For the second year in a row the SA Speedcar title was won by outside forces after a big night of racing was cut short at Borderline Speedway on Friday.

The Mount Gambier venue was in tip-top shape to host a triple crown of speedway action with Speedcars accompanied by Wingless Sprints and Formula 500’s.

Initially it appeared the weather gods were going to be kind when racing started and the heats ticked by.

However, the racing proved to be a false dawn as the rain increased as the night went on and the persistent weather forced organisers to abandon the meeting.

It was a major disappointment for the crowd that had gathered on the grass banks as the anticipation was growing for the main events with over 100 cars squeezed into the Borderline Speedway paddock.

The fight was on for the 71st SA Speedcar title as the small, but quality field of drivers jockeyed for positions on the grid and lit up the “Bullring”.

Defending champion Nathan Smee was the favourite, but he had a fight on his hands as his rivals were just as desperate to line up on the all-important front row and avoid the chaos in the mid pack.

Smee could not stop some of his competitors from setting a hot pace and Matt Jackson unlocked the full potential of his #V9 machine and scored pole position for the 30-lap feature race.

Lining up alongside Jackson on the front row was meant to be Jay Waugh in the #N11 following his pleasing build up, while Harley Bishop and Dave Lambert lined up third and fourth respectively.

Their scorching times meant Smee was forced to start his title defence from fifth for the race that never came.

It is a big blow for the South Australian Speedcar community after the 2021 title was wiped out from COVID-19 and now other outside forces impacted the event.

But the Triple Crown continued through the weekend at Heytesbury Stockfields Simpson Speedway and Warrnambool’s Premier Speedway.

The second round of the Dutton Garage Southern Speedcar Tour was dominated by Travis Mills.

After driving his #V10 car to victory in the 1B and 2A heats, Mills continued to wow the crowd with his relentless pace.

Starting from pole Mills was in complete control and held off the charging pack to score a well-deserved win.

Following in his slipstream was Snee, who looked in ominous form cruising to second, while Matt Jackson charged from fifth to steal the final step on the podium.

The third and final night of the Speedcar Sweep was a special occasion at Premier Speedway as the racing community celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the Beasley Family Memorial.

Smee continued his developing form across the campaign to set the pace through the heats and claim pole position for the 20-lap finale.

Dave Lambert, Andy Pearce and Nick Parker also scored heat wins on the night but were no match for the 2020 South Australian state champion.

Smee drove into the distance and took the chequered flag by one and a half seconds to Parker, while Robert Heard raced hard to secure third.

A strong group of Limestone Coast drivers were aiming to put on a show for their home crowd on Friday in the opening round of the Wingless Sprints Summer Slam, but were robbed of the chance.

However, the bumper field of more than 60 cars pressed on over the border including the likes of Mitchell Broome, Kirby Hillyer, Kahn Aston and Rory Button waving South East flag.

Competition was fierce with 12 heats, one C and two B Mains taking place at Heytesbury Stockfields Simpson Speedway before the big race.

Sadly for Broome his campaign finished early after a chain of unlucky incidents at Borderline, but Hillyer stayed out of trouble and recorded a strong eighth place finish.

But the race was dominated by the Storers with Luke prevailing over Daniel by less than half a second in a thrilling finish.

Another 30 laps were on the cards at Warrnambool for the final fling of the Summer Slam.

A huge field greeted the starter and 10 heats were needed to set the grids for the main races.

The high point of the night from a Limestone Coast perspective was created by Hillyer.

The young man steering the #S86 black and green machine was in complete control in the second B Main to register an important win by over two seconds.

The performance gave Hillyer the confidence to race near the front in the A Main and he could hold his head up high after the weekend following a second successive top-10 result in the feature.

But it was a tight fight at the pointy end of the field with less than three seconds covering the top seven.

Former Mount Gambier resident and new South Australian champion Tyson Martin was in the fight, but Mathew Symons claimed an exciting win ahead of Jack McCarthy after they fought until the final bend.

The Formula 500’s were also in action and did not disappoint.

Jordan Mansell, Ryan Harry and Josh Munn were the Mount Gambier men chasing some silverware when racing resumed at Heytesbury Stockfields Simpson Speedway.

Munn fought hard all night and managed to walk away with a respectable top-10 finish.

Meanwhile, at the front Jordan Rae was the man to beat setting the fastest lap of the race at the first opportunity and not looking back.

Rae sealed the deal by 1.63 seconds from Queenslander Brodie Davis and local Angus Hollis.

Munn unlocked some pace in the B Main at Premier Speedway finishing narrowly behind winner James McDonald.

The Limestone Coast driver behind the wheel of the #SA44 struggled to replicate the same speed in the feature race as the crowd enjoyed a riveting three-way fight for the lead.

Dylan Willsher, Dylan Beveridge and Rae were going for glory in the Formula 500 Dash for Cash.

The trio were separated for less than second in the closing stages, but Rae prevailed over the two Dylan’s to make it back-to-back victories.