WESTERN Speedway has an action-packed program planned for next Wednesday night with around forty Formula 500’s set to battle in round three of their annual Speedweek Series.   

The series has been condensed due to the COVID situation, but there is still plenty on offer with the promise of five nights of action for fans of this very popular class, while the drivers compete for a share in the total purse of $40,000 over the five rounds.

The battle begins at Simpson Speedway on Monday night followed by a trip to the Laang Speedway on Tuesday night, and then the teams head to Hamilton for the Wednesday night show.

After taking New Year’s Eve to regroup, they then head to the Southern 500 Speedway (Portland) on Jan 1st and then back to Laang for the final decider on Sunday, January 2nd.

Hamilton has been fortunate enough to be included as part of the Speedweek almost since its inception, only missing the inaugural season, and since then they have hosted events with drivers from the USA and from all around Australia who have ventured to make a name for themselves during the prestigious event.

The Victorian contingent includes Riley Amato, Chad Bell, Dylan Beveridge, Justin Bowen, Jack Bell, Brooke Buckingham, Owen Bulman, Jet Bell, Daniel Burleigh, Will Carroll, Kurt Dunham, Greg Dunmore, Darcy Giblin, Angus Hollis, Jake Hosie, Jordy Langdon, James McDonald, Max Owen, Brock Rae, Tim Rankin, Declan Robinson, Indy Rae, Dale Sinclair, Jordy Rae, Jarome Speed, Matty Turner, Bailey Stevens, Dylan Wilsher, Jett Speed and Leigh Van Ginnekin.

 While the interstate drivers include Dylan Beveridge, Luca Bussa, Kinser Claridge, Brodie Davis, Dakota Gay, Parker Johnson, Jac Laneyrie, Jordan Mansell, Blake Matthews and Josh Munn.

F500 fans will recognise many of the names on the nomination list, both as regulars on the trail and also several second-generation drivers, of course we see quite a few junior sedan drivers moving into the class upon attaining senior status.

Formula 500 racing has proved to be a great training ground for those interested in moving up into the sprint car ranks and many of today’s sprint car stars started out in the F500’s.

The class always provides close, fast and action-packed racing, and with the recently revamped surface, we can expect to see some record times during the night.

Hamilton’s program will also include racing for super sedans and the drivers list is headed by current Victorian and South Australian Champion, Mick Nicola Jnr, along with Lucas Roberts, Darren Giacometti, Dave McKenzie, Jamie Collins, Ben Falkhead, Lionel West and Brock Atkins who make up the Victorian group in the field.

 Kym Jury, Paul Blenkiron, Kym Leysen (South Australia) and Andrew White (New South Wales) are all from interstate.        There are some very talented drivers amongst the field, and we should see plenty of action, while local fans will be keeping an eye on Hamilton’s Brock Atkins, who recently debuted his sedan at Moama with mixed success.

 Standard saloon racing will make up the rest of what should be a very busy program, however the Demolition Derby which was also programmed for the night has been postponed due to the problems rising from the COVID restrictions, however more information on this will be available at a later date.

All Drivers, Pit Crew, Officials and Public must be double vaccinated and observe all Public Health Directives.

Tickets are available online through the Western Speedway website, and a limited number of tickets are also available at the gate.

Racing on Wednesday night will commence at 5pm with the Public Gates opening at 3pm and Scrutineering from 1pm.