Victory: Craig Vosbergen won the late model state title trophy at the Collie Speedway on Saturday.
CRAIG Vosbergen won the Collie Community Bank Late Model State title at the Quit Collie Speedway on Saturday night.
The quality of competitors was still high despite the final number of competitors expected falling short of the list.
Bunbury driver Brad Blake, who returned from injury, did the hot lap session at the start of the night to be satisfied that he was ready to race again.
He was the fourth highest qualifier in the qualifying heats.
Nineteen competitors started in the championship final but this was reduced before the first lap of the final was completed.
A multi-car pile-up coming into the front straight resulted in several competitors being towed off to the infield.
Brad Ludlow blew a tyre but restarted at the rear of the field and managed to move back up the field to finish seventh.
Early race leader Warren Oldfield looked to be traveling toward his second successive state title.
Vosbergen was chasing close behind and was helped by lapped traffic and more restarts.
With two laps to go Vosbergen made his move around Oldfield and led the way to victory.
Blake had been working hard to pass Matt Goodlad, who was in third place, but could not get close enough in final laps.
Paul Joss continued his surprising form in the late model division and finished the final in sixth place behind Jay Cardy.
Junior sedans were low on numbers but produced some top racing.
Ethan Genev looked to be on his way to four wins from four starts only to see new star driver Jed Rogers steal the race lead in the final to win.
Collie driver Cody Avins had a mechanical failure in heat three that resulted in his car taking a sudden right hand turn into the track wall.
The car was damaged but safety equipment saved Avins from any injury.
Beau Riley won production sedans, topping the points on the night but not before being relegated two places in the final following a penalty for rough passing on the final lap.
Ricky Nuccini was promoted to first place as a result.
Street Stock had its largest field of the season with 16 drivers turning up.
Greg Avins entered his first street stock event for the season and soon showed that he still has what it takes to win.
Avins picked up a heat win then went on to win the feature race. Josh Davies finished near the top in each race.
The next race meeting in Collie is Saturday, March 16, when the 360 Sprintcar State championship will be decided.
