By Speedway Sedans Australia
Tasmanian Steven Harvey sits atop the points standings after night one of the MJS Tree & Stump 2026 SSA National Street Stock Title at the Murray Bridge Speedway.
Having claimed two wins and a third, Harvey has 95 points to be the overnight points leader ahead of Western Australian (and former Tasmanian) Matt Hammond and Darren Brumfield who are tied on 92 points after each scoring a win and two seconds.
Defending Champion Nathan Thorne is fourth on points with 89, tied with Mitch Viney, on a night that was tough for many.
Heat One saw Paul Briggs lead early but he spun in front of the field on the second lap to bring out the yellows. The restart saw a couple of cars together to bring out the cautions again, but with Jake Koivumaki inheriting the lead after Briggs’ demise, he never looked back, going on to take the win from Brodie Ardley and Mick Clark.
The second race was similar to the first, a front running car spinning and cars going everywhere in avoidance to bring out the cautions with one complete. Veteran Carey Weston held the lead and was just able to avoid lapped traffic that was going everywhere to hold off Dean Jenkins and River Paterson.
Cars went four wide at the start of heat three with Shane Roycroft emerging as the leader and despite a stoppage with three laps remaining, he held on to win from Andy Maxwell Jnr and Nick Chrystie.
Best Presented winner Craig Clayton led for the majority of heat four before Sam Brumfield edged past, going on to cross the line first ahead of Clayton and Aaron Tyler.
The fifth heat was a throwback to the opening two when race leader Braiden Russell spun after two laps to bring out the yellows. Quickest in practice last night Matt Hammond inherited the lead and never looked back going on to defeat Cody Avins and Morris Ahearn.
Cars went everywhere in heat six but despite a bit of contact and some kissing of the wall, all continued with Grant Harris out in front. A restart at the halfway point for a stranded Mark Miles and Grant Harris bunched the field up once again, with Heath Thorne making the most of chaos to pass a pile of cars and claim the win from Nathan Russell and Nigel Reichstein.
Jaiden Santin led from the front in heat seven but it only lasted two laps before he headed infield after losing a wheel and bought out the yellow lights. Steven Harvey made the most of his opportunity at the front to race away and take the win from Steven Hartner and Rhys Meakins who came from position ten.
A seven car pileup saw the eighth heat pulled under yellows before a lap was complete. Phil Watson led away, with pressure from Drew Flatman and Patrick Hall until Hall spun with four complete to bring out the cautions again. Flatman used the highline on the restart and was able to just get by for the lead before the yellows came on for his father Darren spinning, negating the move and bunching the field up once again. Try as he might, Flatman couldn’t get back by Watson and with Craig Buchanan arriving on the scene it became all about defence, Watson defeating Drew Flatman and Buchanan.
The penultimate heat of the opening round was an elbows out affair, cars bouncing off each other every corner and it only took two laps for it to all come undone. Jason Gantz led away the restart, but it didn’t take long for Darren Brumfield to take over the point, racing away and taking the win over Lucas Dickenson who stole second on the final lap from Gantz.
It was a similar story in heat ten, a pile of stoppages in the opening laps that saw multiple cars involved multiple times. Through it all Zac Walters held strong at the front until the final lap when Jack Yates, who had started from tenth, ducked by to steal the win, with Kye Richardson third.
Round two kicked off with Mick Hamon leading heat eleven, but a moment that saw him crunch the turn four wall cost him the lead to Miller Throckmorton. A restart gave Hamon the opportunity to get back by for the lead, and another one that set up a green, white, chequer finish saw him lose it when Andy Maxwell Jnr slid through in the final corner for the win, Hamon second and Throckmorton third.
Heat twelve was an all the way win for Matt Nelson, but he had to fight for it, firstly with Morris Ahearn challenging him before he slowed in the dying stages and then from Matt Hammond who was charging forward from seventh to finish second, with River Paterson third.
Bradley Hill made the most of his front row start in the thirteenth heat of the night to claim the win in a green to chequer race, just holding off Nathan Barbeler in a desperate charge to the line that saw him crunch the wall heavily but hold on by 0.103 seconds, with Barbeler second and Kane Lloyd third.
Defending National Champion Nathan Thorne may have started off the second row but it took less than half a lap for him to race into the lead. Thorne pulled away again after an early restart and went on to defeat Jaiden Santin who had been in a three-way battle with Steven Watts and Dale Morrison, Santin getting by for second on the line over Watts.
Heat fifteen marked the halfway point of the opening night heats, with Nathan Russell shooting away from his front row starting position, surviving an early restart and then maintaining the lead after a battle with Rhys Meakins that saw them both crunching the fence before Meakins spun, to take the win. He would defeat Nathan Thorne and Steven Harvey.
