ALLANSFORD driver Jack Bell put the “for sale” sign up on his Datsun Sunny hours after scoring a top-10 finish in the Australian junior sedan title.
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Jack, 17, finished eighth in the A main at Esperance Speedway to establish himself as one of the top young drivers in the country.
The result capped off an up-and-down weekend for the teenager, who will graduate from junior sedans at the end of the season.
Jack yesterday told The Standard he was stoked with finishing eighth.
He was the only Victorian in the A main and the second Datsun Sunny driver home.
“Firstly your top goal is to make the final. There are 76 cars and 20 cars make the final. It’s always a tough part of the weekend,” he said.
“Secondly, I wanted to make it straight into the final without going through the last transfer, the B main. There are 16 cars that make it directly in.
“You then want to qualify and start as far up the front as you can. It makes it a lot easier in the final.”
Jack placed third in his first two heats on Saturday night, before controversy struck in the third when he was leading.
Stewards sent him to the rear for allegedly causing a three-car crash and he could only recover to finish fifth.
“I was leading and two other cars came up, we were racing three wide. The bloke who was on the outside, he half-spun and we all came together,” he said.
“The stewards deemed me in the wrong for the incident. But I reckon, and a lot of people have told me, I was ripped off.”
He won his fourth heat on Sunday night, which allowed him to start the A main out of grid position 12, rising to eighth in the 25-lap race.
“I got to seventh at one stage. One got past me on the last lap and I finished eighth. It’s a fairly good result out of 76 cars,” he said.
“The final worked out pretty good. I don’t think I could’ve done a lot more. The car could’ve been a bit freer but it was pretty spot on.”
Jack said he would potentially start in the South Australian title at Waikerie on Saturday, although family demands will determine if that happens.
He has put his car up for sale when most other drivers are waiting to finish the season, with racing a formula 500 his next ambition.
“It’s going to be a lot easier to sell during the season than at the end when there are a lot of cars on the market,” he said.
Jack was one of two drivers in the Bell family to contest the Australian title at Esperance.
His younger brother Billy, 14, was 29th quickest in practice but missed the C main contesting his first title.
“His last race he went really well, he drove around really tidy. He’s learnt a lot. He’s got heaps of e