Justin Paull wins Australian Compact Speedcar Championship at Rushworth Speedway

Kilsyth’s Justin Paull didn’t put a foot wrong throughout the Australian Compact Speedcar Championship feature race at the Rushworth Speedway, claiming what was a momentous and emotion-charged victory.

Checkered flag for Kilsyth national champion Justin Paull. Picture: Random Panda Photography

Kilsyth’s Justin Paull didn’t put a foot wrong throughout the Australian Compact Speedcar Championship feature race at the Rushworth Speedway, claiming what was a momentous and emotion-charged victory.

It was a case of redemption for Paull, who was disappointed with the result of last season’s national championships when he looked poised to challenge for a podium position but was only able to salvage fourth after suffering overheating issues.

While Paull hadn’t had the best of runs in title events heading into this year’s nationals, experiencing DNFs during the Victorian and NSW titles earlier this season, the 24-year-old had five feature-race wins under his belt, one of which had taken place at the Rushworth venue, proving that it might well be a happy hunting ground.

Forced to wait an extra fortnight to launch his Australian Championship campaign, with the event rescheduled because of inclement weather, Paull couldn’t have been happier to have time on his side and made a number of changes to his engine that the delay allowed him to test.

Kilsyth’s Justin Paull is all smiles after making up for last year’s national championship disappointment. Picture: Random Panda Photography

Paull drove to victory in his opening heat race before struggling slightly with the track conditions in heat two and placing third. He’d just regained some confidence in his car when a clutch failure resulted in a costly DNF.

After working to repair his car prior to the feature-race decider, Paull was disheartened to be starting out of position seven, but his tyre selection and calm driving style quickly saw him make his way into third at the completion of the opening lap.

He wasted no time in edging past second-placed Louis Rodriguez and first-placed Rob Rawlings Snr to take the lead on lap five.

Having opted for a softer compound tyre, to give him an early edge over his rivals off the starting line, Paull knew he would need to manage his tyres carefully throughout the remainder of the 25-lap race.

And, that’s exactly what he did.

Withstanding pressure from Rodriguez, Paull maintained his composure and went on to claim a well-deserved victory.

“As a kid who’s grown up around speedway, the dream has always been to win an Australian title,” he said. “So to actually pull that off was quite an emotional moment for me, particularly having all of my family there cheering me on.

“Without my dad (Phil) and brother-in-law Dale (Hallett) changing the clutch, I wouldn’t have made it out for the feature race, so I’d like to say a huge thanks to them, along with my brother Jamie and Dean (Kavathas), who did an excellent job setting up the car and making the right tyre selection.

“It’s a real honour to have my name on the Australian Championship trophy with some accomplished drivers from past seasons and it wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible support from my whole family, especially my girlfriend and kids, as well as my sponsors. So I just want to say thank you for everyone who has helped to get me here.”

Paull plans to defend his Australian Championship crown aboard a new car next season.

Justin Paull is a Local Sports Star nominee. For more stories and to nominate, visit: heraldsun.com.au/leader/localsportsstars