An enthralling duel threatened to erupt in the 2.0 Stock Cars at Foxhall Stadium as the Smith family from Diss took on promoter’s son Billy Wood from the South and with honours even across the two earlier rounds the atmosphere was electric as the steel cowboys emerged to see who would land the knockout blow in the final, writes KEVIN WEGG.

Despite a disappointing twelve car entry this entertaining shoot-out certainly made up for it with the drama unfolding early in heat one as Billy Smith pushed Billy Wood wide then finished off the job at the end of the straight. It then became very interesting indeed as Diggy retired from heat two with a problem allowing Wood to take full advantage, hitting Billy very hard under the scoreboard before promptly putting him away again as they went round the bend. Things then took a series of dubious twists as one lap later Wood hit Billy’s stricken car, albeit there was some suggestion the wheels were turning. Understandably Diggy saw “red” and despite his damaged car went after Wood and managed to land a blow after coming off the speedway track and then another this time blatantly on the shale. Wood duly retreated to the centre green as frantic repairs for both Smith cars were undertaken in order to make the high noon final showdown. The crowd didn’t quite hide behind the refreshment stalls as all three duly emerged, however anything was likely to happen and promptly did, yet surely virtually no-one could have predicted what actually did happen. Despite being outnumbered, Billy Wood had the last laugh as virtually the whole field ended up in a big heap on turn one and he managed to land a big blow on Diggy’s lame car. With Billy Smith already in the fence, “Lone Ranger” Wood had duly won this particular gun battle however this is one “motorised war” that is set to keep the fans on the edge of their seats when these ironed-out gunslingers next roll in to town!

None of which should overshadow the superb showing by youngster Robert Gamble who took a fine win in the final, with George Morphey having taken the first East Anglian win in heat two whilst Southerner Colin Farley took the first.

The annual Banger “Fireball” fundraiser for Darren Jones was also down on numbers compared to last year however this was another to feature a personal duel as Jason Jackson stalked Michael Allard for two laps before Simon Berry landed a huge hit on race leader Jackson which killed his own car and severely bent a wheel on Jackson’s. Quite remarkably though Jackson not only kept it going but also claimed the victory. Buster Hutchins was good value despatching two of Jones’ former team-mates in style before romping to victory in the final despite getting held up by yet another duel, this time between Mitchell Hawkins and Woodbridge’s Jason Smy, who had earlier finished second in a heat to Ipswich driver Darren Parratt.

The unusual mix of Super Rods, Classic Hot Rods, Outlaw Hot Rods and a smattering of National Hot Rods under the guise of “Slick Rods” provided some interesting non-contact racing with the significantly higher-specification “nationals” certainly not having everything their own way. Dick Burtenshaw was in a class of his own mind in the opener as he tested the national car owned by Mick Cave as Super Rodder Shaun Jacklin spun to record his only non-finish all season on a night which would still see him crowned as British points champion however. Classic Hot Rodder Rob Montagner still managed an impressive second place despite a deafening mis-fire then Outlaw Chris Rabbitt was “over the moon” after winning a great battle with Burtenshaw in heat two. Neither could quite get close enough to Super Rodder John Wicks in the final who just clinched it after a thrilling chase over the closing laps.