Day two of the split-venue summer speed weekend moved to Smeatharpe Stadium for the Saloon Stock Car National Championship and BriSCA Formula Two Stock Car World Championship qualifying round. Stock Rods and Back 2 Basics Bangers completed a busy programme.

Saloon Stock Cars

With 31 cars surviving the previous afternoon’s qualifying heats at St Day, the last-chance qualifier was dispensed with. Instead, the 11 non-qualifiers lined up in graded order at the rear of the grid for the National Championship final. The wet track began to dry during the pre-race parade before the grid was formed with East Anglian 329 Kegan Sampson on pole position, the only non-southwest driver in the top five. Two qualifying heat wins put 314 Bryn Finch alongside Sampson, with 202 Cody Bradford and 577 Harry Darby on row three, and pre-race favourite 720 Archie Brown and 177 Chris Masters on row three. On what was now only a damp track, Sampson converted pole into the lead, while Bradford and Brown also made the most of the inside line to move into second and third. Amid typically chaotic action in the pack, the top three immediately hit backmarking traffic and began trading places. Brown pushed Bradford wide to take the lead before yellow flags were called after 28 Ian Govier inexplicably opted to exit his parked car. That closed up the field and potentially brought more cars back into contention, but it also handed Brown a clear track in which to set some unhindered quick laps. That’s exactly what he did as the rest battled in his wake and 618 Stuart Shevill Jr and 277 Jack Grandon came through into second and third. Shevill began closing the gap as the laps wound down and, when backmarker 238 Alfie Aldous latched onto Brown’s tail, it looked like there could be a late twist. But Aldous wasn’t out to cause trouble and Shevill simply ran out of laps. Brown could not be caught as he added the National title to his World, European and British crowns. Having previously won the English, he now needs only the silver roof to complete the set of all the formula’s biggest titles – and he only turns 20 in July! The teenager admitted, however, that “…one more lap and he [Shevill] would have done it”, such was Shevill’s pace on the dry track. Just like in the World, Shevill had to be satisfied with second, with Grandon third. Outgoing champion 389 Ryan Santry drove an impressive race from last on the grid to make fourth, ahead of Harry Darby and 661 Graeme Shevill. Boasting a £500 first prize, the Chapel Garage Memorial Trophy meeting final required a complete restart after 799 Joe Powell was planted into the wall on the pit bend as the innocent bystander when 341 Austen Freestone buried Bradford. At the second attempt, Freestone was quickly into the lead from his advantageous yellow-grade starting position, before being passed by 370 Rowan Venni. But Sampson had also made a rapid start and overtook them both for the lead. 670 Ross Watters, another driver operating from an untypically low grade – in his case blue – was also running well and looked set to challenge before appearing to slow in the closing stages. Sampson took the win and the fabulous trophy which accompanied the bonus prize fund, while Watters held on to second ahead of Freestone. The Shevill brothers led the stars in fourth and fifth. Freestone did manage to secure a win, when he led home Sampson and 902 Junior Buster in the Allcomers.

