By Jamie McCarthy

Two-time NZ Midget Champion Michael Pickens, in the Don Kay owned ‘Little Rippers / Metalman’ #54 Esslinger powered Breka, won the eighth round of the National Midget Car Series raced over 30-laps at Stratford Speedway on January 17. It was his seventh consecutive Midget feature win in the NCMS this season, with the race lucky to even run because of persistent light drizzle throughout the night. Pickens was also a touch lucky in the end after a last lap clash with a lapped car nearly bought the NMCS point’s leader undone!

32 NMCS Midgets from Auckland, Waikato and Stratford were on hand for the latest round of the $100,000 Samsung/Century Batteries National Midget Car Series.

The first two heats were marred by two huge crashes that claimed many of the top contenders. Graham Standring dominated the first heat, which saw Shayne Alach, Dave Gick, and series contender Wayne Green eliminated in a first lap ‘train wreck’. Standring won from Carl Worboys, Angus McLeod, and Pickens. Worboys started from grid ten, Pickens from grid eight.

The second ‘train wreck’ involved over half the field in the second heat when two local Stratford cars took each other out at the front of the field just after the start. Some of those involved included Michael Kendall, Scott Buckley, Alvin Cobb, Bill Clarkson and new Taranaki Midget Champ Lydia Dickinson. Brad Mosen charged to the front from grid five to win from Lance Beale (grid twelve), and current National Champ Shaun Insley from grid fifteen!

After two torrid heats and some frantic work from the teams in the pits, the drivers calmed down a touch for heats three and four. Pickens won heat three, setting a new Stratford Midget track record on the way of 14.2 seconds to an easy win, ahead of Shaun Insley and Waikato’s Michael Brunt. A notable DNF in this heat was third in the points Carl Worboys, who made contact with another car ending his race.

Lance Beale won the fourth heat, which saw the former two-time National TQ Champ top qualify from the heat races from Pickens and Insley. Impressive local Ricky Paul was second to Beale in the final heat, ahead of Tony Fabish and Shayne Alach.

Alach won the last chance ‘B’ Main from Stratford’s Greg Jones, Scott Buckley, and Wayne Green.

Pickens won the start of the thirty lap feature, followed by the likes of Beale, Insley, Standring, and Mosen. At least five yellow flags saw some of the top series contenders fall by the wayside in various incidents. Among them were Worboys and Beale, who were third and fourth in the NMCS points going into the round, and the unfortunate Shayne Alach, who got upside down for the second time during the night. Another to not finish was Scott Buckley who had charged from grid nineteen to well inside the top ten only to get involved in a couple of late race incidents, ending his night.

Pickens ran away from each of the restarts to control the race lead, running up against the fence at both ends of a racy Stratford Speedway, chased by Insley, and Angus McLeod.

Lapped traffic very nearly played a part in the final outcome when Pickens ran over another cars right rear wheel on the last lap, damaging the front axle on Pickens’ machine. He nearly spun in the final corner, which then saw Shaun Insley try to get a run on the ailing Pickens at the line. Pickens though, held on for the win from Insley, McLeod, and the first local home Duane Hickman. The ever consistent Wayne Green charged to fifth, having started all the way from grid twenty.

Pickens’ win extends his NMCS lead to 261 points, ahead of Brad Mosen on 185 points. Carl Worboys is still third (172 points) ahead of Lance Beale and Shaun Insley who now sit fourth equal on 144 points. The top six is rounded out by Wayne Green on 132 points.

It’s a busy next few weeks coming up for the Midget class with round nine of the NMCS at Kihikihi Speedway on Jan. 24, then the 2009 International Midget World Series at Western Springs starting January 28, where NZ’s best take on the might of the American Midget stars. Pickens will lead the Kiwi Midget Test team, which also includes Brad Mosen, Carl Worboys, Lance Beale, Graham Standring, Shayne Alach, and Shaun Insley.  

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