Beachlands Speedweek
25/1 Invercargill Speedweek
28/1 Central Motor Speedway Speedweek
29/1 Central Motor Speedway NZ Sprint Car G.P
3/2 Ruapuna Speedway NZ Sprint Car Title Qualifying
4/2 Ruapuna Speedway NZ Sprint Car Title Finals
We will be working on our Hall of Fame page very soon as well. See if you've made the list so far this year.
For those people wanting to follow Speedweek, yu can do so by logging in to the Triple S web site. Make sure you save it to your favourites. Got to Triple S web site by clicking here
Because of the Speedweek, the Tuesday night The Pits Speedway Show will not be on. However, as of the 15th of Feb, The Pits will be live 24/7. More on that later.
Until the next update....
28/12/11 We at The Pits hope everyone had a great Xmas. Just round the corner is New Year and a very busy period for us here with streams and loads of racing. Here's a wee update to tell you what's been happening.
Kelvin Lawson. Mark Taylor and Nathan Taylor headed off to Rotorua last week to represent the deep south in the Stock Car grade at the NZ Title in Rotorua. Mark and Nathan both had not good days at the office and failed to make any sort of impact at the title. 4i Kelvin Lawson however achieved his target which was to finish all 3 races. Peter Rees (2nz) was to come up to Kelvin and shake his hand for helping him qualify by removing a car for him. The enormity of what Kelvin has achieved may not seem that big to most, but to finish qualifying with 181 cars around you is simply a good result. Onya Kelv. The finals will run tonight with Chris Hall in the 47c car that only one to qualify so far from the South Island. Thats hope a couple of more make it through in the reportage.
Daryl Ainsley fired in the first race at the Wellington round of the DHL Interislander Saloon Series last night and went on to finish with another couple of ok results. Sadly, the 5t car and its driver had a not so good run in the feature race where he was to spin out a couple of times that would put him back to the rear of the field, eventually finishing well down. 10t Paul Renton pulled in after a few laps when in 5th place with damage to the car and Peter Kirk was having braking issues in his machine. The crew now have a day off before fronting up at Palmy for round 2.
Rockfest is all but here, and tomorrow I set off early to prep for the event. Tickets are still for sale at the Night n Day smack bang in the middle of town. Looks like this is going to be a massive event. Rockfest will set of a series of streams over the New Year, with 3 scheduled. January is also a big month for the stream with the Speedweek for Sprint Cars being the main event towards the end of the month. We will be taking the stream at every track with the exception of Ruapuna. This will lead into the NZ Sprint Car GP.
Sorry to those folks that were looking to hear The Pits Speedway Show last night. The decision was made not to run with the show due to such a large amount of Speedway meetings on throughout the country. We had some good interviews lined up, but will now leave them for a later date. A decision about next weeks show will be made soon.
We have had some time to update the On Demand section as well. If you missed the interviews from last weeks show, they are now up.
And finally.... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!! to all our speedway family out there. We look forward to seeing you in the new year and hope its a great start for a boomer of a year to come.
20/12/11 Just added some more interviews to the On Demand section of the web site. Enjoy the chat I had with Gerry Linklater, Ray Stewart and Nathan Astle.
This weeks show was only made on Monday night after a very hectic weekend with weather around the country. Because of this, there is no track reports. Interviews this week have been stepped up to cater for this. Check out the message board for more information.
Well, its just a couple of day away to the big fat geriatric bastard heads down our chimneys. It is with great pleasure that I wish everyone a very Merry Xmas and Happy New Year. Yes we will be continuing throughout the Xmas and New Year period with the show. Tuesday's as per normal.
Rockfest is just days away as well. This is a massive event and would be well worth going to. Those of you that are in Invercargill.. head to the Night and Day dairies if you want tickets. More info can be found on the Sprint Car web site.
Until the next update...
9/12/11 Due to a technical issue with the person that records The Pits Show, there is no On Demand for last week. We have now have secondary system that will back this up and the error is regretted.
Uploaded tonight is the incident that caused a little controversy after Beachlands last meeting between Steve Dryden in the 33i car and 77d Bryan Nickalou. I have put the whole race up as it was a good race as a whole. Check the end of the first video to see the contact after the flag on Dryden. Video 1 Video 2
We will be streaming 2 nights this week with Beachlands kicking off the stream on Saturday night from 6.30pm...The following day we will be at Central Motor Speedway. Remember to tune up to 107.5 if your planning on going to the track.
The list of interviews for this week will go up on Monday, but i can confirm that Gerry Linklater is one of them along with the 34t driver, Ray Stewart and Nathan Astle in the 9c Modified Sprint will go under the spotlight in one of the in-depth interviews we have become known for.
