A fitting finale at Charlton Raceway for Macdonald
Sunday April 1, 2007

The final chapter in Sprint Sedans at Charlton Raceway has been closed, with Nathan Macdonald fulfilling his only wish, to win the final race for Sprint Sedans at Charlton Raceway.  Macdonald didn't have it easy though, having to come from 8th position in the final after not finishing one heat after an axle broke.  

Heat one proved to be an ideal track with some good grip.  Nathan started from position 6 and made a move on the outside right against the wall and moved into 3rd place in the first turn behind Stewart Fricker.  Fricker spun the car in the next turn in front of Macdonald.  Macdonald had nowhere to go and hit Fricker in the left rear wheel. which put him out for the rest of the night.  A compete restart saw Nathan back into position 6. 

Once again Macdonald made the most of his opportunity and ran the high line around several cars and was 2nd by the end of the first turn behind Darran Lester (who was driving Terry Medcalf's car).  Macdonald was all over the back of Lester when another caution period was brought on.  Another restart saw a single file complete restart, Macdonald starting out of position four.  As the lights went green Martin Cross drove underneath Macdonald, as Macdonald fought back around the outside in turn 3 & 4, Cross drove back up the inside in what was a brilliant dice for 4th place.  Darran Ciesolka then spun as Macdonald narrowly missed him. 

A restart saw Darran Lester out in front, with Cross in 2nd and Macdonald 3rd.  As they rolled around cross slowed dramatically just as they were about to receive the green flag, Macdonald quickly darted around Cross who had ignition problems, by this stage Lester had a good headstart.  With only 2 laps to go Macdonald would close in on Lester but Macdonald crossed the line in 2nd with Shane Hollyman 3rd.

Heat two saw Macdonald start from position 6 again.  Nathan moved into 5th place as he chased the back of Shane Hollyman's car.  Hollyman pushed wide in turn 2 which saw Macdonald dive underneath and into 4th, while the next turn saw Peter Rogers have same fete with Macdonald claiming 3rd.  Nathan surged ahead as he come into the next turn with all four wheels planted on the ground with maximum grip, however Macdonald spun at full noise as the left rear wheel had come adrift from the car, Macdonald facing the wrong way as Peter Rogers come around with no time to do anything.  Macdonald said "All I could see was Pete (Rogers) coming straight for us, I thought he was going to hit us head on!"   Full credit to Pete who did his best but just clipped Macdonald in the right rear, which left Macdonald's car almost unscathed, but ripping Rogers' right side door skin off.  The team later discovered a broken left rear axle was the cause on Macdonald's car.  Peter Gray went on to win the heat with Martin Cross in 2nd and Peter Rogers 3rd.

The car was towed back in the pits, as we assessed the damage, we had a spare axle but it was 3mm too long, so we had to pull it back out and shorten it slightly.  The incident also smashed the brake rotor, something which we did not have.  Nathan would like to thank Rodney Pammenter who drove to his place to get a spare rotor so Nathan could make it back out for the feature in time.

Come feature time the Mac1 Designs Commodore was all set and ready to rumble again.  Macdonald would have to start out of 8th place in the feature and had his work cut out for him if he was going to advance through the field.  The track had gone slick with a few ruts in the turns, which suits Macdonald's car ideally.  As the race got underway Nathan went straight around the outside of Bernie Wright in his Centura, As Shane Hollyman and Peter Rogers shared the front row, Hollyman jumped into the lead but as luck would have it Hollyman broke his right rear axle, which saw Peter Rogers having nowhere to go and slamming into the side of Hollyman.  Rogers was forced to retire with a flat tyre.  A restart saw everyone move up on the grid with Darran Lester on pole and Martin Cross on the outside.  Macdonald would start in position 6.  The feature got underway again as Nathan settled into his groove and went up the inside of Darran Ciesolka and Bernie Wright in turn 1.  Macdonald then stormed around the outside of Martin Cross and Peter Gray on the next lap, only to have the yellow lights brought on after another incident.  A restart saw Darran Lester out in front with Martin Cross in 2, followed by Peter Gray and Nathan Macdonald. 

Nathan kept on the attack as he slipped past Peter Gray in the first turn, then straight past a spinning Martin Cross up the back straight and into 2nd.  Macdonald now had the race leader in his sights.  Nathan followed Darran Lester for a few laps waiting for the right moment.  Lester had a slight push in turn 4 which saw Macdonald have an excellent run around the turn and drove straight to the lead with two laps remaining.  Lester fought back but wasn't enough as Macdonald crossed the line several car lengths ahead of Lester, while Peter Gray finished in 3rd place.

Macdonald was over the moon as he took the checkered flag around the Charlton circuit for the final time.  "All I wanted to do tonight was win the final race for Sprint Sedans at Charlton, and we did it!"  After jumping out of the car Nathan took a breath and said "that was the best night of racing I have had all season, and the most enjoyable!  I would rather have a race like that than start at the front and lead all the way."  Macdonald had his doubts early in the feature as there were several quick cars were ahead of him.  "I always feel more confident in the car as the night goes on, this car really loves the drier, ruttier tracks" Macdonald said.

Everything happens for a reason, as Nathan was glad the axle broke last night at Charlton and not next week in Mackay, as it could well have broken in Mackay which would have seen Nathan miss a heat up there or even worse pull out of the 50 lap final.

Nathan also won the seasonal point score for the third consecutive year at Charlton.

Nathan will be leaving on Easter Friday to head up to Mackay for the Australian Outlaw Sedan Championships on the 7th & 8th April.  Macdonald is welcoming the competition with in excess of 50 or 60 cars nominated for the event, and is hoping for a repeat success of the North Queensland Title which he won in Mackay late last year.  Stay tuned over the weekend for results which will be posted on the website.

Sprint Sedans
Sprint Sedans have been a club based class at Charlton Raceway for many, many years, which has produced plenty of gifted talent including the likes of current Sprintcar driver and 3 times Australian Modified Production Champion Peter Lack, and now several front running Modified Production drivers Rodney Pammenter, Dennis Bullpitt, Shane Macdonald, Royce Ernst, Shane Langton and Robert Trapp. 

The class was all registered through their own club, The Downs Speedway Club, until a new committee etc was formed and the new name Charlton Raceway.  The Sprint Sedans were told they will be registered through the QSCA due to public liability reasons.  The Sprint Sedans are being killed off due to the QSCA (Queensland Saloon Car Association) apparently saying they cannot register the class any longer, which is a great shame for a great class.