SEG - Sprintcar Entrants Group

Season Best Finish For Ellement
Posted Wednesday, 27 January 2010 by Fastrax Media

David Ellement grabbed his first podium finish for the season at the Perth Motorplex last Saturday night and in doing so has launched himself into third place in the season long AHG Sprintcar Series Points score.

After changing back to the team�s primary engine during the break, David fell an agonising half a second short of taking the win from rookie Todd Waddell.

The night started for David with a 15.058 lap, giving him the fourth fastest time in qualifying. This meant that David starting from positions 8 and 7 in his two heats. He was able to move forward in both of these heats, finishing 5th and 6th respectively.

The points from these races put David on the front row with Todd Waddell. At the start Waddell got the jump and David moved high. This allowed Troy Lawson to move underneath him. For several laps Troy and David fought out an intense battle, trading slide jobs and enthralling the crowd. Eventually Troy was able to break away from him, which allowed David to explore the track a little more, eventually finding the fast part of the track down low. The car worked much better down there and he was able to catch and pass Lawson and set about chasing down leader Waddell.

As the laps ticked by, the distance between Waddell and David got smaller and smaller, but alas it was too late. David ran out of laps and finished 0.548 seconds behind Waddell in second place.

�We are stoked to have our first podium finish of the season; it was one of our aims at the start of the year and now we have done it! The car was good; I wish I had moved to the low side of the track earlier; maybe then we would have had a better chance at passing Todd. The car was coming on really strong and I was feeling better and better.

The new fitness regime I have begun with my brother (Ben) had really paid dividends. It�s just great to be up here on the podium with two young guns!�

This podium finish continues David�s string of good results; out of eleven A Main races this season, David has finished outside the top ten only twice, one of those being an 11th, the other a DNF at Margaret River. With one more shakedown event at Bunbury next Saturday night (the 30th of January), David is in good stead for the upcoming big races including the two night WSS, Southern Thunder at Collie Speedway, the King of the Wings and the Krikke Boys Shootout.

David would like to once again take this opportunity to thank all his valued sponsors Hagstrom Drilling, Fencing Finesse, Ellement Produce, Design Signs, Watsons Express Transport , DC Ellement Psychological Services, Murphy Racecars, Genesis Shocks and Fastrax Media, as well as all his crew, family and supporters.

With David sitting second in the Perth Motorplex Track Championship points score and third in the AHG Series points (50 points shy of second place and 86 points shy of the leader), he will be looking to consolidate these positions in the next few meetings.

�Just to make and finish the A Mains against the big guns from the East is what we are aiming for, and if we keep going the way we are, that should be an achievable goal!�

Words by Scott Beattie for Fastrax Media.
Photos by Mel Parker for Fastrax Media.