3/4/2025
Late Model Racing Western Australia
Twenty One Years of Australian Titles – By the numbers!
With the twenty second anniversary of the Australian Late Model Title approaching in just a few days time, the time is right to explore the updated stats (first published in 2022) around Australia’s premier Late Model race!
For those of you who enjoy numbers, reading about stats or just simply have some time to kill, we hope you enjoy the following stats about the first twenty-one years of the Australian Late Model Championship!
Venues
Across the twenty years of the Championship the title has been held at ten venues in five states: the Perth Motorplex (WA) ten times, Sydney Speedway (NSW) and Premier (Vic) twice and Bunbury (WA), Manjimup (WA), Murray Bridge (SA), Mount Gambier (SA), Mildura (Vic), Kingaroy (Qld) and Toowoomba (Qld) each hosting the event once. The Motorplex extends its record to eleven this weekend.
Total competitors
Over those twenty championships, there have been 226 drivers who have competed in the Australian Title at least once. 158 of those drivers have qualified into an A main to decide the winner! Last season thirteen drivers added their names to the participation lsit, and this weekend, going by the current nomination list, will see a further nineteen drivers added, with Abbey Pickering, Beau Oldfield, Ben Strautins, Bradley Oldfield, Casey Paech, Chris Barrow, Darren Ahearn, Dylan Barrow, Glynn McBeath, Greg Horan, Jay Bassanelli, Mat Robbins, Myles Moos, Nathan Richards, Peter Walker, Rod Musarra, Ryan Huxtable, Shaun Cubbage, Steve Schofield all entering their rookie Title campaigns.
By the states
Breaking down those 226 drivers who have already competed even further, we can see that two drivers have represented the ACT, 49 drivers New South Wales, 27 from Queensland, twelve from South Australia, 26 from Victoria, 93 drivers from Western Australia, seven from Tasmania and one from the Northern Territory, with no less than ten drivers hailing from the USA also competing over the years. This number actually totals 227 drivers, but Scott Macpherson represented the ACT and NSW!
Competitor Numbers
As far as our research goes, the biggest Australian Late Model Title was the 2015/16 event at the Perth Motorplex with 46 competitors starting the weekend. A year later at Premier Speedway got close, with 45 cars while two years later at Valvoline Raceway there were 44 cars. This year, the record should be reset with 52 nominations currently in the mix.
Most titles
Brad Blake has raced in the most title events, showing up at sixteen of the twenty titles held. Ben Ludlow and Craig Vosbergen are next best, having each raced in fifteen title events, followed by Darryl Grimson on fourteen, Brad Ludlow and Michael Holmes on thirteen, Ryan Halliday and Jay Cardy on twelve, Bert Vosbergen and Warren Oldfield on eleven apiece while Ben Nicastri, Jason Oldfield, Matt Goodlad and Jamie Oldfield are the final drivers in double figures with ten appearances.
Most titles in a row
Ben Ludlow raced at the first thirteen titles in a row, while Brad Blake raced at the first eleven titles and Brad Ludlow at the first ten, while Ryan Halliday, Craig Vosbergen and Bert Vosbergen attended the first nine in a row. Darryl Grimson has also done nine titles in a row over the years, but it is Ben Nicastri from New South Wales who has the current longest streak, this weekend marking his tenth Australian Title event in a row.
Rookies of the title (Best Result)
If we consider a rookie as someone competing for the first time in the Australian Title, there are four drivers who have won on their first attempt at the title: Steve Francis, Callum Harper, Allan Butcher and Kodee Brown. Brad Blake, Warren Oldfield, Michael Hebditch and Daniel Cassidy each finished second in their first attempts at an Australian Title while Brad Ludlow, Kye Blight, Jac Dolmans Jnr and Jaron Crane all found themselves on the podium in their first title attempts. 33 other drivers made their way into the top ten on their first attempts.
Most numbers raced
Jason Oldfield (#11, 96, 55 and 61) and Brad Ludlow (#21, 2, 92 and A1) have each raced under four different numbers at Australian titles. Another ten drivers have used three different numbers in their title tilts. Interestingly, the N15 has been raced by five different drivers in Titles and the N9 by four drivers!
A Main Appearances
Brad Blake has started in 16 Australian Title main events, followed by Craig Vosbergen with 15, Darryl Grimson with fourteen, Michael Holmes with thirteen, Brad Ludlow with twelve, Ryan Halliday 11 and Warren Oldfield, Ben Nicastri, Ben Ludlow and Jay Cardy on ten apiece.
Top 10 Results
Brad Blake has appeared in the top 10 twelve times, followed by Warren Oldfield with ten appearances, Craig Vosbergen with nine, Michael Holmes, Ryan Halliday, Ben Nicastri and Ben Ludlow with eight apiece.
Top 5 Results
Brad Blake has nine top five appearances followed by Ben Ludlow with seven, while Craig Vosbergen, Warren Oldfield and Brad Ludlow are all tied with six top five results.
Top 3 Results
Thirty four drivers have made an appearance on the Australian Championship podium, with Brad Blake again leading the stats with eight appearances. Going by podiums only, Brad and Ben Ludlow are next best, each with four appearances, while Marc Giancola, Ryan Halliday, Craig Vosbergen, Darren Kane and Warren Oldfield each have three appearances on the podium.
Title Wins
Fourteen drivers have claimed as Australian Title win over the last twenty years. Brad Blake leads the stats with five wins in the title, followed by Marc Giancola, Steve Francis and Darren Kane each with two victories. Allan Butcher, Ryan Halliday, Bruce Treneman, Brad Ludlow, Kodee Brown, Callum Harper, Paul Stubber, Kye Blight, Brent Vosbergen and defending champion Joe Chalmers each have one Australian Late Model Title win.
So, with all those stats in mind, what will happen in the twenty second annual running of the Australian Late Model Title? Will Joe Chalmers successfully defend his Title and go back-to-back for the first time in twelve seasons? Do we see a familiar name back up in lights? Or will we see a new name break through? All roads lead to the Perth Motorplex this weekend!
Please Note: All due care has been taken when compiling this article and the results to ensure complete accuracy. As always, there may be discrepancies, and if more information comes to hand we may be able to rectify this!
Release by DTN Media.
Article Credit: DTN Media
Submitted By: Scott Beattie