Wade Aunger
MURRAY Bridge Sprintcar throttle smasher Ryan Jones knows only too well that the Clay-Per-View Sprintcar Speedweek is special.
He knows for many reasons.
Only the first one is the making laps part though.
“I think Speedweek is cool this year in particular because it’s at least a gradual step towards some kind of normality,” Jones said.
“It’s not quite World Series yet but it’s a big move back towards it.
“Just the idea of racing those four nights in a week at those four places with a bit of the razzamatazz attached back to it makes the whole deal significant in itself.”
Jones has come close to a Speedweek round victory.
“I ran second to Kerry Madsen with Jason Johnson coming in third behind us,” Jones said.
“Jason led, I was running second but Kerry got by us both then Jason had a moment and wound up back in third.
“It was at Murray Bridge so that made it really special for me.”
Coming into this year’s CPV Sprintcar Speedweek which kicks off in a week’s time, Jones is, like many teams in the southern states of Australia, a touch underdone in terms of racing laps.
Hoping to turn that into a bonus rather than a disadvantage, the eternal optimist will wheel the Murray Machining and Sheds Darryl and Valma Wright owned Triple X with vigour come December 26.
Still with PM Race Engines mumbo and still as enthusiastic and aggressive as a teenager, Jones has been in the Sprintcar caper for 17 years, having started when he was 21 years old.
A multiple Australian 360ci champion, he remains an absolute wild card in every sense of the word in every event he enters.
Jones will add significant firepower to the www.clayperview.com Sprintcar Speedweek when it starts at his home track, Murray Bridge Speedway, next Monday night.
Speedweek dates: December 26, Murray Bridge Speedway; December 28, Borderline Speedway, Mount Gambier; December 30, Avalon Raceway, Lara; January 1, 2023, Premier Speedway, Warrnambool.
All four nights of Sprintcars Speedweek will be live streamed through Clay Per View.
