March 16, 2015 - Three wins in three states, and a further two podiums was the score for Lucas Oil Products-supported racers in Australia this past weekend.
Drag racing champion Gary Phillips, and Sprintcar stars James McFadden and Andrew Scheuerle all won their respective events, while Peter Lack finished second to Scheuerle, and V8 Supercars driver Shane van Gisbergen also stood on the podium at the non-championship Formula One Rolex Australian Grand Prix.
Phillips claimed back-to-back ANDRA Top Alcohol Drag Racing Series rounds and stretched his points lead with victory in the VPW Pro Series 1000 at Adelaide International Raceway in South Australia.
The 16-time Top Alcohol Champion top qualified for the event with a 4.727-second pass and comfortably progressed to the final round in which he defeated John Cannuli with a 4.776 second/ 228.69 mph run.
“It was actually our Top Doorslammer motor in the car,” Phillips said.
“[This] 1000 foot is a whole different ball game, you’ve got to dumb [the car] down. When we tested two weeks ago Willowbank, we serviced the motor in the funny car and went 5.46, so we took the motor out of the Doorslammer because it’s identical except for the overdrive and heads.”
On Saturday night, McFadden charged from 10th to claim his first ever win at Sydney’s famous Parramatta Speedway, in Round 19 of the Valvoline Raceway track championship.
“Running at this place with no wall, it is just fun, especially when the track is the way it was tonight,” McFadden said.
“It’s great to race against guys like Dave [Murcott] and Ben [Atkinson], knowing they will give you a lot of room, but still race you hard.”
At Toowoomba Speedway in Queensland, Scheuerle claimed his second win of 2014/15, leading home fellow Lucas Oil Products driver Lack.
“My car was so good, and I can't thank my crew enough, along with Ausdeck Patios & Roofing, Ian Boettcher Race Parts, Lucas Oil Products Australia, Voight Contracting, Bent Sheetmetal and everyone involved,” Scheuerle said.
TEKNO Autosports’ Shane van Gisbergen continued his recent podium form by finishing third overall in the MSS Security Challenge at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Van Gisbergen was in the top five all weekend in the Darrell Lea STIX/Lucas Oil Holden Commodore, qualifying fifth, finishing fourth in the first race and third in the remaining three.
He said the team was developing the car over the weekend and it’s left him confident about the upcoming Tyrepower Tasmania SuperSprint, the second round of the 2015 V8 championship.
“We just had a good, solid weekend. The car didn’t feel spectacular because we were always trying things, but we’ve got pace heading into Tassie,” Van Gisbergen said.
“To have fourth and three thirds is pretty good. We’re happy, but you always want to win. The car’s nice and straight, and most importantly it’s fast.”
The Tyrepower Tasmania SuperSprint takes place at Symmons Plains, Tasmania from Friday 27 – Sunday 29 March.
