Friday Practice at Calder Park Raceway was held in wonderful weather, it was a Test and Tune Day so there were a variety of track users from your everyday family cars to expensive personal cars; to avoid congestion the practicing cars were split into groups, SCA was red group.

Dave Brien who drives the #63 Torana was a late entry for the weekend after not being on the published entry list and Damian Sullivan was not on the entry list but was on the garage allocation list so there were fourteen entrants, a good total.

Gold FM was playing on the PA system between group announcements; the music was not bad at all though PA system quality does dip in some areas of the complex.

A decal was made and distributed through the field honouring the life of Garry Rogers, the former AUSCAR winner and successful team owner across many categories who had recently died.

The morning sessions went like clockwork with nothing of note happening, but the afternoon sessions were when things started to change.

Richard White went off and ended up in the sand, and he had to sit there for a couple of minutes until the #8 Monte Carlo was pulled out of the sand.

Phil Muffet came to Calder Park with a steadily improving Ford Thunderbird, he was following Mick Heppleston around the track when his axle had broken.

As you can see above, if a team is in trouble, help is only a garage or two away, Mick Heppleston (centre), Brad Burgess (on the left), the O’Hara’s (in the foreground) were among those who worked on the #41 Thunderbird.

A lot of hammering was done to clear the broken axle, even wood was brought in to help with the hammering process, afterwards efforts turned to cleaning work which had taken up more time.

Additional work was carried out underneath the car, one of the RWR team members spent at least an hour under there doing cleaning work for the installation of a new gasket.

While this was happening, the #19 Chevrolet Monte Carlo and the #45 Dodge Challenger struck mechanical trouble though neither was out for the count, and both were good to run on Saturday.

Mick Heppleston showed us the above device, it allows for the easier fitting of a tyre, we were quite impressed by it.

The SCA AUSCAR field was quiet in the first half of the day but started to hit the track in the late sessions, the #26’s arrival was briefly delayed as the car was being taken towards the AUSCAR side of the complex.

On display for the three days was the ex-Anthony Leitch #66 Holden Commodore owned by Brad Hall.

Saturday

Rain was blowing across Calder Park like a mist, it wasn’t sideways rain, it was a mist that was continuously blowing through the complex.

It was hard to see Calder Park on the way in, that was an omen for what was the come over the next two days.

Saturday Practice saw Sam Gibson top the field with a time of 1:22.8463 in a session that was shared with the Victorian Super TT field.

Colin Matton’s #2 AUSCAR looked great and was sixth fastest in practice but sadly his weekend ended with an engine failure, a smashed piston and a destroyed spark plug the obvious damage to the car.

Daniel Stubbs weekend was at first a short one, he left the garage and the car rolled to a halt, the #19 was pushed back into the garage and it was determined that a broken axle had claimed another car.

The rain during practice and qualifying caused issues for the field, water was getting inside which was not good news, work was carried out on Mick Heppleston’s OzTruck to create a tubing system to allow Mick to see where he was going and tape was in plentiful use up and down the garages to make things as easy as possible.

Richard White got pole position with a lap of 1:19.1920, Robert Marchese was second with a time of 1:20.7860, he truly did not expect such a result as he asked who everybody in his garage was talking about.

Third was Phil Muffet who was showing that he and the #41 Ford Thunderbird were improving every time, fourth was Jeff Stubbs with a time of 1:21.7842.

Fifth was Sam Gibson with a time of 1:24.0954, Brad Lighton was the lead SCA AUSCAR driver by qualifying sixth, Brad was followed by Lukas Gates in seventh, eighth was Mick Heppleston with a time of 1:33.1915.

Dave Brien was the lead Muscle Division driver with a time of 1:35.5839 followed by Jamey Hollier in tenth, Troy Perichon in eleventh and Damian Sullivan was twelfth with a time of 1:44.9329.

By 1pm, aircraft were visible over Calder Park after hours of hearing but never seeing them in the skies due to the low cloud.

The optimism of good weather coming soon ended as the rain picked up again, the wind also increased with temperatures plummeting, it was feeling like three degrees when Race 1 was about to begin.

Race 1

Race 1 got underway in horrible conditions, water had built up in several sections of the track, conditions were so bad it was even affecting Blend Line TV’s coverage of the race.

Mick Heppleston’s OzTruck spun out on the opening lap after hitting the built-up water and the grass, unfortunately his #304 OzTruck hit the close by wall, the crash left the OzTruck heavily damaged and it was towed back to the garage.

The #304 was quickly ruled out for the weekend after a close examination revealed damage to several components as well as the body.

