Shane Newstead just loves the Castrol Edge Lismore Speedway track.

The Casino racer achieved a hat-trick of title wins when he took out the AMCA sedan Andrew Walker Shield at the Lismore Speedway last night.

Newstead, who was followed to the chequered flag by runner-up Steve Price and third-placed Matt Hardy, was delighted to take his place as one of the dominant drivers in the 14 year history of the event.

“It's an honour to win this race and it not only means a lot to me and my team but also the AMCA division,” he said in Victory Lane.

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The other main event highlighted on the programme was the Wingless Sprintcar Grand Prix. The race was set originally for a 100-lap distance but was reduced to 50 laps and won by Michael Butcher.

Meanwhile Newstead earlier in the night showed winning form in a heat event and that earned him the right to start off position two in the final.

It was a rough and tumble start to the 25-lap AMCA main event after several incidents marred the opening lap, A spin by Darren Miller initially interrupted the action. Mitchell Nowlan also caused a further stoppage before the race ultimately settled into a pattern.

Each time Newstead led away after a stoppage with Matt Hardy and Steve Price following closely. Later it was Steve Price who moved up to challenge Newstead for the lead after he passed Hardy.

Shane Newstead led from start to finish in the AMCA Andrew Walker Shield. Photo: Tony Powell

The battle for the major placings provided an interesting contest as the laps unfolded. Further back Thomas Vickery hounded Steve Ward and then Hardy closed on second-placed Price in the latter stages.

But it was all Newstead in the run to the finish. His average winning speed was 90.486 km/h, with a best lap time of 15.914 seconds recorded late in the race. Qualifying one lap time trials were held earlier in the night and the fastest against the clock was Paul Reeves with a 16.221 second lap (88.774 km/h).

Michael Butcher, who won the opening feature race of the season, was victorious again last night. Photo: Christine Butcher

Michael Butcher maintained his good early season form after he took out the 50-lap Wingless Sprintcar main event. Butcher won the opening feature race of the season earlier this month and again showed blistering pace.

He led minor placegetters Ben Hull (runner-up) and Trent Martin to the finish line.

The Wingless Sanctioning Club, after allegedly requesting to promoter David Lander this annual Grand Prix race be retained over a 100-lap distance, was let down by the entry list and the small number of cars in the final, which was reduced to 50 laps.

Butcher led all the way and put down his fastest lap in the early stages when he stopped the timer at 15.763 seconds (91.353 Km/h) midway through the race.

David Eggins posted a best lap of 14.872 second (96.826 km/h) in time trials.

Robbie Mazzer, one of the pre-race favourites, was taken out earlier in a heat event following a three-car incident triggered by Rob Hamilton.

The crash also involved Michael Hunter as all three cars failed to contest the 50-lap main event.

Other main event winners were: Connor Reeves (Junior Sedans), Brodie King (National Fours), Jack Graham (Production Sedans) and Luke Grey (Street Stocks).

The main event win by Grey was a repeat of his season opening performance two weeks earlier.

ARTICLE BY DENNIS NEWLYN