Pumas let national stockcar title slip from grasp

The Palmerston North Pumas stockcar team threw away a great chance of winning the national title at Te Marua on Saturday night.

After the rained-out finals night in December, the re-run semifinals were raced on Saturday night with the Pumas meeting four-time defending champions Wellington Young Guns. The other semifinal was between the Wanganui Vulcans and surprise package, the Gisborne Gladiators.

The Pumas had their semifinal in the bag until the final two laps, when the Young Guns' Paul Gaskin crept into the lead and held on despite almost being taken out by national champion Peter Rees on the second-to-last corner.

From the start, Rob Miers and Darrel Wallace blasted off to a substantial lead and when Rees took the front out of Young Guns captain Richard Gaskin, a final spot looked as good as secured for the Pumas.

Miers and Wallace will rue the fact they slowed down to pass Richard Gaskin when, with his car seriously damaged, they would have been better to have just fired on past and into an undoubted final.

The Gladiators were no match for the Vulcans in the other semifinal with former Wellington driver Allan Levien virtually cruising the 12 laps untouched to a comfortable victory.

The Gladiators were hampered by former Palmerston North driver Brett Lloyd, their fastest car, not being able to start because of clutch problems.

With the semifinal between the Young Guns and the Pumas virtually a final, the Wellington team cruised to a fifth title with Dale Robertson winning the race.

Rees, in possibly his final race behind the wheel of his own version of a tank, with the car heading to Auckland after the meeting, then showed just why he is the national champion in the runoff for third with the Gladiators.

Pushing one of his own team-mates out of the way to take the lead, Rees won the race from Miers by more than 100 metres, along the way managing to smash any Gladiators' car out of the way.

The large Palmerston North contingent of minisprint drivers is quickly becoming a force at national level.

On Saturday one of the most consistent, Gavin Lucas, overtook more cars than anyone else over three heats to take out the Wellington championships.

In the runoff for second, Wellington's Karl Robertson headed Palmerston North pair Dean Fitness and Chad Ace, who messed up their starts.

- © Fairfax NZ News