Live timing was screwed for the race as the timing was stuck under yellow for several minutes and would not advance properly.

The field was largely spread out as there was a gap of over forty seconds between Robert Marchese in third and Phil Muffet in fourth.

Vehicles that were close together during the race were the ones driven by Brad Lighton and Lukas Gates, Dave Brien and Jamey Hollier and Troy Perichon and Damian Sullivan.

Richard White recorded his second Stock Cars Australia victory, Sam Gibson in his debut race finished second less than .3 of a second behind Richard.

Robert Marchese finished third, Phil Muffet finished fourth, Brad Lighton was the first SCA AUSCAR home in fifth position, sixth position was Lukas Gates in the #22 Holden Commodore while seventh was Jeff Stubbs.

Eighth place was lead Muscle Division runner Dave Brien in the #63 Holden Torana, ninth was Jamey Hollier, tenth was Troy Perichon and Damian Sullivan rounded out the field of finishers.

Race 2

The rain continued to fall and there was little doubt that the race was going to be a race of survival.

Richard White and Sam Gibson found out just how difficult it was from the front when the two almost lost control of their Chevrolet Monte Carlo and Chevrolet Lumina respectively heading down the straight.

Jeff Stubbs hit the wall with the front and the back of his Dodge Challenger, he was able to drive the car back to the garage and plans were quickly made to repair the car, aiding in repairs was the fact that home base was only a short distance away.

Sam Gibson won the race by less than a second over Richard White, a timing issue had briefly thrown in some confusion as it had shown that Richard White was the winner and Sam Gibson dropped down the field, the issue was resolved, and Sam was the winner.

Robert Marchese’s Saturday continued strongly as he finished third, followed by Phil Muffet in fourth and Brad Lighton was the first SCA AUSCAR home in fifth.

Lukas Gates was sixth in the #22 Holden Commodore, Dave Brien was the lead Muscle Division runner in seventh, Damian Sullivan was eighth, Jamey Hollier was ninth and Troy Perichon was tenth.

A dinner was held in Taylors Lakes after Race 2, it sounded like it was going to be a small dinner, so it was very surprising to see around 100 people there, Jack Perkins was among those who were in attendance.

The Pizza that I picked was fantastic; Roy Ellery was very helpful in advising that Coca Cola is a great way to help get food in when the stomach is considered full and it was a struggle to get those last two pieces in.

Sunday

The good news was that the weather had improved compared to Saturday, there were periods of sunshine though we were still getting some rain showers.

There was a schedule change that changed the plans for the day with Race 4 moved up to 1:40pm which was good news for those seeking to get away early and begin their long trips home.

There was some good news on the racing front, the #45 Dodge was looking good as new, and the car and Jeff Stubbs were ready to be crowned champion.

Unfortunately, Daniel Stubbs was on the sidelines as there were no axles available to put on the #19 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, there were people ready and willing to travel for hours to get them if they were available showing how determined they were to get the car on the track.

Race 3

Constantly changing weather conditions forced teams to gamble on what tyres to use for Race 3, while the radar showed rain near the track, there was no certainty of rainfall, and the track was drying in the lead up to the race.

The weather changed as the cars were leaving the dummy grid and a rain shower soaked the track and those who were standing on the back of the Thunderdome’s backstretch mound, it is worth noting that from the top of the mound, you can see Melbourne in the distance.

Sam Gibson led the field to the green and into turn one before Phil Muffet went through on the inside, Robert Marchese briefly made it a three-way contest before dropping back and then passed Sam a short time later.

We saw an early duel between Phil Muffet and Robert Marchese for the lead, the #84 OzTruck was continuing to show its speed before Phil Muffet got his #41 Ford Thunderbird a little bit away from the #84.

Disaster struck for Robert Marchese after a broken control arm forced him out of the race on Lap 3 when he was holding down second position.

Jeff Stubbs was making gains as he marched his way back up the field having started the race at the very back.

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Soon Jeff was in second but as the track conditions improved, Sam Gibson was picking up the pace, it was a battle of two halves as Jeff had the car to beat on the first half of the track and Sam would be stronger in the second half.

Phil Muffet’s call for wets paid dividends as he blitzed the field to claim his first victory in Stock Cars Australia giving the series two first time winners that weekend.

Sam Gibson got past the #45 Dodge Challenger on the last lap to take home second position and Jeff Stubbs taken home third.

Brad Lighton finished fourth in the #26 Holden Commodore, Lukas Gates was fifth, Richard White was sixth, seventh was Troy Perichon, eighth was Damian Sullivan, ninth was Jamey Hollier and tenth was Dave Brien.

