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Davidson's Sweet Victory

Speedcar World Web Site
Monday, 27 February 2006
QSRA PR

Speedcars ventured to sugar and ‘Bundaberg Rum’ country when they raced at Carina Speedway on Saturday 25 February. A good complement of cars was on hand including current points score leader Mark George who just happened to be celebrating his birthday on that day. Terry Holland’s new car fronted for the show giving driver Michael Harders a chance to go racing again after breaking his collarbone at the Queensland Championship meeting in May 2005. The car is a Stealth which was driven by Dave Darland in the 2004 Chilli Bowl but the power plant is something completely different. A Holden Isuzu V6 Rodeo engine.

Speedcars had not raced at this track since 1997 so it was a new adventure for most of the drivers and set ups were constantly being changed throughout the meeting to get the best out of the cars. The first heat was a run away win for young charger Jeremy Hassall (Brisbane Haulage Stealth/Fontana) who was continuing on his winning way from the previous show. Unfortunately Craig Smith was a non starter with a missing engine.

1 Jeremy Hassall
2 John Davidson
3 Ken Stanaway

Heat two saw Bill Foreman (Back Yard Motorsports Porsche) come from the back of the field to record a win. Only incidents were a yellow for a Brett Foreman spin and a DNF for Mick Williams with a flat tyre. Hassall’s Brisbane Haulage team mate Shaun Hannigan was not having a good night with the Gaerte engine refusing to fire on four cylinders and forcing his withdrawal before the green.

1 Bill Foreman
2 Doug Cavell
3 Alf Stanaway

Starting positions were altered for heat three and this put Ken Stanaway on the front row beside Titan Garages Mopar pilot, Toni Kruck. Stanaway let the Polar Ice Qld Esslinger loose and recorded a good win while Kruck withstood a lot of pressure to get the runner up spot with John Davidson next. Once again Smith was a non starter with a suspected faulty fuel pump.

1 Ken Stanaway
2 Toni Kruck
3 John Davidson

The final heat saw Doug Cavell charge to the front from position three while behind him drivers jostled for positions. Coming across the finish line to complete the sixth lap Jason McDowall’s inside rear wheel parted company with the car sending the drivers behind him looking for space to miss the bouncing object. Unfortunately it landed right in front of Alf Stanaway who had no chance of avoiding it. The car bounced over the wheel turned turtle and landed back on its wheels. Stanaway was stunned but able to climb from the car on his own. Only three cars were able to restart with Doug Cavell home first. Craig Smith ran his car behind the field when his ‘gremlin’ was discovered as being a faulty ‘ignition eye’ and he was able to take his place in the feature.

1 Doug Cavell
2 Bill Foreman
3 Mick Williams

Twelve cars lined up for the 20 lap feature with Hannigan and Alf Stanaway the non starters. Craig Smith (position 6) made a great start and was up to third on the completion of the first lap but unfortunately it was all for nothing when Bill Foreman spun in the next corner bringing on the yellows. A complete restart was ordered and this time both Doug Cavell (position 3) and John Davidson (position 7) made good runs with Cavell going to the front with Smith and Davidson not far behind. Hassall and Kruck had been jostled backwards in the early laps but once things settled down they were back amongst the action.

Cavell was driving a good line in front with Smith unable to find a way through. Davidson found a way past Smith which put him into second and was soon mounting pressure on the leader. Persistence paid off for the pint sized former Queensland Champ when he made a successful inside run on Cavell. Further back Ken Stanaway and Hassall were going forward and catching Smith while Mark George struggled with an engine which would not run on four cylinders.

Stanaway was putting in a determined drive and quickly accounted for both Smith and Cavell and set sail after Davidson. Hassall had also taken advantage of the situation to go to third as the laps ticked away. Six laps to go and a spun car saw the field bunch up for a sprint to the finish. Davidson (Wizard Auto Repair Clinic Gaerte) was up to the task to take out his second win of the season holding out Stanaway and Hassall. Cavell pulled in with a couple remaining with a bad vibration while Smith spun in the final corner trying a move for third. This brought Toni Kruck unstuck when she hit the fence trying to avoid the spun car.

The racing was tough and exciting and sets the scene for a great Queensland Championship to be held at the same venue over Easter. Saturday night will be qualifying heats with the final round of heats, the pole shuffle and the championship race on the Sunday night.

1 John Davidson
2 Ken Stanaway
3 Jeremy Hassall
4 Mark George
5 Toni Kruck
6 Brett Foreman
7 Bill Foreman
8 Craig Smith

Article taken from the Speedcar World Web Site

SPEEDWAY RACING NEWS NO: 58

March 1997

Davidson New Speedcar Champ

By BARRY GREEN

‘GO FOR IT!’ – that was the simple strategy John Davidson said publicly he was going to use in starting the 1996/97 Queensland Speedcar Championship from pole at Charlton on Saturday Night, March 8.

And go for it he did, leading for all of the 30 lap distance except the opening lap which came to a grinding halt in turn 2 when a six car melee brought out the red flag. Meyers – who was proving the fast mover in the field got past Bonell and moved up to shadow Davidson.

Into the final lap, and Davidson kicked clear a couple of car lengths, then Bonell made a last huge lunge at Meyers, the cars touching in turn 2 and again along the back straight. The impetus carried Bonell through to second, but time had run out to run down Davidson who took the chequer from Bonell, Meyers Draney, Valentino, Wixted, Currie and Watt.

