MATT Egel has claimed his first $10,000 cheque of the World Series Sprintcars Title race after a Round 4 victory at Avalon Raceway on Saturday night.
Egel earned pole position in the A-Main after an impressive shootout performance, which saw him progress through the ranks to eventually earn pole position in the feature race.
He then maintained his place at the front of the pack throughout the A-Main, crossing the line in first position.
Egel was closely followed by Kerry Madsen who was vying for his third win from four rounds, along with the in form James McFadden.
Steven Lines finished up in fourth – after starting fifth on the grid – while Jamie Veal came from seventh to cross the line in fifth.
Despite qualifying fourth, Brad Keller was unable to hold his ground, finishing his night in sixth place.
In the heat races, Egel slowly but surely moved his way through the pack, with Heat 4 seeing him in fifth after starting in eighth on the grid.
In Heat 8 he moved his way up from seventh to another fifth-place finish.
However, it was in the shootout where the South Australian driver proved himself worthy of pole position, as he won the bronze, silver and then gold pole shootouts.
Mount Gambier’s Glen Sutherland did not have the night he would have hoped for, after his night was cut short with a 15th place finish in the B-Main.
Starting in fourth for Heat 1, Sutherland dropped to seventh by the end of the race.
Heat 5 also saw him lose ground, as he fell from third to fourth, before qualifying 12th on the grid in the B-Main event.
The chequered flag saw Sutherland drop three positions throughout the race, with the number 20 crossing the line in 15th.
Mount Gambier driver Jake Tranter also had a night to forget, as he failed to finish either of his heat races, after starting in third and fourth on the grid in Heat 3 and 8 respectively.
The winner for the B-Main event was Brock Hallett, who held onto his pole position to take home the honours, while Victoria’s Brayden Parr drove well to finish second after qualifying fifth on the grid.
In the C-Main it was third-place starter Brett Milburn who took the win from Jack Lee and James Inglis who began their races in second and first respectively.
Consistent performances from McFadden saw him lead the World Series Sprintcars Title before last night’s round at Warrnambool’s Sungold Stadium.
Both Madsen and Egel are well in contention for the title as well, with their recent results showing they have what it takes to go all the way.
Ryan Jones held onto fourth before last night’s racing, while Lines was fifth in the standings.
However, with only a couple of hundred points separating the top drivers, it would only take one good or bad race meeting to turn the season on its head.
Results:
A-Main: Matt Egel S97; Kerry Madsen A1; James McFadden W17; Steven Lines NQ3; Jamie Veal W2; Brad Keller S19; Carson Macedo N99; Corey McCullagh V90; Luke Dillon S81; Daniel Pestka S27; Dominic Scelzi USA97; David Murcott V88; Ryan Jones S63; Brayden Parr V77; Peter Doukas V98; Jordyn Charge V60; Keke Falland S78; Taylor Milling W25.
World Series Sprintcars Title top 10 (after Round 4): James McFadden 1172 points; Kerry Madsen 1129; Matt Egel 1038; Ryan Jones 944; Steven Lines 881; Jason Johnson 878; Luke Dillon 868; Carson Macedo 861; Brad Keller 832; Jamie Veal 805.
