PREMIER Speedway has been a happy hunting ground for Brett Milburn. Just not in a 410-cubic-inch sprintcar.
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The Melbourne driver has claimed a wingless sprints Australian title, celebrated a Victorian title in a 360 sprintcar and won a V8 dirt modifieds feature.
But when it’s come to racing against speedway’s elite on the Allansford high banks, good fortune hasn’t been on his side.
“It’s eluded us a bit. We haven’t won a 410 feature there for a long time but it’s one of those tracks we haven’t had things 100 per cent right,” he said.
“We’ve been real good at Avalon and a lot of other tracks. Warrnambool, although we’ve won features in other classes, we can’t seem to win in the 410.”
Milburn is hoping a change of luck arrives as early as tomorrow night.
The 36-year-old is one of 63 nominations for round four of the Sprintcar Racing Association of Victoria series at Premier Speedway, a twin-feature show.
He enters the meeting as the SRA series leader with 956 points, having placed fourth at Moama, eighth at Mount Gambier and 12th at Allansford.
Glen Sutherland (933), Nick Lacey (917) and Daniel Pestka (876) are in pursuit. Milburn, Lacey and Pestka are the only drivers to make all three A mains.
“We’ve been consistent but we haven’t won one yet, obviously. We’ve done enough to be sitting at the right end of the standings,” Milburn said.
“Our fourth (at Moama) should’ve been better. We got to second and hurt a motor.
“Mount Gambier, that was a hammer-down track, follow the leader.
“Warrnambool we got sent to the rear turning around a car. We’ve been thereabouts, nothing special, but good enough to keep collecting the points.”
The excavator, who has raced sprintcars for more than a decade, is yet to win an SRA series title. He’s been runner-up “too many times to count”.
He was second behind Dubbo’s Jeremy Cross entering the grand final at Premier Speedway last season and held onto his spot, despite a dramatic finale in which Hobart’s Shaun Dobson leapfrogged the pair to claim a maiden triumph.
“To keep running second, it’s not bad but you’d like to win,” he said.
Milburn said he was looking forward to racing against the best drivers in Australia, as well as Americans Kyle Hirst and Danny Holtgraver tomorrow night.
“It makes it hard because you’ve got to qualify good to get into the (A main),” he said.
Sprintcars are one of two classes in action at Premier Speedway tomorrow night. Almost 40 formula 500 drivers, including Australian titleholder Brock Hallett, will contest the Jack Willsher Cup. Gates open at 4pm.