Jack Daniel's Racing's Todd Kelly has moved two places up the V8 Supercar Championship point standings to eighth after an eventful weekend for the Hamilton 400 in New Zealand.
The drama started when Kelly was involved in a spectacular qualifying accident Saturday that took out then series leader Jamie Whincup for the weekend.
The matter was referred to the stewards who initially found Kelly guilty of careless driving, but an appeal saw the Old #7 Jack Daniel's Commodore line up 18th on the grid for Race 1 - Kelly moving through to eighth by the end of the 36 laps.
With his appeal upheld late Saturday night, Kelly looked a podium chance and was running as high as fourth in Race 2 Sunday. But a broken exhaust saw him quickly drop five positions before Kelly was then shunted from the track by a competitor dropping him to 19th at race's end.
Race 3 was action packed for Kelly; after the round of compulsory pit stops he received a drive-thru penalty for an incident with Marcus Marshall, then made another stop for more tyres, ultimately finishing 15th and claiming 11th for the round.
Jack Daniel's team-mate Shane Price didn't enjoy a good weekend in the #11 JDR Commodore, Price punted out of Race 1 on the first lap before finishing 24th in Race 2 and then 16th in Race 3 - Price 24th for the round.
Garth Tander won the round for the Toll Holden Racing Team, with Ford drivers Steven Richards and James Courtney - Kelly's brother, Rick, fourth overall for the HSV Dealer Team.
Rick Kelly now leads the championship from Tander with Valvoline/Cummins' Lee Holdsworth third.
Todd Kelly, #7 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore VE:
"So much happened this weekend that it would fill a novel!
My impression of the incident with Jamie is that [the crash] didn't need to happen. I went into that corner hot, made a mistake and ran wide. The kerb on the exit is the most slippery of all time and the wall comes out on the exit, so you don't want to be hanging around out there. I was just trying to get back onto the track and [Whincup] just came out on the racing line and gave me absolutely no room. That's the end of the story. After that it was a hell of a day; I was in the Stewards' Room right up until 15 minutes before Race 1 and they gave me the 'not guilty' decision an hour after the race, so was tough and trying.
We had so many things to wrong, but we moved up two spots in the championship which I don't know how we did that. But, the car's been really good and that's promising. I think we're close to having a top 10 car - we didn't have that in Adelaide, at Eastern Creek or the Grand Prix - and while there's still work to do the signs are there for good things. We've got really good car setup to start the meeting with in Perth, so hopefully we'll have a better weekend."
2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series, Rd 3 - Hamilton 400 (Race 1)
1. Garth Tander, Toll Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore VE
2. Rick Kelly, HSV Dealer Team Holden Commodore VE
3. Steven Richards, Castrol Edge Ford Falcon BF
4. James Courtney, Jeld-Wen Ford Falcon BF
5. Lee Holdsworth, Valvoline/Cummins Holden Commodore VE
6. Cameron McConville, WOW Sight & Sound Holden Commodore VE
7. Fabian Coulthard, Glenfords Racing Ford Falcon BF
8. Todd Kelly, Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore VE
9. Will Davison, Jim Beam Racing Ford Falcon BF
10. Mark Winterbottom, Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon BF
DNF Shane Price, Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore VE
2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series, Rd 3 - Hamilton 400 (Race 2)
1. Garth Tander, Toll Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore VE
2. Steven Richards, Castrol Edge Ford Falcon BF
3. James Courtney, Jeld-Wen Ford Falcon BF
4. Lee Holdsworth, Valvoline/Cummins Holden Commodore VE
5. Cameron McConville, WOW Sight & Sound Holden Commodore VE
6. Rick Kelly, HSV Dealer Team Holden Commodore VE
7. Mark Winterbottom, Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon BF
8. Fabian Coulthard, Glenfords Racing Ford Falcon BF
9. Jason Richards, Sprint Gas Racing Holden Commodore VE
10. Tony D'Alberto, The Bottle O Holden Commodore VE
19. Todd Kelly, Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore VE
24 Shane Price, Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore VE
2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series, Rd 3 - Hamilton 400 (Race 3)
1. Garth Tander, Toll Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore VE
2. Steven Richards, Castrol Edge Ford Falcon BF
3. James Courtney, Jeld-Wen Ford Falcon BF
4. Rick Kelly, HSV Dealer Team Holden Commodore VE
5. Mark Winterbottom, Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon BF
6. Fabian Coulthard, Glenfords Racing Ford Falcon BF
7. Craig Lowndes, Team Vodafone Holden Commodore VE
8. Steven Johnson, Jim Beam Racing Ford Falcon BF
9. Andrew Jones, Team BOC Holden Commodore VE
10. Shane Van Gisbergen, SP Air Ford Falcon BF
15. Todd Kelly, Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore VE
16. Shane Price, Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore VE
2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series, Rd 3 - Hamilton 400 (Final Results)
1. Garth Tander, Toll Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore VE
2. Steven Richards, Castrol Edge Ford Falcon BF
3. James Courtney, Jeld-Wen Ford Falcon BF
4. Rick Kelly, HSV Dealer Team Holden Commodore VE
5. Fabian Coulthard, Glenfords Racing Ford Falcon BF
6. Mark Winterbottom, Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon BF
7. Cameron McConville, WOW Sight & Sound Holden Commodore VE
8. Lee Holdsworth, Valvoline/Cummins Holden Commodore VE
9. Craig Lowndes, Team Vodafone Holden Commodore VE
10. Jason Bright, Fujitsu Ford Falcon BF
11. Todd Kelly, Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore VE
24 Shane Price, Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore VE
Championship points (after 3 of 14 rounds): 1. R Kelly - 672; 2. Tander - 626; 3. Holdsworth - 580; 4. Winterbottom - 572; 5. Whincup - 540; 6. S Richards - 521; 7. Lowndes - 477; 8. T Kelly - 440; 9. Davison - 438; 10. Coulthard - 431; 26. Price - 190
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