It was a challenging night for Matt Dumesny as the 2019 Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic kicked off at Premier Speedway in Warrnambool, Victoria.

Missing the setup slightly during qualifying, the Simmons Civil Contracting-backed 57 was forced to work for his spot in the points-paying feature race amongst an impressive field of drivers.

"The car was a little off in qualifying and we just didn't feel like we were making speed," Dumesny said. "We felt a bit tight, which is something we usually struggle with at Warrnambool.

"Qualifying put us behind all night and I finished sixth in the first heat. I was able to move up a few spots in the next heat though and finish third, which helped us out and we ended up making it into the feature."

Starting down the running order and driving with an injured hand, the 24-year-old took up the challenge and began to battle his way through the field.

"I started out of 17 in the feature and the track was rough, rutty and pretty brutal, which isn't too great for my hand," he said. "At the moment my steering hand has three fractures in it, so it was a pretty tough night.

"Towards the end of the race I actually hit a tractor tyre and popped my left front too, so we ended up finishing the race in 14th place. It's not a great result but we finished and hopefully it gives us some points towards the final night on Sunday."

Reflecting on his opening night of racing, Dumesny remained positive and praised the efforts of the entire Simmons Civil Contracting/Matt Dumesny Racing team.

"It was definitely a rough night, but that's racing," he added. "Considering that I have a broken hand at the moment, it's a pretty good effort and the whole team worked really well once again tonight - I can't thank everyone enough."

The Simmons Civil Contracting/Matt Dumesny Racing team will return to do it all again on Sunday, 19 January for night two of racing action.

For further information on the Simmons Civil Contracting/Matt Dumesny Racing team visit www.mattdumesnyracing.com or Matt Dumesny Racing on Facebook.