Jubilation turned to emotion when Davidson thanked his crew and father Alan – a former NT champ with some 27 years race experience – upon accepting the massive winged eagle John Mulcahy Perpetual Trophy from Gary Mulcahy. With a tear in his eye and voice breaking, Davidson Jnr paid tribute to his father and team’s support. Later, he told of how satisfying it was to win the title from the front – last time he won (1994), it was from the back of the field.
“I always thought I had it (the race) in the bag. I didn’t know whether to let Sean go early on, I figured I could get him in traffic, but the way the race went, with all the restarts, it was probably just as well (it didn’t have to come to that). But, yeah, I had plenty in reserve, I’m rapt!”

COURIER MAIL FEBRUARY 97

Mr. Excitement turns up heat

By BRENDAN QUIRK

WHEN American Indycar racer Tony Stewart drove a speedcar in Brisbane last season, he clashed with Brisbane Speedway Star John Davidson and became more than a little excited. So much so that Davidson claimed he has a bounty on his head if her ever races in the US. “I was the only Australian to beat Stewart in a heat race on that tour,” said the former Queensland Champion.

“But what made matters worse was that he crashed into my stationery car. Two other drivers missed me after I tangled with Barrie Valentino but Stewart did not.”

“He really spat the dummy and blamed me for his own inadequacies. All this from someone who is regarded as the latest sensation in US auto racing and who started from pole in the last Indy 500.”

“Nascar teams are desperately chasing him but he apparently resents me so much he has been bagging me around American Speedways.”
Davidson, who will be competing at Archerfield on Saturday, is not too impressed with Stewart in particular, or Americans in general, but he does have a passion for American Motorsport.

“Speedcar racing originated in the US and it is a tremendously exciting sport,” he said. “I would also like to drive a Nascar and have a go at off-road super truck racing which is really catching on in Australia.”

Super trucks make their first Brisbane appearance at the Ekka on March 15 and Davidson believes it is a sport with a bright long term future and he wants to be a part of it.

But it is his immediate future that the 28 year-old Brisbane mechanic is concentrating on. Saturday’s meeting is a vital one because the following weekend Davidson and his major rivals will contest the Queensland Championship in Toowoomba.

When Davidson first raced in Brisbane after coming from the Northern Territory in 1994, his driving style earned him plenty of “raps over the knuckles” but these days a more liberal approach from the stewards benefits the more aggressive racers like himself.

Peter White's Speedway World May 96

John Davidson has become very popular with the younger fans, giving away bags of goodies at the end of meetings.
The bags contain stickers, posters, etc which are popular with the kids and give valuable exposure to his sponsors.
This is in addition to the photo cards and posters which the Speedcar Association has arranged this season.

Toowoomba Chronicle April 96

JOHNNY DAVIDSON lists a career highlight as becoming Queensland Champion in 1994.
Although he struck mechanical problems on the March 9 speedcar meet in Toowoomba, Johnny remains a strong contender to win another Queensland Championship.

He first commenced racing in 1987 and drives a 1992 Murphy-Long Arm chassis with a Fontana (Aluminium Chevy) engine. He is sponsored by TNT Car Carrying, Discount Tyre Service (Underwood), and 'Nu-Joint' Ball Joint Injection Service.

COURIER MAIL JANUARY 96

No frills Davo after big guns

FLASHY is not a word normally associated with Brisbane speedcar driver John Davidson, who will be one of American Lealand McSpadden’s major rivals at the Exhibition Speedway tonight.

“I’m more interested in go than show. For me the choice is easy – tyres ahead of chrome,” Davidson said.

And there is nothing ostentatious about the message he sees on his car’s dashboard every time he straps himself into the tiny cockpit for a race, it merely says “Second Sux”.

But running second to McSpadden is something Davidson finds a little easier to accept.

McSpadden has over 25 years’ experience to draw on while 27-year-old Davidson has been racing only since 1987.

COURIER MAIL DECEMBER 95

Leading speedcar driver not shy of a ‘bit of agro’

By Brendan Quirk

THERE will be no surprise if speedcar driver John Davidson and modified productions sedan racer Gary Brown win their respective feature races at the Exhibition and Archerfield speedways tonight.

They have been in outstanding form… Davidson has seven victories from eight scratch races while Brown remains unbeaten after 15 races this season.

At the Ekka last Friday, Davidson was one of four drivers whose performances in the Stars scratch race gave fans a taste of what speedcar racing was like in the glory days of the 1960’s when the midgets were speedway’s premier four wheeled division.

American Tony Stewart, sprintcar ace Paul Lindberg and Barry Valentino were the other three responsible for the minor classic. And it is Valentino and Ross Kiehne whom Davidson rates as his toughest opponents tonight.

“The Ekka was the best it has been for speedcars in a long while and it was disappointing to be forced out of the feature race along with Stewart”, Davidson said. “Stewart blamed me for the incident. He claimed I was over aggressive but you have to go hard if you are coming from the back in an 18 car field.”

MOTORSPORT MONTHLY MAY 91

Davidson makes Ford debut

SPEEDWAY star, Johnny Davidson, made an impressive debut in Formula Ford racing at the Hidden Valley road racing circuit on May 12.
Davidson piloted the Formula Ford of Ian Shelby-James on the Crocodile Car lap sprint day. He won the section from Stuart Shelby-James and Bruce Lindsay.
Davidson had been behind the wheel of the little road racer a couple of times during practice but had never driver competitively. He looked impressive with a quickest lap time of the day – 1.28.02 sec.
Shelby-James loaned the car to Davidson, who had competed in a speedcar at Northline speedway the night before, because he was acting as race director.

He said he enjoyed the job and was pleased with the way the events unfolded on the day.
“The chicane that was added about three quarters of the way down the home straight added a great deal of interest. It was mostly well received but directors of future meetings could throw in a few variations on the theme – a new dimension.”

Shelby-James is hopeful Davidson might take up the sport on a regular basis.
“It would help our numbers if we could get him as a member,” Shelby-James said.

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