All ten finishers recorded their fastest lap on either the eighth, the ninth or the tenth lap showing that conditions were changing for the better towards the end.

Battles of the race were Sam Gibson and Jeff Stubbs and Troy Perichon and Damian Sullivan.

Perhaps predictably, the sun came out straight after the race, unfortunately the rain shower killed off all hopes of a Thunderdome exhibition to the disappointment of the people who were waiting outside of Turn 2 (NASCAR direction).

Race 4

The lead up to race 4 saw a driver substitution take place, Daniel Stubbs got behind the wheel of the #45 which was now the championship winning car, this meant that the #45 was back down the field again.

The #84 OzTruck was back in action thanks to a swift replacement of the broken control arm.

Phil Muffet led the field to the green and took off, all was going well for the #41 until it was time to stop, as Phil said, ‘you need a clutch to go and a clutch to stop’ and his clutch had no problem with going but it did have a problem with helping the car stop.

With the #41 stuck just off circuit, the field was behind the pace car for several laps, the #41 rejoined the race but was three laps down.

Most of the field done their best laps on either the sixth, seventh or eighth lap, Daniel Stubbs got the best lap of the race by clocking a 1:06.1423 on the last lap to keep things close at the front of the field.

Sam Gibson won the race by just under two seconds from Richard White who had Daniel Stubbs just over half a second behind him in the #45 Dodge Challenger.

Robert Marchese finished fourth in a largely fantastic weekend of racing; Robert was hoping for rain to come down as he could have been in a position to win the race.

Fifth place was Lukas Gates in the #22 Holden Commodore, a great end to the season for the team after going through a difficult season.

Sixth place was Brad Lighton, seventh place was Damian Sullivan, Troy Perichon held off Dave Brien to secure eighth by .4636 of a second, Jamey Hollier finished tenth and Phil Muffet finished eleventh in the pacy but unfortunately lapped Ford Thunderbird.

Sam Gibson was the round winner as he had won two races and came second in the other two, not bad at all for a person whose previous experience in Stock Cars before Friday was in simulators.

After the conclusion of Race 4, it was time for the handing out of trophies and the giving of speeches.

Jeff Stubbs was Outright Champion and the Stock Car champion, Robert Marchese was OzTruck champion, Jamey Hollier was the SCA AUSCAR champion and Michael Rice went back-to-back as Muscle Division champion.

The speeches highlighted the happiness that competitors felt with Stock Cars Australia, there was also the hint of bigger and better things to come for the category.

It was also the end of an era; the Stock Cars Australia emblem was retired, the SCA AUSCAR field showed off their new attire and logo and the old SCA flag was on its way to Queensland via Cranbourne and Deniliquin.

At the end of the presentations, 2025 t-shirts were handed out as were hats and stubby holders, it was a festive like end to the season.

Just like 2024, rain started to fall after the ceremony, perhaps it was nature’s way of telling us all to leave and come back later, we wonder if it will happen again next year.

Lots of photos and videos of the three days were taken by groups like MotorsportArchives.com, BlueStream Pictures, Richard White Racing and also by Kris Pechotsch so make sure you check them out, Richard White Racing will be publishing additional media in the coming days and weeks.

Wrap up

It was perhaps the craziest weekend in Stock Cars Australia history, the wild weather, the part failures, the weather induced wrecks.

The racing was fantastic; it was a shame that rain kept the crowds away from enjoying the action as they missed three close races and one that was decided by a gamble.

When looking at everything, Stock Cars is quite strong in Australia; the three biggest hurdles are time, money and mechanical gremlins.

We had fourteen entries at Calder Park this year and what has to be remembered is that 2024 Calder Park drivers Scott Nind, Michael Rice, Danny Burgess, Laurence Mckinnon, Chris Robinson and Ranald Maclurkin were not at Calder Park this year.

There are so many possibilities for 2026, if Eddie and Jake get their cars into the field that bolsters the Stock Cars and Zac will be making a return in 2026.

SCA AUSCAR could easily double numbers, you got the #14 Holden Commodore, the #31 Holden Commodore, the #38 Ford Falcon and the #55 Holden Commodore in the pipeline.

Then you got all those returning from mechanical issues and then you got those car owners who are curious about joining and hopefully some of them do join in 2026.

So, if everything goes perfect in the world in 2026, entrants won’t be a problem in 2026 as 20+ entries is theoretically possible.

That wraps up this last round recap for 2025, thank you for joining us all year, we will still be doing the newsletter throughout the rest of the year, posting the championship journeys of all class winners and writing about anything we have found interesting.