DeGoldi slick in drought-breaking win
GOOD things come to those who wait and in Jason DeGoldi’s case, that’s exactly what happened.
The Geelong-based driver scored a momentous victory in the recent Triple S Street Stocks event at Hamilton’s Western Speedway.
It was his first feature race win since 2013.
Stepping it up a level in the 2017-18 season, having previously purchased the exJason Oldfield FG Ford Falcon he debuted late last season, DeGoldi, 26, had contested half-a-dozen shows prior to Hamilton, but had not been able to shake the monkey off his back.
DeGoldi went from strength to strength, claiming a fifth and two wins in the first three heats.
In the pole shuffle, DeGoldi pipped veteran Mick Clark for a third-place feature race start and continued his winning form against regular frontrunner Morris Ahearn to secure pole position.
Having fit different tyres for the 25-lap feature race — which was reduced to 20 laps due to the approaching curfew — in preparation for what was a very slick track, DeGoldi knew he would have to conserve his tyres and drive a controlled race. And that’s exactly what he did.
After a great door-to-door battle with Ahearn in the opening half of the race, Ahearn got a slight edge over DeGoldi, who proceeded to use the top of the track.
There, he was able to find additional speed, eventually managing to overtake Ahearn with about four laps remaining.
DeGoldi didn’t put a foot wrong in the final lap, going on to claim a thrilling and popular victory, while pocketing a pay packet of $1400 in the process.
“It’s been a long time coming and it’s such a feeling of relief to finally come away with a feature race win after almost five years,” admitted DeGoldi, who spent the off season getting his head around the car and building up spares.
“This new car is a lot more responsive both on the track and in terms of changes we made to it.”
DeGoldi said the droughtbreaking win restored belief in his ability.
“This win has certainly given a lot more confidence in the car and myself as a driver,” he said. “It’s good to know that we’ve got a car that can be competitive on slick and difficult track conditions.”