DESPITE wet track conditions at the GMP Cowdenbeath Racewall, on Saturday night, the classic hot rods were in good form with the fans delighted to see cars from an early era charging around the oval.

The rain stopped prior to the start of the meeting but the track was wet and greasy and was to be later liberally covered in oil after a couple of saloons deposited their engine material on to the track.

Paul Barron had a good night’s racing in his prostox going on to win both the heats as well as the final.

Declan Honeyman gave them all a run for their money in the ministox races and will soon be heading up the grades as a result.

The microf2 drivers were in good form with Jamie Dawson winning two races to Lewis Clark Burgoyne’s one.

The classic hot rods drivers were in good form despite the track being not conducive to non contact racing. To make matters worse when it did look as if there was a dry racing line there was an oil slick right around the track.

On the grid was an Anglia, a Chevette, a Talbot and Escorts, some painted in colours of well known drivers from the past but they looked and sounded good. Local drivers in action were Trevor Harris (Kinglassie), Keith Chesher (Dunfermline) and Graeme Allister (Dunfermline).

Harris pulled off the grid before the first heat started with Graham McCabe making the better of the starts from Chesher but they were soon joined in a three way dice for the lead by Kenny Purdie.

Chesher dropped back and it was left to McCabe to fend off Purdie and this he did until two laps from the end when Purdie managed to find the inside line. Once ahead he edged away to win from McCabe with Chesher holding onto third with Allister in fifth place.

Harris led the field away when heat two started but he lost the lead early on as McCabe swept through although he had Chesher in close order. Purdie had made another good start from the back of the grid and closed in on the leading group. Although Purdie moved into second spot he was thwarted on each attempt to get ahead of McCabe and in the end had to follow him across the line with Chesher again in third with Harris fourth and Allister fifth.

Harris led the cars away when the final started but this time Chesher made the better of the starts to lead McCabe away. Chesher caught Harris and moved into the lead but by now had a slight gap over McCabe. Purdie caught up with the leaders and was soon looking for a way ahead of McCabe. However, he wasn’t able to do so and it was Chesher who collected the win from McCabe, Purdie and Harris but Allister retired his car.

There was a good turn out of 1300saloons with Lisa Freebairn and Kev Baird (Glenrothes) making their debuts. Local drivers were Fraser Anderson (Cowdenbeath), Lee Wilson (Comrie), Jeff Cosans (Dunfermline), Robert Gold (Cowdenbeath), Michael Byers (Methil), Michael Moyes (Cowdenbeath), Kenny Baird (Glenrothes) and Arron Hastie (Ceres).

The opening heat saw Byers go straight into the lead and it wasn’t the closing stages that Fraser Clark caught and passed him. Clark then pulled away to win from Byers and Kev. Baird with Cosans fifth, Wilson seventh and just clear of Moyes, Kenny Baird and Gold. In heat two the drivers were greeted with a shower which made the track even more slippery. Byers led whilst Freebairn had spin but when Mike Moyes was in a shunt the race was stopped. Byers led the cars away on the restart but when Aaron Hastie was sent crashing into the wall the race was suspended. Byers led on the restart from Grant McGowan with the latter taking the lead the following lap but had Clark in close order. With three laps to run Clark moved through into the lead and on to win from McGowan and Ross Forrest with Wilson sixth finishing just ahead of Cosans with Anderson in ninth place.

The final saw Kenny Baird have to retire right away when a drive shaft popped out and it was Stu McCaig who led although he lost the lead to Kev Baird the following lap. Disaster was not that far away with Clark’s car depositing its oil all over the track resulting in the leader, Freebairn, Robbie Bruce and Gold all coming to grief. McCaig led on the restart but soon lost out to Wilson but within a couple of laps of him doing so McGowan retired in a cloud of smoke, Anderson spun and then Wilson’s car stopped with an electrical fault. Derek Campbell and Cosans were let to fight it out but when they clashed, Cosans was sent crashing into the wall. Campbell was first home but was disqualified with the win going to Cosans.

There was another good turn out of ministox drivers with the Gary Paterson (Saline), Danny Whyte (Lochgelly), Mitch Gold (Leven) and Michael Mitchell (Lochgelly).

Whyte went through to win the opening heat although it wasn’t until the closing stages of the race that he caught and passed Declan Honeyman, who ended up in second with Teri Linden in third spot just clear of Paterson with Mitchell in seventh and Gold in ninth place. Heat two saw Honeyman lead the race from start to finish and he ended up ahead of Whyte and Paterson at the line with Gold in tenth place.

When the final started Honeyman was away like a scalded cat and quickly built up a sizeable lead. Reece Din held second but then lost out to Paterson and Whyte. Charlie Folan was leading the star drivers chase to the leaders but he clipped the wall and retired as did Paterson. Linden moved into second, getting ahead of Whyte with Burgoyne making up a lot of ground as the laps dwindled. However at the close Honeyman was still ahead and picked up his second win of the night crossing the line ahead of Linden and Whyte with Mitchell in fifth and Gold in ninth place.

There was a good turn out of prostox drivers and they served up some action packed races with a three car shunt suspending the final. Local drivers were Gordon Myers (Dunfermline), Paul Barron (Cowdenbeath), Ian Christie (Kirkcaldy) and Scott Gordon (Strathmiglo).

Daniel Kennedy led the opening heat until half distance when John Jackson took over, but he was sent wide on the last lap as Barron went through to win from Jackson and Christie with Gordon in fifth and Myers in eighth place.

Heat two was suspended after Gordon crashed out and whilst Robert Hamilton led he lost out to Jackson. During the closing stages Barron took over at the front of the pack before going through to win from Ryan O’Shea and Jason McAlpine with Myers in eighth and Christie in ninth.

Kennedy led the final for most of the race but when three cars shunted the race was suspended and the lead he had built up disappeared. Kennedy led the field away but was shunted into the wall as Barron went on to win from McAlpine and John Mason with Myers in sixth place.

This Saturday the formula II and the 2 litre National saloon drivers with backing from the prostox basics and the hot saloons from Crimond. The meeting starts at 6.00pm

Gordon Moodie (Windygates) won the formula II Ben Fund Trophy down at Taunton on Sunday and in doing so has been seeded into the National Series which at the end of the season after a series of races will dictate the drive who will race with the silver roof next year