It’s been a mixed bag of results for Ben Atkinson during the Chariots of Thunder at Darwin’s Northline Speedway, but the Xtreme Motorsports guest driver managed to turn things around when he won last Saturday night’s Northern Territory Open Sprintcar Title.

Following his fourth-place finish in the preliminary feature race the previous night, Atkinson pulled it all together when it counted. Starting out of position four for the 30-lap Northern Territory Title-deciding feature race, Atkinson steered the Xtreme Motorsport-owned ACT # 2 Austec Irrigation/Roller Door Services NT-backed car to NT Title victory, ahead of Chace Karpenko, after what was a great battle between the pair.

Off the back of having suffered two retirements in the opening two nights of the Chariots of Thunder the weekend prior, as well as substantial damage to the car which had to be repaired in a short space of time, the win was made even sweeter for Atkinson, who was overjoyed to clinch the win in his home state.

“It’s been a tricky couple of weeks for us and we didn’t get off to a great start, but ending the weekend with a win made it all worth it,” expressed Atkinson.

“I’d also like to say a huge thank you to Jamie O’Neill and the Xtreme Motorsport team for the opportunity to race this car.

“To take the Title in my home state is extremely special and it wouldn’t have been possible without the support and efforts of the team, my family, and my sponsors.”

Earlier in the night, Atkinson finished fourth in his opening heat race and then defeated Karpenko to the line to win heat race two. Prior to that, Atkinson had set the third fastest lap in hot laps / qualifying.

The night before, for the preliminary night of the Northern Territory Title, Atkinson came home in the preliminary feature race one spot shy of the podium in fourth. After he topped the time sheets in hot laps / qualifying, Atkinson crashed out of his opening heat race. Following the team hasty rebuild, he made it out for the second heat race, where he ended up fourth.

The Xtreme Motorsport team would like to thank their 2016 season supporters: Austec Irrigation, Roller Door Services NT, Build Up Crane Hire, Repco - Pinelands, Tap & Drain Doctor, The Tan Van, Sign City, Xtreme Garden Care, and Grizzly Dyno Shocks.

To find out more about Xtreme Motorsport, visit their website at www.xtrememotorsport.com.au, or LIKE them on Facebook by searching Xtreme Motorsport.