{"id":631887,"date":"2026-04-26T11:03:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T11:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/631887\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T11:03:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T11:03:15","slug":"national-news-new-names-dominate-speedway-stars-stun-in-final-legends-nationals-heats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/631887\/","title":{"rendered":"National news: New names dominate, speedway stars stun in final Legends Nationals heats"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"New
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRuben Dan leading the way during Heat 6 of the AASA Legends Nationals. Image: AASA<\/p>\n

Heat 5<\/p>\n

Craig took his second heat race win of the weekend, banking maximum points to gain the biggest grid advantage for Heats 7 and 8.<\/p>\n

Craig was forced to battle for the victory, fending off charges from second place finisher Nash Morris, Josh Benaud, and third place Maverick Kemenyvary.<\/p>\n

Swapping the lead lap after lap, Craig kept a cool head even after contact from Morris at Turn 1 forced the latter off the road.<\/p>\n


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<\/a><\/p>\n

Front-runner Benaud was tagged by Morris at Turn 2 in the closing laps, spinning towards the back of the field.<\/p>\n

The battle for the back of the top five was intense between former national champion Ryan Pring, Tim Reed, and speedway star Joe Berkley.<\/p>\n

Reed and Berkley came together at Turn 2, sending the rear of Berkley\u2019s car airborne, but the pair were able to continue.<\/p>\n

Berkley brought his car home in seventh place after a strong run, while fellow speedway competitor Jock Goodyer held his ground inside the top 10, finishing ninth for the second time.<\/p>\n

Heat 6<\/p>\n

Reigning national champion Ruben Dan took his second win of the weekend in the final group heat, before the grid for Heats 7 and 8 switched to points standings.<\/p>\n

Dan stole the win from CXC Racing teammate Dylan Thomas at the final corner, the pair then leading home a three-wide photo finish including Josh Thomas.<\/p>\n

Just 0.06s covered the top three finishers, with less than one second across the top six.<\/p>\n

Dan, Riley Skinner, Dylan and Josh Thomas, and Chais Tippett swapped the lead lap by lap, with Dan ultimately prevailing.<\/p>\n

The second pair of speedway drivers Callum Harper and Kaidon Brown did not fare as well in Heat 6 as their dirt racing counterparts, coming home in 14th and 15th position respectively.<\/p>\n

Heat 7<\/p>\n

Craig took a third victory of the weekend in dominant fashion, coming home 8.4s clear of those behind.<\/p>\n

Josh Thomas took second spot from Dan at the line, with 0.06s between the two<\/p>\n

Holding the overall points lead heading into the final two heats, Craig\u2019s third win sees him hold the lead heading into the Top 8 Dash ahead of the A-Main.<\/p>\n

As the battle for the top five continued for several laps, Goodyer battled with Ben Goodridge and Diesel Thomas for sixth position.<\/p>\n

Goodyer came home solidly inside the top 10 once again, finishing in eighth place.<\/p>\n

Goodyer\u2019s fellow speedway drivers Brown and Harper had clean races to finish 13th and 14th.<\/p>\n

Heat 8<\/p>\n

In yet another photo finish, Morris took the final heat race win by just 0.07s over Skinner in a crash-affected race.<\/p>\n

Kemenyvary held on to take third place in a three-wide contest for the position, just edging out Scott Morgan and Shane Tate.<\/p>\n

Reed and Hardy Martin came together at the final corner, taking the pair out of the running with heavy damage to the front of Martin\u2019s car.<\/p>\n

After a short red flag for the clean-up, Morris led the field away at the restart, but the story of Heat 8 was Super Sedans champion Berkley.<\/p>\n

The only speedway driver in the final heat, Berkley raced comfortably inside the top five, running as high as third position before ultimately finishing seventh.<\/p>\n

At the end of eight heat races, the top eight drivers in points progress through to the Dash, which sets the first four rows for the A-Main.<\/p>\n

The Dash commences at 7:20pm AEST, held over just two laps.<\/p>\n

Following the Dash is the B-Main commencing at 8:00pm, the last chance to progress to the A-Main feature.<\/p>\n

The top 16 drivers below automatically progress to the A-Main, while the remainder will battle it out in the B-Main, where the top six finishers will progress.<\/p>\n

Points standings following heat races<\/p>\n

Pos.
\nDriver
\nPoints<\/p>\n

1
\nJoshua Craig
\n390<\/p>\n

2
\nNash Morris
\n363<\/p>\n

3
\nRiley Skinner
\n343<\/p>\n

4
\nRuben Dan
\n340<\/p>\n

5
\nJoshua Thomas
\n333<\/p>\n

6
\nMaverick Kemenyvary
\n278<\/p>\n

7
\nRyan Pring
\n278<\/p>\n

8
\nShane Tate
\n273<\/p>\n

9
\nDylan Thomas
\n264<\/p>\n

10
\nChais Tippett
\n257<\/p>\n

11
\nJoshua Benaud
\n241<\/p>\n

12
\nDrew Gibson
\n221<\/p>\n

13
\nBen Goodridge
\n220<\/p>\n

14
\nDiesel Thomas
\n214<\/p>\n

15
\nTimothy Reed
\n201<\/p>\n

16
\nJoel Berkley
\n198<\/p>\n

17
\nLuke Waldon
\n187<\/p>\n

18
\nNathan Predo
\n183<\/p>\n

19
\nScott Morgan
\n181<\/p>\n

20
\nJock Goodyer
\n173<\/p>\n

21
\nChris Spicer
\n144<\/p>\n

22
\nJack De Boynton
\n136<\/p>\n

23
\nNathan Locke
\n136<\/p>\n

24
\nCallum Harper
\n118<\/p>\n

25
\nRobert Coulthard
\n117<\/p>\n

26
\nHardy Martin
\n115<\/p>\n

27
\nBruce Duckworth
\n112<\/p>\n

28
\nSeth Morgan
\n111<\/p>\n

29
\nMark Duckworth
\n105<\/p>\n

30
\nKaidon Brown
\n101<\/p>\n

31
\nMatthew Bond
\n93<\/p>\n

32
\nJohn Houlder
\n90<\/p>\n

33
\nNick Follows
\n61<\/p>\n


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