New Year's Day Championship, Sprint Car Pairs & Buddy's Back

What better way to make the most of the first day of 2020 than being trackside at Central Motor Speedway for a evening of adrenaline-pumping, Jandal to the metal holiday action especially when American teenage sprint car sensation Michael 'Buddy' Kofoid is scorching the clay.

Just in case you're not up to speed about Buddy, he is the current Sprintcar 1NZ who after just turning 17 won the title on the Cromwell clay in front of a huge, gob-smacked crowd. Oh, yes. On the way to victory in the feature race he set a new lap record. Just turned 18, Buddy's back after a successful summer season in the States that included his first sprint car series win in the All Star Circuit of Champions and first Freemont Speedway Championship.

Jan 1 is the second and final day of a new sprint car competition, the Civil Construction Sprint Car Pairs. Besides Buddy competitors include local sprint car legends King of Cromwell Jason Scott, Slammin’ Sam O’Callaghan, Nathan ‘Hitman’ Astle, Josh ‘Baby Buck’ Buchanan, Mark ‘Tapanui Flier’ Evans, Whetu ‘Winged Warrior’ Taewa and close to 20 more.

On Jan 3 and 4 Buddy will be racing at Ruapuna defending his 2018-19 Ruapuna Sprint Car Title and then after a short stay in Te Anau with host, mentor and long-time Central Motor Speedway sprint car ‘t’ driver Daniel Anderson, Buddy jets home to the States on January 9th where his dabbling in midgets has turned into a full time contract with Keith Kunz-Curb Agajanian Motorsport, Toyota Racing as a development driver and Mobil 1.

His first midget pro-drive is the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Described as speedway’s equivalent to American football’s Super Bowl, the meeting runs from Jan 13 through to Jan 18. It comes as no surprise that Buddy has added midgets to his driving repertoire as he takes another step towards fulfilling his dream of driving NASCAR. A further measure of Buddy Kofoid’s focus on success, he’ll be mixing almost daily pro driving with high school studies until graduation in May.

Speaking from his home in Pennington, California, Buddy gave his reassurance that he will still find time to race sprint cars, adding that had it not been for just signed contractual obligations he would have been defending his NZ Sprint Car Title in Palmerston North on January 10th and 11th

But as Daniel Anderson suggests, “In a way this makes Buddy’s appearance at Heavy Trax Hire Central Motor Central Motor Speedway an even more exciting opportunity to grab hold of. The fact he’s here at all says a lot about his popularity in his adopted New Zealand home town of Te Anau. For helping make it happen, a big thanks to Fairview, The Ranch Bar & Grill, Te Anau Top 10, AB electrical, Tony Brand Building, Harcourts, Bidfood and Elf Oils."

Jan 1, 2020, is not all sprint cars with big fields of super saloons, saloons, six shooters, youth ministocks and productions competing in their Christmas Champs. Among the drivers are more than a few class champions including three time New Zealand Super Saloon champion Mark Osborne who will be competing in the Dec 28th Christmas meeting. Always a crowd favourite, a gang of street stocks will be biffing and bashing both nights.

For high octane, clay scorching thrills and spills grab your sunnies and block out, and head to Central Otago's Fastest Family Show on Earth at Heavy Trax Hire Central Motor Speedway in Sandflat Road, Cromwell.

In case you've never been before, Central Motor Speedway is in Sandflat Road, off Highway 6 just on the outskirts of Cromwell. Racing starts at 5pm but to grab a parking spot around the track take advantage of gates opening at 3pm. While waiting for racing, use the time to visit the pits (children must be accompanied by an adult) to meet drivers, their crews and also collect free posters.