Carnage during a Beachlands event in 2021. PHOTO: ODT FILES
The national championships are being held at the Dunedin track for the first time this weekend and have attracted a healthy 47 entries, from as far away as Auckland, to the track.
After a practice run last night, the saloon competition for custom-built race cars gets under way tonight and tomorrow to crown the new national champion.
Beachlands president Matt Stewart is excited to bring the competition to Dunedin and said it was credit for a local crew who had paved the way for saloon racing.
``We've got a few guys in the grade that have been campaigning this grade for a very long time,'' Stewart said.
``To be able to see them get a chance to race in it before they retire from the sport is probably the coolest thing.''
Among the local crew are Mark Newell, one of the main men campaigning for saloons from the start, Aaron Andrews, ``he's going really well, he's in for a shot'', and Travis Smith.
National champion Jarred Fletcher, of Hamilton, is one of the big names to watch.
He will be hunting his third consecutive national title.
Motorsport enthusiast Steve Williams, the former caddy for golfer Tiger Woods, is ranked third in New Zealand and is making the trip south.
Multiple national champion Christ Cowling is also making the trip from Tauranga.
Cowling raced at Beachlands last year when Dunedin hosted the New Zealand super saloon championships and won the competition, so he knew the track well, Stewart said.