Cars went four and five wide throughout the entirety of the first two laps in heat sixteen, but it was Steven Gartner who emerged at the front. Drew Flatman would chase him down by the halfway point, but Gartner was equal to the challenge, taking the win from Flatman and Darren Brumfield. However, he was then disqualified for failing to attend post race checks.
Jayden Blomeley was desperate to make up for finishing his opening heat on the tow truck, and he certainly made it work for him, grabbing the lead on lap four. He came under significant pressure from Mitch Viney and Brad Warren, but a restart lined them up single file. Blomeley got away but over the final few laps Viney closed the gap and as they approached the finish line, they were side by side, Viney getting the nod by just 0.038 seconds on the line, with Warren third.
Jensen Wilson was quickest off the mark in heat eighteen, moving from fourth to the lead quickly. With two complete the yellows were out, with Jack Yates taking the lead on the restart. There was another stoppage a lap later which allowed fellow Territorian Jake Koivumaki into second, and on lap six he dove through for the lead, before a lap later Yates took it back. The two stayed side by side for the remainder of the race, going either side of a lapped car in a tense moment on the final lap with Koivumaki getting the nod as the first dual winner for the weekend. Yates was second while Curtis Brown came third.
Heat nineteen became a war of attrition, a number of cars finishing on the infield. Back on track though the action was hard fought between Harry Auton and Riley Hutchison, just 0.010 seconds between them prior to the yellow lights coming on for Lucas Dickenson who made heavy contact with the turn one wall to set up a two-lap dash to the finish. Hutchison grabbed the lead on lap nine, but Auton got back by on the final lap as did Paul Briggs, with Hutchison finishing third at the finish.
It took four attempts to even get the final heat of the second round underway, but when it finally did, it was Luke Gray who led, never seriously challenged for the lead with Nathan Fawns stealing second from Shane Roycroft in the dying stages.
Rhys Meakins was a from the front leader in heat twenty-one to kick off the third round of racing, with Brodie Ardley and River Paterson battling for second for much of the race. Unfortunately for Meakins a shredded tyre with four laps to go saw him infield, with the Ardley Paterson battle now for the lead, Ardley going on to claim the win.
Heat twenty-two was all about Nathan Thorne, going on to claim his second win for the night despite heavy pressure the entire way from Matt Nelson. Nathan Russell held on for third after a good battle with Cody Avins.
Jayden Blomeley’s upward trend continued in heat twenty-three leading the opening laps, while in stark contrast Mark Jennings weekend went from bad to worse, after suffering damage in his opening two heats before going high in turn three, riding the wall and rolling over. Seven cars remained after the stoppage and they put on a show, the three-car battle behind Blomeley nearly ending in tears, but resulting in in another green, white, chequer restart. For the second time in a row, Blomeley lost the lead on the final lap, Steven Harvey stealing the lead on the line as Blomeley clobbered the wall, with Dale Morrison third.
Mitch Viney started from pole in heat twenty-four and never looked like being caught, racing away to claim a dominant win over Brad Warren, while Anthony Buchanan inherited third as Jake Koivumaki, who was running third, slowed in the dying stages.
Mick Clark didn’t take long to take the lead in heat twenty-five after starting in position eight. Despite numerous stoppages he held strong, defeating Zack Yeoman and Wayne Kirley. However, he was then disqualified for failing to attend post-race checks.
Heat twenty-six was completed one lap at a time, Cameron Merrett was lucky not to be collected when he spun early, Ricky Ahearn did the same a lap later, then a four-car crash bought the yellows out with three laps complete. With three laps to go the yellows were out again, but through it all Riley Hutchison maintained his lead, defeating Darren Brumfield and Shane Roycroft.
It was another elbows out affair in heat twenty-seven as damage took its toll on man and machine, but after ten laps were completed, it was Harry Auton who claimed the win from Nick Chrystie and Darren Forrest.
Morris Ahearn led the field in heat twenty-eight, but he certainly didn’t have it all his own way with plenty of battles right behind him. With a couple of laps to go Mick Hamon and Matt Hammond were applying the pressure but Ahearn held strong to claim the win.
Like his son earlier, Travis Hutchison led the penultimate heat through a pile of restarts, surviving a green, white, chequer finish to claim the win from Miller Throckmorton and Lenny Bates.
The final heat of the opening night saw Jaiden Santin lose his second tyre for the night, bringing out the yellows with seven complete. Steven Watts was leading Kane Lloyd and Heath Thorne at the time, and this would remain the status quo for the next two laps until Lloyd spun in sight of the chequer, making the second race in a row that went to eleven laps, with Thorne sent to the rear on the restart. Watts kept the lead despite the best efforts of Lloyd, who was passed momentarily by Aaron Tyler only for him to spin, Lloyd racing back by and taking second with Nathan Barbeler stealing third.