5/12/11 Didn't our boys from the deep south do well? Just before the weekend there were a couple of very nervous boys heading away to their first ever ELF Cup worried that they might become the guys that would just get in the way. But this would not be the case. Riverside Speedways, 31i Dion McMurdo, is no stranger to racing being that he is an ex Superstock driver. But this man has only been racing in a Super Saloon for just a couple of years....more seriously for the first time this year. He can give himself a very firm pat on the back on such a great achievement. See Dexter, we told ya you could do it!!! Even better still, the pit crew managed to put diesel into the tank instead of his customary petrol huh... And then there was Tony Williamson in the 94d car. Now who woul of expected him to place so high against such a quality field with cars worth 3 times as much as his. This man done himself and his club extremely proud. Williamson finished in 6th place in the Nelson round, heading out such names as Bruce Boulton and Dennis Bolt. Awesome Tony, I will be one of the first ones to shake your hand next time i see you.
Another to do well from the south was the 34t car of Ray Stewarts. Ray will be stoked to be at the pointy end of the field after a very long break from it. Even more of the achievement was Ray has been quite ill over the last month and still is. Ray will be on The Pits Speedway Show in a couple of weeks so we will leave it to then to hear about his reaction, Great stuff Ray, and after a very lengthy and testing time, the tide may have just turned.
The Speedway Show is now taking up a load of my spare time and are very much enjoying bringing the latest news to all the Speedway nuts out there. This weeks show is going to be a cracker with newly crowned NZ Midget Champion, Michael Pickens set to make his first appearance ever. We were going to interview him last week, but with the announcement of him coming to Rockfest, we decided to leave it to see how well he would get on at the Midget Title. As I said on the show last week, I was very confident he would secure the win. Outstanding!!!
Jamie McDonald has been trying to get onto the Show over the last couple of weeks, but has been having some difficulty. He will be on this week without a problem.
Ricky Boulton SNZ Director goes into the firing line this week with questions you may have about Speedway NZ and some of the rulings they have made. Please folks, I don't want to come across as heavy handed, but we appreciate what Ricky is doing for us in this information piece, but if you do not respect him, SNZ or the Show, then I will have no choice but to exit and ban you from the web site. Please do not make me have to make that decision. It would gut me.
This week will see some great updates coming from various tracks form around the country. Riverside kicks it off at 7.05pm sharp with the Xmas trophy for all grades. The racing was most enjoyable with action in every grade that will make for an interesting piece. Jody Scott (The Professor) was very busy at The Glen over the weekend and managed to nab interviews with the Cantab Champions on the night. Ngatai, Hall, Gourly and Keegan front up for a chat.
What has Barry Brown been up to over the weekend.. Tune in to find out. Also some chat on the Elf cup as well.
See you 7.05pm Tuesday night...Only on The its Speedway Show
ROCKFEST IS COMING
29/12/11 Central Motor Speedway
http://www.facebook.com/SprintcarRockfest for more info
28/11/11 It is with great sadness that we farewell a very familiar face from around the Speedway community with the loss of a fantastic person, Mum and to many, a friend. Condolences go out to the Kergozou family for the loss of there Mum. She was truly a fantastic person to have known and her cheeky and perky smile and personality will be sadly missed. She was simply an amazing person who had a huge passion for her kids. If the boys were being a bit naughty, then she would be the first person to get in amongst it and back them and also if needed, sort them out. She was a huge fan of Joel over his racing career with Speedway and more recently, has been seen on the sidelines supporting Grandson Chris. A wee lady with a huge heart. Funeral details can be found in the Southland Times and looks to be Friday when they have her farewell. Our hearts go out to you guys.....Jase
Despite the dodgy weather down this part of the country, Beachlands still manages to get those meetings in. Saturday turned out to be a good day, but the track had suffered over the week with the rain, then 24 degree days and then the huge winds to end the week. This was just to much for the track and even though the track was smooth over 98% of it, it was always going to slick off. But this did not disrupt a fantastic display of racing that has rarely had me excited about it. A good field of everything fronted up for the Otago Super Saloons, Otago Streeties and the Wing on the Beach for Modified Sprints. More info about this meeting will be on The Pits Speedway Show at 7pm Tuesday night.
I am currently editing up some footage of the nights racing and hope to have this complete by Wednesday. Congratulations to Paul Simon 3nz in Streeties for taking out the Otago Champs and to 3nz Ritchie Taylor for his top effort in grabbing the Otago Supers. A duel first place for the Modified Sprints with Invercargill's Craig Phillips 17i and Shaun Harris 24i, taking that out.
The On Demand section now has the interviews form last week up. I am currently editing up Craig Bootes interview. I had a little extra work to clean his up as there is the pops from the chatroom all over it. Otehr interviews from that day will also follow.
Updated where we will stream next, plus added a couple of extra meets that make take you interest. Head to the streaming section for this.
Other than that... Things are on track. We have gone with another server due to the inconsistency that have happened over the last couple of weeks. We are working on a couple of other new things to make life easier for you all as well.
Remember to add us on Facebook. Search for The Pits Southern Speedway.
