WARRNAMBOOL SPEEDWAY: ALL EYES ON THE PRIZE: THE CLASSIC

By Thomas Miles (Auto Action)

The stage is set to crown another winner of the iconic Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic at Warrnambool’s Premier Speedway tonight (January 25).

After two nights of racing, it is time for the decider of the 52nd running of the famous race.

Cole Macedo leads the points, but James McFadden and Brock Hallett will share the front row for the 2026 Classics edition.

McFadden is chasing back-to-back wins from pole, while Macedo, Matt Egel, Jock Goodyer, Brad Vaughan, Jy Corbet and Kerry Madsen are the only other confirmed drivers.

The next 72 cars will fight for survival across the heat races leading up to the main event Sunday night.

It all started on Friday with a bang, when Hallett spread “pulled the trigger” with a stunning late charge.

Starting 12th, Hallett put in a mighty drive as his #Q5 came alive in the closing laps, shooting from fifth to first in a defining period from laps 22-25 of the 30-lap A Main.

Egel started from pole and made good use of the inside to retain track position at the opening bend.

However, Egel could not stop Tate Frost from performing a switchback at Turn 3 to lead the first lap.

It sparked an exciting battle as Egel made the defining move by diving down the inside at Turn 1.

With Frost going wide, he had to defend up high against Peter Doukas, but was unsuccessful as the latter went from fourth to second in a clash.

Madsen and Goodyer settled in the top five, while Hickman had right-rear tyre issues after a touch with the wall.

Egel controlled the first 10 laps comfortably, but his advantage was wiped out by Doukas and Madsen as they made up ground amid lapped traffic.

Making good use of the compression were Madsen and Goodyer, who both picked off Doukas on the same lap.

These moves were made moments before the first caution on lap 13 for the spun Callum Williamson.

Williamson had already ensured a tough night after a big crash in the heats.

As a result, Doukas was regifted second and held it as Hallett, Guilford and Dumesny raced like crazy for fifth.

Goodyer was the first of the lead group to make a move, snaring third from Madsen, who soon found himself making wheel-to-wheel contact with Madsen.

A few laps later, Hallett was racing hard with Goodyer and Doukas after the latter climbed the wall briefly.

The #Q5 slid benath both of them to impressively snatch second and was not done there.

Just a lap later he pounced on a mistake from Egel at Turn 3 to steal the lead.

This set up a five-lap showdown for victory as they spent the following three laps side by side for the win.

Hallett made the defining move by soaring around the outside with three to go and completing his stunning charge.

Matthew Symons and Callum Williamson crunch at Premier Speedway. Image: Richard Hathaway

There was late drama as Doukas spun on the penultimate corner, which cost him a top-five finish as he had to settle for 19th.

Egel ended up six-tenths short of Hallett, while Goodyer won an exciting battle for third with Madsen and Guilford.

“This came alive,” Hallett said.

“I knew I had a good one from the start and just had to bide my time.

“The idea was to just get a good transfer spot and I was hanging with the leaders so I thought that caution it was time to pull the trigger

“We have ourselves in a prime spot. But we can still get better and see what we have got for Sunday.”

McFadden’s speed was evident as soon as the green flag was dropped to start the night two feature.

The #A1 fired from the field and bolted clear, leaving Macedo in second, while Jy Corbet, Ian Madsen and Dayne Kingshott were side by side for third.

Corbet won the battle up high, and Kingshott tried to do the same, but found the back straight wall. Fortunately, the impact was not severe enough to do any damage.

McFadden led the way for seven laps, but lost momentum in lapped traffic and found himself ambushed by Macedo as he flew down the inside at Turn 3.

However, McFadden had an emphatic answer and immediately performed the switchback to reclaim track position.

Further back Reutzel and Kingshott were taking turns in fifth.

The race settled down as McFadden used this to his advantage to grow a gap, but this was wiped out by a crashed Randy Morgan on Lap 19.

At the restart Brad Vaughan inserted himself, having flown from outside of the top 10 to sixth.

A lap later he was gifted fourth as the battle between Reutzel and Madsen saw the latter whack the wall and provide an open path for the Supercars driver.

Madsen’s night was effectively over then as the contact was hard enough to see him crawl to a halt two laps later and spark the yellows.

Vaughan was the first to utilise the low line after the restart and it helped him steal third from Corbet.

With four to go Corbet hit back, but his challenge on the outside was short-lived.

Up ahead no one could compete with the speed of McFadden as he enjoyed an unchallenged run to victory by a full second.

Vaughan was one of the stars of the show shooting to third ahead of Corbet and Kingshott.

“Buzzy and the boys did a really good job,” McFadden said.

“The top has been treacherous for me the last few times I have been here.

“But I felt really smooth and comfortable but still had a few moments. Its so hard to run up there with a few patch spots, especially with lapped cars.

“We didn’t change anything after qualifying so we have found something we are comfortable with.

“I messed one (Lapped car up), which allowed Cole to get the run and throw a slider, but we were decent enough to go underneath him.”

The stage is now set for the deciding race tonight at Premier Speedway.

Gates open at 14.00 with racing from 17.30 while the action is broadcast on Clay Per View.