Round 3 of the 2025 Australian Stock Car Championship was a round different to all the others, there were no points on offer and racing was held over just a day.

There was another big difference, they were racing with the Super TT crowd, 33 Super TT vehicles to go with the four SCA entries.

Regulars Robert Marchese and Mick Heppleston were there with their OzTrucks.

Racing for Super TT points were SCA regular Brett Mitchell and time to time SCA racer Barry Kelleher.

Making it to the round was Phil Muffet and his #41 Ford Thunderbird, the car made it to the round thanks to help from Zac O’Hara who helped Phil with the mechanical side of things.

Phil’s crew chief for the round was a man with great racing (and podcasting) experience, Elliot Barbour.

Another newcomer to the series was Dave Brien in the Holden Torana LJ.

Qualifying

Phil Muffet scored pole with a time of 1:50.5142 and was twenty-first overall, Mick Heppleston was next with a time of 1:50.5142, Dave Brien qualified 35th with a time of 2:01.6909 and Robert Marchese had to start at the back as a battery issue stopped his #84 OzTruck with a lap of 5:26.8608.

Race One

It was a good start for the SCA field, Mick Heppleston picked up four spots to be 21st overall, Robert Marchese went from 36th to 24th, Dave Brien jumped nine positions to be 26th and Phil Muffet went from 39th to 31st.

Mick Heppleston fell back to 36th on the second lap and Phil Muffet lost one position and Robert Marchese stayed 21st after briefly climbing to twenty-first.

By lap four, Robert Marchese was in twenty-second, Phil Muffet gained three spots to be twenty-ninth, Dave Brien was thirty-fourth and Mick Heppleston was catching up to the pack in thirty-sixth position.

Lap 5 saw Robert Marchese in twentieth position, Phil Muffet moved up to twenty-fifth and Mick Heppleston gained four spots to be thirty-second and Dave Brien was still in thirty-fourth position.

When the lap counter moved up to six laps, Robert Marchese was up to nineteenth position, Phil Muffet was holding on to 25th, Mick Heppleston moved up to thirtieth and Dave Brien moved up a place to be thirty-third.

As the race winded down, Robert Marchese retained nineteenth position, Phil Muffet moved up to twenty-third and Mick Heppleston was up to twenty-ninth.

Mick Heppleston was the last to gain a position when he taken twenty-eighth position to finish in that spot.

Robert Marchese was SCA’s winner of the race followed by Phil Muffet, Mick Heppleston and Dave Brien.

Race Two

The yellow flag flew early for Race 2 and stayed out for over half the allocated twenty minutes of race time, before that Robert Marchese got a great start to sit fifteenth, Phil Muffet occupied twenty-fifth, Dave Brien was twenty-eighth, Mick Heppleston dropped slightly to thirtieth.

The green flag was back out when the leaders crossed the line to start Lap 6

Phil Muffet moved up to twenty-fourth position when the lap counter moved up to Lap 7.

A thirty-second penalty for Mick Heppleston dropped his OzTruck to the back of the field, three drivers received such a penalty, and one received a five second penalty.

After all the penalties, Robert Marchese moved up to thirteenth, Phil Muffet finished twenty-second, Dave Brien finished thirtieth and Mick Heppleston finished thirty-third.

Race Three

Robert Marchese’s march up the field continued in Race 3 as he finished twelfth in the race and had a best lap of 1:47.0934.

Race 3 was Phil Muffet’s best run in the #41 Ford Thunderbird, he finished sixteenth with a best lap of 1:49.3544, he was just over a second away from securing a Top 15 finish.

Mick Heppleston finished twenty-first in the race in the #304 Chevrolet Silverado after starting the race down the bottom of the pack; his best time was a 1:50.5123 and Dave Brien finished 28th in the Torana with a best lap time of 1:55.7572.

Wrap Up

Robert Marchese won the round with Phil Muffet second and Mick Heppleston in third, Robert also picked up second in Super TT’s ‘Extreme TT’ class, a great day for the driver of the #84 OzTruck.

The field got through the day and Phil Muffet says that he was ‘so happy’ with the result even if his gearbox was giving him some trouble with second gear.

Will his crew chief Elliot Barbour get behind the wheel of a Stock Car at either One Raceway or Calder Park? He did sample the #8 Monte Carlo at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival and if the #3 is available, perhaps he is the one to occupy the seat.

The action moves to One Raceway on August 16 and 17 for Round 4 of the 2025 Australian Stock Car Championship, there will be plenty to see, Stock Cars (NASCAR), OzTruck, SCA AUSCAR/Sportman and Muscle Division.