Having had victory snatched from him in the final few yards of the 50th Grand Annual Sprint Car Classic, Sheldon Haudenschild will return to Premier Speedway, Warrnambool, this coming January in search of success in Australia’s most prestigious oval track race.
For Haudenschild, success in the race means more than another podium in one of sprint car racing’s most important features. Winning would compete a family story, as his father Jac won this race in 1981 and 1982.
In 1981, a baby-faced 22-year-old native of Wooster, Ohio, Jac Haudenschild, first visited Warrnambool for the Australia Day Classic. He was touring Australia with Jack Hewitt. By the end of the weekend, he had won the nation’s most prestigious sprint car race.
The following year, he grasped victory from Australia’s greatest sprint car driver, Gary Rush, whose engine gave out on the final turn.
Winning the Classic would complete a family double for Sheldon.
He returns to the wheel of the Jack Lee Racing/Lee Contracting sprinter with a schedule of six meetings, beginning at Toowoomba’s Hi-Tech Oils speedway Jan. 5-7. He will then travel to Victoria to race at Avalon and Simpson speedways before contesting the three major features of the southern states’ season.
He is scheduled to race the Avalon Presidents Cup on Jan. 17, the Mt Gambier Kings the following night, followed by the Classic on Jan. 19-21.
Haudenschild will be joined by Rico Abreu for the Flying Horse Classic in possibly his only appearance on the East Coast. Abreu races in the Speedweek series in Western Australia before travelling east for the Classic.
• The other U.S. drivers racing in Perth in December and January — Brad Sweet, Cory Eliason and Brock Zearfoss — are also expected to make the trek to the East Coast for the January features.
The Australian season swings into full racing this weekend with a feature at Premier Speedway, Warrnambool.
Carson Macedo returns to Premier Speedway in the Sean and Felicity Dyson owned entry. Macedo is joined by Chase Randall, the reigning 360 Knoxville Raceway champion, who returns for his second season in Australia.
• The American stars will have tough opposition with Australia’s top talent all in attendance. A total of 54 sprint cars have nominated for the $7,000 to win Max’s Race, which is also round three of the Total Tools Warrnambool Track Championship.
The field includes competitors from five states of Australia including great support from NSW with twelve drivers making the trip south.
• In Sydney, negotiations are progressing for a replacement promoter for Eastern Creek Speedway.
The head of Sydney Dragway, which has the lease for the overall motorsports complex, Tony Beuk, told SPEED SPORT that discussions had been underway with four potential operators of the venue.
“We are currently progressing detailed discussions with one operator and awaiting a proposal from two of these operators,” Beuk said. “If we are able to lock in the final changes, we will proceed with this keen operator in the interests of getting Speedway activity happening as quickly as possible. Key to the success of this operator and the facility will be the support required from the Speedway racers and their fans.”
• Last weekend, Lachlan McHugh claimed the third round of the Ultimate series at Hi-Tech Oils speedway, Toowoomba in the SRV Road Freight entry. The Queenslander claimed the feature from Jy Corbett and Luke Oldfield.