As last night this meeting was again sponsored by Buckleys Automotive of Horsehead and the previous evening’s extreme action in both Speedway and Quad divisions was so appreciated by the near capacity crowd that tonight the start had to be delayed as the Arena was at capacity; not a single seat was empty and the streets outside the Arena at 7pm were crowded with people trying to get in from the cold to see some hot action on the ice.

Current Championship Leader, Charlie “The Edge” Venegas made his customary fast start in Heat 1 to convincingly beat young Brit Ben Hopwood and James “Demolition” Mann with the “British Bulldog” being excluded for causing Hopwood to crash on the very last turn.

Krazy Kelly Kerrigan overcame the disappointments of Friday night and really looked the part as he sped away at the start and stayed in the lead for a full 4 laps ahead of Paul “Cooperman” Cooper and fellow Brit, David “Victor” Meldrum.

The Series newcomer, yet a very experienced speedway Rider from California Shawn “Mad Dog” McConnell won the re-start of Heat 3 in very impressive style from fellow American Casey Donholt, Ben Warburton and the unlucky Eddie “double E” Martinez who crashed heavily into the Boards on the exit of turn 4, but fortunately he was able to continue riding later in the Meeting.

In a Champion of US scratch race it was the same Martinez who roared from the tapes and just managed to stay ahead of McConnell, Kerrigan and Venegas, the latter attempting both inside and outside moves to get past Kerrigan and McConnell who were having a battle of their own.

Venegas continued in Heat 4 where he left off in his first ride by making such a quick start that even Coopers experience of going around the boards proved ineffective and he had to settle for a 2nd place and 2 points ahead of Meldrum who collected jus a solitary point, which fortunately for him gave him a back row place in the Last Chance.

In Heat 5 of the qualifying rounds Kerrigan made absolutely certain of a front row start in the Main Final as he also took his second win of the night, this time managing to hold off “British Bulldog” Barlow who was snapping at his back wheel for the 4 laps duration.

Heat 6 resulted in Mann fending off the chasing Casey Donholt, who himself then proceeded to have a battle royal with McConnell and whilst on the 2nd lap there was contact McConnell held the outside line as Donholt came up on the inside. Unfortunately for Donholt a lap later in an identical move the positions were reversed as this time it was Donholt on the outside of McConnell and when there was the slightest of contact Donholt, lacking the experience of McConnell, went down as the race continued and McConnell picked up a valuable 2nd place followed by an out of sorts Ben Hopwood.

Last Chance front row starters Mann (1st) & Hopwood (3rd) qualified to the Main Final along with Barlow who came through from the back row to take 2nd place in a re-run heat as Paul Cooper was excluded from the re-run as he was not under power when the original staging was stopped.

In the 6-lap Main Final, the sell-out crowd witnessed possibly the finest XiiR Main Final since the Series started in 2004 as Venegas leading for nearly 5 laps was passed by the new boy, “Mad Dog” Shawn McConnell riding a controlled line came past going into the last bend of the 5th lap and after a real tussle on the final lap took the chequered flag, much to the delight of the fans who appreciated his superior riding style. This, his first title win of the Series occurred in only his second meeting of the Season and whilst it might seem to be an impossible task, should McConnell be able to compete in the remaining 7 rounds, maybe he can snatch the title.

Venegas held on for a 2nd place and a further 7 championship points, making a total of 13 for his night’s riding and because Barlow could only manage a 4th place in the final (behind Kerrigan) it means Venegas goes into Round 8 leading by 28 championship points.