October has arrived and that means that a new Queensland speedway season is upon us once again. This Saturday night (October 3) at Ausdeck Patios Archerfield Speedway, the 2015/2016 season gets underway in style with the opening round of the Supercheap Auto Sprintcar Track Championship. More than 25 drivers have nominated for competition, with a good mix of experienced campaigners and youthful newcomers amongst the entries.

Whilst the likes of Andrew Scheuerle, Brent Kratzmann, Kevin Titman and Luke Oldfield will no doubt again be at the forefront of the battle for championship honours. This quartet have a wealth of experience, particularly here at Archerfield, and whilst it would be reasonable to expect that they will feature prominently in the results, there are a growing number of young(er) guns looking to make their mark this season and steal the spotlight from these established stars.

On the back of some strong results towards the end of last season, Ben Hilder will be looking to continue his upward trajectory with a strong start to the new season, while the two-car team of Brandon Rawlings and Mitchell Gee will also be primed to build on their impressive efforts from last season. Having made the step up from the Modilite division at the very end of last season, Gold Coast-based teenager Lachlan McHugh will undertake his first full-time foray into Sprintcar competition, with former two-time state Formula 500 champion Dale Shilleto also making a move into the V8 ranks.

Another talented teenager in Callum Walker also returns for his sophomore season, while McHughs former Modlite adversary in Dylan Menz will make his Sprintcar competition debut this weekend. Another youngster on the rise is Travis Woods, while Kristy Bonsey will continue to build on her reputation as a low-budget racer who never gives less than 100% in her bid to upstage her higher profile rivals.

Throw in the likes of track regulars such as Andrew Liebke, Dan Murray, Jason Bottin, Steve Johnson, Mark Pholi, Steve Greer, Scott Doyle and Brad Ayers, along with Toowoombas David Whell, a returning Clem Hoffmans and a couple of wildcard entries in Andrew Marks and Luke Tinson and all the ingredients are in place to cook up something special on Saturday night.

There will be again be three separate Sprintcar championships up for grabs at Archerfield this season, with the Supercheap Auto Series to be decided over the first 14 rounds of racing. Rounds 15 to 19 will comprise the East Coast Logistics Crispy Memorial Series and the overall top pointscorer across both competitions will be crowned Track Champion.

The opening round of the Polar Ice Midget Track Championship will also be decided on Saturday night, with defending titleholder Michael Kendall to face off against a dozen challengers, including proven feature race winners such as Brendan Palmer, Darren Vine, Anthony Chaffey, Grant Draney and Mark George. However, it might just be Troy Ware who emerges as the biggest threat if he can maintain the form he found towards the end of the 2014/2015 season.

Wingless Sprints, Modlites and Formula 500s, with Queensland champ Kaydon Iverson and Kristin Brown leading the charge, complete the opening night racing program, with a huge fireworks show also scheduled to ring in the new season.

Those attending this weekend will notice some significant changes to the complex to accommodate the ever-encroaching development that now occupies a large portion of what was once part of the pit area. As a result, the pits have been re-aligned to incorporate an area previously utilised for public parking. Pit access is now via an entry chute accessed directly from Colebard Street, with the pit ticket office situated adjacent to the pit entry chute. In an effort to streamline pit entry, drivers and teams in all categories need to make themselves aware of the new procedures and protocols before arriving at the venue.

Meanwhile, spectator parking and entry gates will now be situated in the bitumen car park behind turn two. Further information about the changes, including a map of the new layout, is available from the track website and Facebook page.

Pit gates open at 2:30pm, with spectator gates from 4:00pm. Early racing gets underway from 4:45pm and Sprintcars are scheduled to hit the track for the first time in 2015/2016 at 6:00pm.