BriSCA F2 Stock Cars

A 59-car turnout was split into three heats. 618 Ben Lockwood and 461 Tom Davison came through from the blue grade to first and second in the opener. Star man 127 Matt Stoneman had reached third before silver top 183 Charlie Guinchard and Scottish visitor 674 Steven Burgoyne demoted him in the last couple of laps. In-form white top 206 Matt Brewer cruised to a dominant win in heat two. The previous day’s St Day final winner 12 Craig Driscoll also continued his strong form; he shoved 605 Richard Andrews past 543 Connor Blake into second and then took the place himself. Andrews’ attempted retaliation only succeeded in spinning himself out. Driscoll then traded blows with 390 Jessica Smith and 578 Mark Gibbs, eventually reclaiming second by shoving Gibbs wide on the final bend. National Points Series contender 213 Tom Bennett snatched the final qualifying place from 980 Charlie Lobb on the last bend. Having traded he early lead of heat three with fellow white-top 771 Alan Morrison Jr, 53 Phil Mann lost out to 468 Sam Weston around half-distance but held second until the closing stages when 463 Liam McGill and 355 Aidan Grindey came through. McGill ran wide so Grindey grabbed second behind Weston, with 1 Luke Wrench also getting the better of McGill on the final bend. 931 Rebecca Smith won the consolation by a quarter of a lap from new British Champion 667 Tommy Farrell, who was the only one of six star-graders to make the cut. A 32-car final made for a busy track and some fast and furious action as the race was completed without a stoppage. 881 Jamie Ward-Scott led until just after half-distance when Rebecca Smith took over and raced to another comfortable victory, her first final win at the track, earning herself the A1 Windows & Doors Trophy and a return to the blue grade. Guinchard and Grindey were early casualties among the superstars, each came under fire from 83 Sy Harraway. Most of the other star men only managed to reach the fringes of the top 10 before a last-lap pile-up further shook them up and left Burgoyne with plenty of damage. Lockwood and Brewer crossed the line in second and third, only to fall foul of post-race suspension safety checks. That promoted Weston and Davison into the top three, ahead of Andrews and 7 Gordon Moodie, who was the leading red-top. An amazing 40 cars took to the track for the Grand National, and even more incredible was that it ran flag to flag with no stoppages. Andrews passed Brewer for the lead shortly before half-distance and built a healthy margin to his pursuers before hitting troubling on the home straight with five laps to go. Gibbs took over, but was pushed wide by McGill with Guinchard then moving into second. The silver top bided his time before snatching victory on the final lap from McGill and Gibbs. Andrews crossed the line fourth but was docked to sixth behind Lockwood and 926 Josh Wilson.

Stock Rods

Twenty-six Stock Rods were each programmed to race two from three heats. A heavy shower before the first made for very tricky conditions but young gun 913 Ben Faulconbridge showed his class on the outside line to win by nearly half a lap from 909 Justin Washer and debutant 891 Martyn Cleave. 131 Stephen Cock escaped to a comfortable win in heat two. Washer looked set for second again until his engine blew on the back straight of the last lap. A quick call on the drivers’ raceivers prevented too many getting caught out on Washer’s oil spillage but 914 Callum Faulconbridge seized the opportunity to snatch second with 944 Callum Hosie third. Heat three was enlivened by a spat between 73 Terry Gallagher and 103 Chris Horwell which began when Horwell was tipped into a spin as he passed a slowing Gallagher and was collected head on by Cock. While Cock’s steaming car was forced out, Horwell took the restart and treated Gallagher to a trip into the wall, duly ending the day early for both drivers to neatly sum up the folly of their misbehaviour. 204 Georgie Polley was the leader and there she stayed as the rest tried to find a way past 254 Kurt Selway. 275 Jeremy Hatch eventually managed it and immediately closed up to the 204 car, but Polley held on to win. The final was a hugely entertaining contest, as the much-improved 287 Mark Hatch held the lead despite a barrage of pressure behind him which saw Cleave collect damage when attempting an ambitious inside line pass of Polley on the back straight. Eventually, Polley found a way past Hatch to make it to the front, yet just when 728 Kris Woods gallantly looked for an outside line manoeuvre, he was run wide by the pack, and it was Hosie and 835 Matt Westaway who filled second and third behind double race winner Polley.

Back 2 Basics Bangers

A reasonable field of more than 20 Back 2 Basics Bangers made for some lively racing. 562 Jayden James won the opener by spinning 104 Matt Horwell as they exited the final bend. Heat two was stopped after 493 Mark Powell required assistance having been at the front of a train that piled into the Honiton bend wall. As the race was being halted, 31 Liam Shipway and Horwell indulged in some out-of-order exchanges. At the scene of the crash, Powell received expert attention from the track staff who cut him out of his car and while the Devon Air Ambulance helicopter attended its assistance was ultimately not needed. With only nine cars taking the restart, 460 Ed Reynolds passed 459 Mitch Brooks for victory. The final brought Reynolds another win, as he led home 198 Owen Nichol and Brooks. The Destruction Derby ended the afternoon and 462 Nico James battered the game 908 David Brown into submission to secure the win.