Super stock racing to us is door slammer racing. Impalas, Max Wedge Mopars, Thunderbolts, and all of the other cars that make up the class turn our crank. The racing is competitive, the cars are gorgeous, and the action goes from surgical precision and textbook perfection to wheels up, shifter-breaking fun. But New Zealanders have a different take on the term. There, Superstock racing….well, it makes us think of a lot of things. The guarded wheels make us think of go-karts, the dirt track makes us think of Modifieds, and the action makes us think of a bunch of unbalanced, angry, and potentially intoxicated demo derby drivers having a free-for-all on the track. As far as we can tell, the PIT maneuver isn’t a suggestion, it is a mandatory maneuver! At any dirt track race you can expect to see a little bumping, but these guys are going for anger management therapy-levels of attack. It almost makes me think of a roller derby.
For any of our Kiwi readers…can you explain to us what the living hell is actually going on here? Because this is awesome!
The Superstock Teams racing here is the New Zealand Superstock Teams Championship held at Palmerston North Speedway every February. 12 teams from 11 different Speedway tracks face off against each other over 2 nights. 4 Cars from each team face off on track .Each team has 5 cars and 6 drivers. The first night teams run for points 100 for 1st place in each heat then a total of 95 issued to the next 5 cars . 4 groups with 3 teams so each team gets 2 races to score the most points with the winner of each group facing off on the second night in semi final races. Teams use runners and blockers to get their team through . The second night is first across the line wins ; With 1500 kg v8 powered machines the action is fast and spectacular : Check out more action on my youtube channel : Petrolfumes
The reason for the extra car and the spare driver is for tactics and spares for damage. Five cars go out on track (if possible), but only four from each team face the starter. The spare driver is used when one of the other drivers is injured and can’t race, but their car can (most commonly broken bones or concussion).
This meeting draws over 15 000 fans per night making it it biggest speedway event in New Zealand
Thought you might get a kick out of these.
For these guys, the wall isn’t a ticket to hospital (or worse), it is an integral part of race strategy. Put the opposition into it, or up it, or use it to roll them over. There are some moves which are forbidden (mostly), but not many. The race is stopped to remove cars which are parked dangerously (or upside down), but no orange flags for these guys. So it isn’t completely insane – just mostly.
And like sprint cars and modifieds, the engines are solidly mounted (probably more so). The class has been running in NZ for decades, getting faster and harder.
There has been a local campaign to get the Nitro Circus guys to come down and give it a crack (maybe for teams champs with the Great Britain team), would be a great introduction to the US fans for the sport.