South Australian State Sprintcar Title Captured by Lines

21-1-2008

Regarded as one of the emerging talents of the National scene over recent seasons, Steve Lines only strengthened those claims after he scored a comprehensive victory in the South Australian State Sprintcar Title on Saturday night at Speedway City.

Surviving some close attention from former South Australian Title holder Trevor Green for the majority of the 30-lap feature race, Lines went on to take out a comfortable victory over American Jason Johnson and Matt Egel.

Starting the feature race from outside of the front row alongside Johnson after he finished second in the Dash, Lines took an immediate lead of the feature race, and from there his time in the lead was never relinquished all the way to the drop of the chequered flag.

“To win a South Australian Title is very special to me as it’s my home state, and it’s been a major goal of mine for this season, so it’s great to be able to tick that box off in my list of goals for this season,” said a very pleased Lines.

“My team judged the setup really well and that allowed us to hold out my fierce competition from both [Trevor] Green and [Jason] Johnson, and it’s even more gratifying to win my first State Tile with those calibre of drivers in the field.”

During the feature race Lines was by far the fastest driver in the field and this was made evident when he was the only driver to break into the 12 second bracket.

The night for Lines, and his # 45 Camden Neon Signs supported J&J, kicked off his South Australian Title tilt the way it ended, with a victory, in the opening heat race of the night, and then fought his way forward in the second and final heat race from the back of the field to finish in third, and those results earned him he second highest point scorer.

The former Australian Street Stock Champion is now preparing for yet another hectic period in the 2007/08 season when he contests the Presidents Cup (Avalon Raceway in Victoria Wednesday night January 23), Kings Challenge (Borderline Speedway in South Australia Friday night January 25) and the prestigious Grand Annual Classic (Premier Speedway in Victoria Saturday and Sunday night January 26 and 27).

“I’m hoping to have a good result in both the Presidents Cup and Kings Challenge events leading into the Grand Annual Classic, and that is an event where I have some unfinished business with,” stated Lines.

Unfinished business indeed, as last year’s Grand Annual Classic saw Lines qualify for the feature race in third place, only to crash out of contention in the latter stages.