Written here will be the history of the 1998/99 AUSCAR season as it comes to hand.

Round 1 – Calder Park Thunderdome (November 1, 1998)

Matthew White won the 80-lap season opener by half a second over Leigh Watkins in his new Ford Falcon.

Sean Henshelwood and Dick Howe both had tyre issues on Lap 6 and Lap 59 respectively, Dick Howe’s tyre failure put his Ford Falcon into the wall and out of the race.

Finishing Order

Matthew White
Leigh Watkins
Nathan Pretty
Tony Malley
Anthony Leitch
Nichole Pretty
Darryl Speers
Amin Chahda
Eddie Woods
Leigh Moran
Tim D’Ombrain
Sean Henshelwood
Dick Howe
Shane Houlahan
John Agosta

Round 2 – Calder Park Thunderdome 

Round 2 – Calder Park Thunderdome saw 15 cars line up for the two races, the first race was won by past champion Matthew White whilst Leigh Watkins won Race 2 in his EF Falcon.

Race 2 is notable for having then 16 year old Paul Dumbrell behind the wheel of the #7 Wynns sponsored Commodore.

Race 1 results (Top 8)

1. Matthew White
2. Leigh Watkins
3. Nathan Pretty
4. Tony Malley
5. Anthony Leitch
6. Nicole Pretty
7. Darryl Speers
8. Amin Chahda

Race 2 results (Top 4)

1. Leigh Watkins
2. Matthew White
3. Darren McDonald
4. Nathan Pretty

Last Round 

The last round of the season and a Ford was at the top trying to hold on.

Race 1

Matthew White won Race 1 ahead of Leigh Watkins, Nathan Pretty, Rodney Jane, Tony Malley, Graham Crawford, Anthony Leitch, Nigel Benson, Leanne Ross and Darryl Speers rounded out the Top 10.

With Matthew White winning and therefore finished ahead of Leigh Watkins, the title margin closed between them to ten points setting up a grand finale.

Race 2

19 cars lined up in Race 2 for what was unknowingly the final race that AUSCAR would ever have by themselves before the 1999/00 season was a combination of AUSCAR and Sportsman cars.

It was Matthew White vs Leigh Watkins, the past champion vs. a man who could deliver Ford its first AUSCAR title after a decade of effort.

Leigh held a ten-point lead and for a bit of time he did fall to third as Nathan Pretty got by him which could have landed him trouble.

Anthony Leitch had a spin in his #66 Commodore and Darren McDonald went out of the race with what appeared to be mechanical issues.

Leigh got by Nathan Pretty to hold second place and he was in the box seat for the title in front of a crowd that was pretty good for a series that was winding down.

Matthew White won the race but with Leigh Watkins finishing right behind him it meant that Leigh was the champion by a narrow margin of five points.

Final Results (Race 2)

1. Matthew White
2. Leigh Watkins
3. Nathan Pretty
4. Shane Houlahan
5. Rodney Jane
6. Tony Malley
7. Nigel Benson
8. Graham Crawford
9. Darryl Speers
10. Leanne Ross

Non-Championship Round – Calder Park Raceway (May 23, 1999)

There was a non-championship round that combined AUSCAR and Sportsman held at Calder Park Raceway on May 23, 1999.

Four races were run on the day and Darryl Speers in the #31 Holden Commodore won all four races in the round.

Championship Standings – Top 10

Leigh Watkins – 860 pts
Matthew White – 855pts
Nathan Pretty – 825pts
Tony Malley – 775pts
Anthony Leitch – 699pts
Darren McDonald – 684pts
Nicole Pretty – 676pts
Shane Houlahan – 666pts
Leigh Moran – 639pts
Eddie Woods – 631pts