Racing begins again tomorrow, with the final round of heats prior to the C, B and A Main events.
POINTS AFTER NIGHT ONE
1. T4 Steven Harvey 95
2. W4 Matt Hammond 92
3. S91 Darren Brumfield 92
4. S52 Nathan Thorne 89
5. VA23 Mitch Viney 89
6. T23 Nathan Russell 87
7. T29 Harry Auton 85
8. V82 Shane Roycroft 82
9. S112 Drew Flatman 81
10. S44 Heath Thorne 81
11. NT11 Jake Koivumaki 78
12. S132 Andy Maxwell Jnr 77
13. V47 River Paterson 74
14. NT17 Jack Yates 72
15. VA55 Brad Warren 68
16. Q82 Nathan Barbeler 68
17. NT31 Kane Lloyd 68
18. V61 Matt Nelson 67
19. S4 Morris Ahearn 65
20. VB4 Brodie Ardley 65
21. Q2 Riley Hutchison 64
22. V55 Steven Watts 63
23. W7 Michael Hamon 62
24. V62 Jayden Blomeley 60
25. V9 Bradley Hill 59
26. W35 Craig Clayton 58
27. V18 Miller Throckmorton 57
28. S14 Nigel Reichstein 56
29. V25 Nick Chrystie 56
30. W31 Cody Avins 55
31. V96 Hayden Glare 54
32. S19 Phil Watson 54
33. S5 Sam Brumfield 54
34. VA4 Dean Jenkins 54
35. V13 Dale Morrison 53
36. S49 Aaron Tyler 53
37. Q28 Luke Gray 52
38. V87 Nathan Fawns 49
39. Q7 Travis Hutchison 48
40. S119 Zac Walters 48
41. S17 Carey Weston 48
42. V88 Jensen Wilson 47
43. V41 Darren Forrest 46
44. S43 Jason Gantz 46
45. S32 Steven Gartner 45
46. V48 Mick Clark 45
47. T21 Lucas Dickenson 44
48. W12 Paul Briggs 44
49. V44 Zack Yeoman 44
50. S72 Kye Richardson 44
51. S51 Riley Greig 41
52. V94 Tyler Barton 40
53. S7 Craig Buchanan 40
54. S6 Grant Harris 40
55. S81 Wayne Kirley 40
56. S24 Curtis Brown 39
57. S34 Mark Merrett 38
58. S2 Anthony Buchanan 37
59. S33 Bryan Brown 35
60. N17 Jaiden Santin 34
61. W74 Lenny Bates 34
62. S94 Patrick Hall 34
63. V22 Ricky Ahearn 33
64. V93 Mathew Bishop 33
65. VA85 Rhys Meakins 32
66. T90 Blake Campbell 31
67. S97 Nick Hill 30
68. W88 Peter Dowie 29
69. V0 Mick Dann 29
70. S85 Thomas Claxton 29
71. V4 Jack Jordan 27
72. V11 Leigh Gooding 27
73. NT92 Lucas Fry 26
74. V39 Justin Cadman 26
75. S28 Jarryd Farrell 26
76. S8 Gerry Shadforth 24
77. NT26 Jayke Budd 23
78. Q94 Peter Thompson 23
79. V15 Ricky Cornwall 22
80. S18 Jason Duell 22
81. V63 Cody Blomeley 22
82. T33 Terri Farrell 22
83. T45 Braiden Russell 21
84. VA38 Scott Purdie 20
85. V38 Josh Davey 20
86. V23 Shaun Henry 20
87. S88 Corey Crafter 20
88. S133 Jackson Brown 19
89. S11 Ben Whitehead 19
90. S75 Cameron Merrett 19
91. V26 Jo-anne Hume 18
92. V12 Mark Miles 17
93. S15 Jarryd Vokes 17
94. S31 Jayden Garner 16
95. S13 Ashley Carver 16
96. V83 Reece Kakoschke 16
97. V85 Michael Hume 16
98. S21 Mark Jennings 16
99. V29 Bailey Kakoschke 14
100. S27 Alex Merrett 14
101. S58 Neville Nitschke 13
102. S12 Darren Flatman 13
103. Q164 John Stoward 13
104. VB85 Aaron Meakins 13
105. S42 Thomas Garner 9
106. V79 Caylem Fell 8
107. S3 Keith Moore 5
108. VA0 Bradley Sheridan 3
PHOTO: Picko’s Photos
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