Scott Connole takes out Oakburn Park’s Formula 500 feature race on Saturday

Connole Racing Formula 500 driver and Northwest Speedway Club Narrabri president Scott Connole is thrilled to be back behind the wheel and back in form in the speedway arena.

On Saturday night, Connole raced to victory at the Oakburn Park Raceway in Tamworth what was his second appearance in the 2020-21 season.

Just one week after a car malfunction derailed his chances of winning the feature race at Gunnedah, he took out the feature at Oakburn Park to finish on top of the leader board for the three-round NSW Formula 500 Hoosier Challenge.

Connole won both heats at that Tamworth meeting before leading the 18-lap feature race from start to finish to secure his first win since the sport was forced to cut its 2019-20 season short amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We started third in the first heat and got the lead early in the race and drove away with it. In the second heat we started out of four and same deal, got to the front and drove away,” Connole said.

“The third heat got canned due to time restraints so it was straight into the feature. We started on pole for that race, got the lead at the first corner and didn’t look back.

“It was pleasing after what happened the week before, we were a bit dejected after Gunnedah.

“In Gunnedah we were going alright and had a good run through the heats but in the final we ended up tearing the front end out of the car which wasn’t ideal.

“We lost all steering so had a DNF in the first feature of the season.

“In the heats that night we had a second and two thirds so we were confident of a top-three finish in the feature until then.”

The Narrabri driver told The Courier that he was ecstatic to be back on the track.

“It’s been very pleasing to be back to be honest,” Connole said.

“I’ve been out of the car since March which doesn’t seem long because we had our off-season thrown in there.

“But from going from leading a series, we were on a roll, car was going great, I was feeling good as a driver, then like everything else in the world it just stops, it was tough.

“It’s pleasing to be back and to see all the friendly faces back on track, mates and other competitors getting to do what we love.”

Connole now has his sights set on the NSW Formula 500s Senior Club Championship Series which will begin this Saturday in Gilgandra.

“Next up is Gilgandra this weekend, which is the first round of the NSW State Series,” Connole said.

“We won that the season before last then were leading it last season until COVID hit.

“We are keen to get in and get some early points then hopefully come away with the lead, and if not just be up there somewhere.”

Two weeks after that Gilgandra meet, the Northwest Speedway Club Narrabri will host its first meeting of the season at the Newtown Park track.

The club was scheduled to host a meeting on Saturday, October 24, however that was cancelled due to the impacts of the NSW state COVID-19 restrictions. That meant that the December 5 meeting would become Narrabri’s first 2020-21 season meeting if it was able to go ahead, which Connole confirmed would be the case.

Connole will race in front of a home crowd at that meeting with Formula 500s scheduled for both senior and junior divisions. Other divisions scheduled to be held at what promises be an action-packed meeting are Outlaw Sedans, AMCA Nationals, RSA Fender Benders, RSA Junior Sedans, RSA Street Stockers and RSA Fast Fours.