Two ladies took out the big dollars at the first running of the Sportsman Shootout during qualifying for the City of Ipswich Winternationals.
Kellie Kidd won the combined Open/Door class, defeating Bob Frawley in the final round. In the battle of Modified dragsters, Frawley took the holeshot but broke out to give Kidd the victory. The pair split the prize pool, which was worth over $6000 in total.
“I looked up after the reaction times, he definitely had the reaction times on me,” Kidd said. “I’m more than happy to split the prize pool. I am absolutely humbled to be able to race against Bob Frawley in a final.”
Frawley said he was concerned about the track going off towards the final round and softened his dial in.
“I knew I had to pull a good reaction time but I was in doubt about the track, the last couple of runs I had shuddering in the tyres. We dialled up a bit,” he said.
Meanwhile Tammy Goldthorpe picked up the win for the Bikes, defeating Shaun Soboll.
“I had a quick glimpse at the reaction times (during the race),” she said. “It’s anyone’s game. I went over in front and didn’t get off it, I thought I may have broken out.”
Garth Spooner won in Junior Dragster, taking out Eden Ward in the final.
First sessions of qualifying were also run throughout the day for sportsman categories.
Tony Bellert is the early leader in Competition, hitting a 6.863 on the 7.35 index, while Super Stock (combined with Super Compact this weekend) sees Jim Ioannidis at the top with a 9.169 on a 9.62 index. Terry Jackson is pacing Competition Bike with an 8.382 on his 8.90 index.
As far as Group Three goes, Dave Wallace is holding the fort in Supercharged Outlaws with a 6.507, Steve Fowler is numero uno in Top Sportsman with a 6.878, Katie Cunningham is leading Modified on a 7.252, Tony Whyatt is in command of Super Sedan with a 8.634, Craig Edwards has got Modified Bike’s top spot with an 8.117, Josh Fletcher’s 11.110 has room to move in Super Street and Joel Burns’ 8.046 has got Junior Dragster’s number one for now.
Qualifying continues on Friday. Make sure to stay up to date with Drag News’ live notes.
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