KEY POINTS:
The last time I fronted up at a speedway meeting was in the last century at Rye House Speedway just north of London. And that was a bike meeting.
Over the past couple of years I've made many attempts to get to the Western Springs Speedway before the whinging liberals try and get the place closed down.
Anyone over the age of 80 knew there was a racetrack at Western Springs, so those that bought in the area knew full well there would be events held there.
The thing that really irks me, though, is most of the people who bought in the area could only afford to do so because house prices were that much cheaper than the surrounding suburbs. Now a minority of them want to shut the speedway down under the pretence of noise pollution, when in fact it's about increasing their house value. The two-facedness beggars belief.
If you buy a house near an airport because it's cheap expect some noise, just as you would expect from buying a house near a speedway track. If you don't like noise - don't buy.
It reminds me of a true story. A whole bunch of Johnny-come-latelys laid a complaint with a local authority demanding the closure of an airport. This went on for years until the mayor at the time called a public meeting. All the disgruntled residents who had bought houses knowing there was an airport nearby turned up.
When the mayor stood up, he only had one question to ask, "All those who bought their house, and are still living in it, before 1923 when the airport was built, put their hands up."
Not single hand was raised. He went on to say, "Everyone here knew there was an airport in the neighbourhood before you bought, so it stays, and all submissions for it to be shut down are denied."
Shame Auckland councillors, or the mayor, don't show the same bottle.
Now, on to the racing.
The meeting was the annual International Midget Series final round featuring the much-coveted World Midget 50-lapper. Just getting a chance to line up on the starting grid is a chore. Unlike other longer-distance series, there is no automatic entry into the race.
Drivers have to earn their place in the big race through a series of hot laps and heat races. So just making it through the race programme is fraught with danger, either mechanical or driver error.
I have been fortunate to have attended many types of motorsport events and the car speedway would now be near the top of the list.
I would like to make a suggestion to all those little boy racers in their four-pot screamers pretending to race around the streets of New Zealand. Get to the speedway, join up and learn how to do it properly.
Last Saturday night's event was about as big as it gets in speedway, with some of the best drivers from America going toe-to-toe with the best Kiwi drivers.
Drivers from both sides of the Pacific are legends in the sport and national champions - some many times over.
The likes of Michael Pickens, Brad Mosen, Shaun Insley, Shane Alach and Graham Standring for the Kiwis lined up against some of the best from the US including Jerry Coons Jnr, Dave Darland, Cory Kruseman, Brad Kuban and Davey Rae.
I'll put my hand up and quite happily admit I was at a loss to follow a lot of what was going on regarding qualifying, let alone the other races that happened during the evening. But it was the atmosphere, the packed crowd and ferocious racing that left an impression on me.
There's no mucking about between races and before we knew it the support races had been done and dusted and the cars were coming out for the main event.
The drivers certainly don't hold back when it comes to letting each other know there's a point of contention. At the end of the TQ Midget Grids A Dash race (they've got to do something about the race names, though), two of the drivers were bumping into each other in the infield. This continued for a bit, until a marshal scolded them like a pair of naughty schoolboys.
There were no bunnies in any of the races, with mighty scraps all the way back to last place.
,3,60THE field for the 50 lapper kept rolling out until all 24 cars were on the grid bellowing methanol fumes and flames. The field wound itself almost halfway around the track and at the green flag all hell let loose.
With that many cars on the circuit at the same time, with no quarter given by anyone, the smallest error results in the biggest of crashes. I'm sure the drivers will tell you they're in control of these things, but I'm not too sure. Half the time the bloody front wheels aren't even in contact with the dirt. I've never seen a car wheel-stand before (other than at the drags, of course).
The drivers throw everything into the racing including the kitchen sink, the bath tub and whatever else they can get their hands on. Subsequently it wasn't long before cars were hurtling into the wall or tumbling end over end. At one stage, two cars were flipping down the track side by side with such precision it could have put synchronised swimming to shame.
By lap five or so, six cars were parked in the infield all looking a bit sad, and I thought at this rate there wouldn't be any cars left to finish the race. At just after the halfway mark, half the field had managed to remove itself from contention.
While bedlam was happening behind them, the three at the front - Mosen, Coons Jnr and Alach - were going at it hammer and tongs with absolutely no let up. Some of the passing was amazing to watch. The three at the front carved through the backmarkers like a freight train on steroids. It was more a case of muscling their way through rather than any sort of surgical precision.
Forty-nine-and-a-half laps later it was still neck and neck with Mosen and Coons Jnr going into the final corner side by side and Alach hovering just in behind waiting for a mistake. As they made the short blast to the flag, it was the Kiwi Mosen who held the Yank Coons Jnr at bay, with former winner Alach close behind.
I was exhausted just watching and speedway may just have a new convert. It could be Auckland's best-kept sporting secret. But by the look of the thousands who packed out the stadium, it's not that much of a secret to those who know a good night out when they see one.
