EAST COAST GN A PART OF HISTORY ON ‘OLD SCHOOL’ NIGHT

Feature photo by : Tony Powell. 

Tania Smith will be hoping to repeat her emotional 2010 win in the East Coast Grand National sedan event this Saturday night (February 18) at Castrol Edge Lismore Speedway. 

By Dennis Newlyn.

It’s ‘old school’ night this Saturday, February 18 at Castrol Edge Lismore Speedway and the meeting is appropriately highlighted with the running of a sedan event steeped in wonderful history at the venue, the East Coast Grand National.

With a heritage that traces back to the mid-seventies, this race – sponsored  in 2023 by Pirlo’s Excavation – takes a special place on the season calendar at the historic Lismore Showground Speedway.

The entry list is headed by Australian Super Sedan Champion Matt Pascoe and also features multi Super Sedan and Late Model national titleholder Darren Kane, Lismore’s Tania Smith, Zac Brims, Hayden Brims and Queensland stars Steve Jordan, Bob McCosker, Justin Randall, Mitchell Gee and son of a gun Brad Pascoe amongst the 22 nominations.

It will be one of the highlights of the season for first season promoters Kim and Mick Sauer.

“It’s so appropriate to run this event on our ‘old school’ night because of what it means to this venue. It’s a race that goes back to the seventies and is very much a part of what Lismore Speedway stands for over the decades,” Kim Sauer said.

The event doubles as round eight of the McCosker Super Sedan Series which travels throughout Queensland and is sanctioned by the Super Sedan Association.

For Tania Smith, this race carries emotional ties following her incredible victory almost to the day of the 2023 ECGN. 

Tania took honours on February 20, 2010 in a race that season which honoured the late, great Lismore national titleholder and former ECGN winner, Grenville Anderson.

The story behind Tania’s win is that she not only raced against Grenville in the early days of her career, but as a qualified nurse, also cared for him following his terrible crash at Brisbane’s Archerfield Speedway in the early 90s. Tania’s medical care and attention remained right to Grenville Anderson’s passing in May, 2004.

Tania’s 2010 victory was probably the most significant moment in the history of this great race. 

If Tania can win this race again this season, it represents a special time and place in her career which covers almost four decades after she started at Lismore driving Street Stocks, then Division Four Sedans, Modified Sedans and then present day Super Sedans, having won a number of feature races in each category.  

Going back in history to the ‘eighties, the ECGN was contested by the former Grand National Sedan category where the likes of John Leslight and Queensland’s Allan Butcher raced for honours and contributed a large part of ECGN history. Production Sedans also contested the ECGN in latter day seasons.

The Super Sedan East Coast GN will be supported with racing for AMCAs, Production Sedans, SSA Street Stocks, Junior Sedans Top Stars and Junior Sedan New Stars divisions.

In keeping with the ‘old school’ theme, fans are asked to wear their retro T-shirts and jackets as Castrol Edge Lismore Speedway turns back the hands of time this Saturday night.