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20 car TA2 grid for Queensland Raceway 

By Timothy Neal

Date posted: June 1, 2023

The Hi-Tec Oils Super Series heads to Queensland Raceway this weekend with a 20 car TA2 grid, with Nash Morris also joining the field in the SuperCheap Auto Mustang.

The third round of the Super Series will join up with the 2 Days of Thunder motorsport festival in Ipswich, with the headline TA2 Muscle Car Series fresh off its epic King of the North battle in Darwin.

The field will also have a minute silence at the front of the grid in race one to honour the life of Geoff Leeds, a respected Australian motorsports veteran who also spent the last four years as the driving standards and prosecuting officer in the TA2 series.

Super2 driver and Phillip Island’s National Trans Am round winner Nash Morris will also be taking the #67 Supercheap Auto Mustang to the Queensland Raceway, adding some more quality to a highly competitive grid.

National Trans Am winner Nash Morris will join a strong TA2 field at the Queensland Raceway

“Queensland Raceway is close for us, probably only 40 minutes up the road for us, so we thought we might as well go up there and race,” Morris said.

“I watched some of the racing up in Darwin and the first round at Winton and guys like Josh Haynes and Jackson Rice and Brad Gartner are all going pretty good.

“I love driving these TA2 cars and enjoying myself driving them so we’ll head to Ipswich and have some fun this weekend!”

After Dylan Thomas (alongside co-driver Tim Brook) took out the twin driver Darwin round in his CXC Racing Mustang, Thomas leads the series by just six points from Jackson Rice, with Nicholas Bates in third.

After giving his Pedders Suspension and Brakes Mustang an overhaul, TA2 front runner Jackson Rice looks to take the series lead in Ipswich

for Rice, he’s hoping to leave the “Paperclip” with the series lead after giving his #7 Mustang an overhaul.

“We’ve put in a lot of hours, Darwin took a big toll on the car, but we’re probably not the only competitors in that boat,” Rice related.

“We pretty much stripped down the car to the chassis and rebuilt it, full transmission, full body, before a shakedown, which went really well.

“The good thing about the rebuild was the opportunity to get a shakedown done to get a feel and the confidence to know everything is all good.”

Hayden Hume has impressed in his rookie year, taking an outright P6 in the twin driver race in Darwin to claim a second straight rookie round.

Josh Haynes – who will also be racing in the National Precision Sports Sedans at Winton next weekend – is only 11 points from the lead in fourth in what is shaping up as a hotly contested year.

And after a strong co-drive performance in Darwin, the inaugural national TA2 champion Russell Wright is returning to the field for a season-long campaign in the ex-Aaron Seton #55 Mustang.

Rookie Hayden Hume will be aiming for a third straight round as the highest placed rookie after strong performances in Winton and Darwin in the #45 Dodge, whilst Michael Coulter will be aiming for another podium after a solid performance in Darwin.

SCHEDULE
TA2 Muscle Car Series framed by Hytek
2023 Round 3 – Queensland Raceway
2-4 June 2023
All times AEST

FRIDAY
Practice 1: 9:39am (19 minutes)
Practice 2: 11:09am (19 minutes)
Practice 3: 12:39pm (19 minutes)
Practice 4: 2:09pm (19 minutes)
Practice 5: 3:39pm (19 minutes)

SATURDAY
Qualifying: 8:45am (20 minutes)
Top 10 Shootout: 11:05am
Race 1: 2:25pm (12 laps)

SUNDAY
Race 2: 9:32am (12 laps)
Race 3: 1:14pm (12 laps)
Race 4: 3:04pm (20 laps)

BROADCAST TIMES:
Live stream: Sunday 9:30am to 12:45pm (TA2 Racing Australia Facebook, Hi Tec Oils Super Series Facebook & YouTube)
Speedweek: Sunday 1pm (SBS Viceland, SBS On Demand, Fox Sports, Kayo Sports)

ENTRY LIST
TA2 Muscle Car Series framed by Hytek
2023 Round 3 – Queensland Raceway

#4 Mark Crutcher (NSW), Ford Mustang – Crutcher Developments
#6 Hugh McAlister (NSW), Ford Mustang – McAlister Motors
#7 Jackson Rice (VIC), Ford Mustang – Pedders Suspension & Brakes
#8 Chris Pappas (QLD), Ford Mustang – WealthRite
#11 Michael Coulter (NSW), Chevrolet Camaro – Kobelco Motorsport
#13 Greg Keam (NSW), Ford Mustang – Debeers Refinish
#15 Michael Rowell (QLD), Ford Mustang – Norwell Racers
#22 Brad Gartner (SA), Ford Mustang – Castec Rural Supplies/MVA Racing
#24 Nicholas Bates (NSW), Ford Mustang – Sullivans
#37 Josh Haynes (NSW), Ford Mustang – Beaches SEADOO
#40 Robert Leonard (QLD), Ford Mustang – Access Linemarking Equipment/Municipal Works Australia
#45 Hayden Hume (QLD), Dodge Challenger – Total Parts Plus
#50 Paul Hadley (NSW), Chevrolet Camaro – IES Motorsport
#51 Graham Cheney (NSW), Chevrolet Camaro – IES Motorsport
#52 Bernie Walsh (QLD), Ford Mustang – Red Point Racing
#55 Russell Wright (QLD), Ford Mustang – Crew Commercial
#67 Nash Morris (QLD), Ford Mustang – Supercheap Auto
#68 Dylan Thomas (NSW), Ford Mustang – CXC Racing
#81 Hayden Jackson (NSW), Dodge Challenger – MGW/Team RSG
#99 Matthew MacKelden, Ford Mustang – Kubota Racing

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Listen to the RevLimiter podcast on your podcast app of choice or here on the RevLimiter website

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