Western Springs racer Carl Wilson was the surprise winner of the New Zealand sprint car championship, held at Baypark in Mt Maunganui on January 5, 2008.

            Wilson had already shown improved form at Western Springs in the early part of the season, thanks, he says, to a new maintenance programme that has made “a big difference” in his 2006 J&J car’s reliability, and thanks also to his new engine builder, KRE engines in Australia.

            “The car has been more drivable this year,” he said. “Plus I’ve had the same crew for nine years, and over that time we’ve taught ourselves more and more about the car—we’ve been learning all along.”

            Wilson won his qualifying heat at Baypark, which got him into the dash. The grid for the dash was inverted, which put Wilson on the front row. He’s not usually a fan of the inversion system, but concedes he benefited from it this time. “After all the bad luck I’ve had,” he said, referring in part to Tommy Rusher’s spectacular crash into Wilson when he was leading the Western Springs Sprint Car Classic on Boxing Day, “it was nice to have some good luck with the inversion.”

He won the dash, taking pole position for the 30-lap feature. After the green flag dropped in the big race, Wilson soon fell back to third place. But on lap 15 he managed to make his way back to the front, and held on to the lead until the end, finishing ahead of Kerry Jones, Phil Game (back on track for a few weeks while he tries to sell his old car) and Greg Pickerill.

            “We paced ourselves, while I think the other guys burned their tyres out,” Wilson said.

            Ironically, his successful race strategy wasn’t meant to win him the race.  His goal this season has been just to finish each race.

“All the championships I’ve done, I’ve never finished one,” he said. “I’ve always had a crash or a breakdown. My goal at Baypark was just to finish, and the first time I finished, I won.”

            He has no doubt that the improved maintenance programme played a big role in his win. But he also credits Matthew Black, a friend who works with V8 Supercars in Australia. “Matthew’s advice made a big difference, he knows a lot about how to win races.”

            Wilson had set himself a goal at the start of the season of finishing every feature at Western Springs. He’s missed out on that, but now, he admits, he’d like to see some decent finishes in the remaining races.

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