Over the winter of ‘98 the #9 had undergone a major freshen up with the chassis being stripped bare, sandblasted and painted.  As anyone who has done this operation knows it takes a lot of time and everything you bolt on needs work or money spent on it (or both).  Along with this freshen up, I also built a new light weight 9" diff to replace the heavy commercial truck diff.  The new diff was built to fit the same mounts and use the same wheels etc, this was a very long and expensive job.  The benefits of this major change to the car took a few weeks to come, but when they did I think it was definitely a change for the better.  We now have a diff which has off the shelf moving parts which takes away the worry of finding “rocking horse shit” type parts for the 6.5 Commercial.  The engine also had a freshen up and a little more work in the head department by Terry Lockley Racing Cylinder Heads, this helped gain a little more speed.And with a new paintjob and signwriting we're looking good for another season.

Start of the '98-'99 Season.
The 98-99 season started for the #9 team with the first practice early in October.  We were all looking forward to our first race meeting at Huntly during Labour weekend, but these plans were not to be, as our own Waikaraka Park had planned to open on Labour weekend for  the first time in years.  I have always enjoyed running at Huntly the week before our opening night, as this meeting can be used to get everything in race form for home track opening  (machinery and myself).

Auckland added clay to the track only a few weeks before opening night (for whatever reason this wasn't done months before I don't know!).  The first three or four meetings saw a very fast drivey track and promoted good passing, good close racing for the drivers and exciting racing for our paying public to watch.  However, these track conditions were definitely not to be the norm for the rest of the season. In fact I would say it was more to the norm to see slick, dry, rough, tyre wearing and one lane tracks at Waikaraka Park.

14 November 1998 - Star Ship Charity Meeting .
This was the first major meeting for us. The feature event for the Limiteds was a Last Car Drop Off race organised by Jeanne Jennings. I had a grid draw fairly well down the pack, along with 6 or 7 of the other fast qualifiers and knew we had to pass cars from the start or you would be out of the race.  As bad luck prevailed for me on this night I ended up in a tangle during the second lap and watched the rest of the race from the grass with broken steering.
Track conditions were not too bad on this night, and apart from a few drivers not seeing the board with their queue to "drop off", I think it went well.  Earl McGee lead from the start and finish and took home a well driven win.

5 December 1998 - Pit Stop Race.
There were 26 cars who showed for the Pit Stop race so there were 2 qualifying heats to get the 20 finalists.  We qualified OK and started the 1st 10 laps of the Pit Stop race about mid-field.  The track still had an outside lane at this stage and the team and I had the #9 set spot on.  We won the first 10 laps and unlike the first year of this event when the crews came from the pit gate, this year the crews were all along the start/finish wall meaning the finishing order of the first 10 laps made no difference to the time taken for the wheel change.  As the track had gone to one lane by now and the finishing order of the Pit Stop determined the restart order for the final 10 laps, it was really up to the crews to win the race.  Fred, Trevor and Lynda had their plan and the pit stop worked like clock work (as it has for all other pit stops) and this gave me grid one inside Chris Miller and infront of Brent McClymont.  I made a small adjustment to the brake bias and  again the #9 did us proud and finished the job by winning again.  I have heard rumours that this event will not happen this season but hope this is not to be as I feel it has good crowd entertainment and demonstrates real team work.  There is no other event that relies so heavily on crew input and regardless of how good or bad the car goes, driver handles car, money spent on car etc, everyone has the same chance of winning the Pit Stop.

15 January 1999 - LTD Nationals.
The LTD Saloon Nationals are held in Auckland every year. This year it was a 2 night event.  The qualifying on Friday night and finals on Saturday.  Only 40 cars showed for this event this year which is down on 53 last season.  I'm not sure why this should be, but I understand there was a big meet in Wellington on the Saturday which kept maybe 5 or 6 cars from entering the Nationals.  The track conditions on Friday weren't too bad inspite of poor weather.  I was placed in the first group of 3 qualifying heats.  Finished 2nd in 2 heats and won the other which easily gave me a spot in the Saturday night finals.  I drew gird 2 for the first final and as the track was very wet from overnight rain I was happy with this spot.  On the 3rd restart after cautions, the heavens opened and the meeting was delayed until Sunday afternoon.  The Sunday weather was much better and we all looked forward to a reasonable track with lots of drive due to the overnight soaking.  This was definitely not the case, the track was so hard after Friday nights racing the rain had not even touched it.  The rain had also prevented any major track preparation which only made things worse.
From my grid 2 in heat one I just managed to win ahead of Nigel (46A), Phil Toogood (28H) and Brent McClymont (51A).  The entire race was a struggle for me as the car did not handle.  We obviously didn't have the right set up and the performance showed this.  Heat 2 saw #9 start about mid-field on the outside and I knew the only passing would be in the 1st 2 or 3 laps.  As I had the outside grid I opted to try and gain a few spots before looking for a place in the one lane position type racing that was to be the norm for the day.  This move didn't work and I lost 2 or 3 places before getting to the poleline position.  during the 1st lap a car spun ahead of me and I managed to stop but unfortunately the car behind didn't and I ended up loosing my left rear tyre.  As there as a complete restart I was able to limp to the pit gate and the team changed the ripped tyre during the 2 minute bell.
The second restart saw the same situation as the first start and I lost a few places before getting into the one lane follow the leader train.  About half way though the race the car infront of me slipped off line enough for me to get in the gap to pass but this move turned sour as the door was shut on me and this took out my right front tyre.  This was it for us for this years champs and I watched the rest of this heat from the grass. I managed to limp over the start finish to get the point or 2 for what they were worth.  Heat 3 saw me at the back, I knew there was no way we could win the champs but I always race to win the race for the challenge and excitement which is what I think it's all about.  As the track was as bad as I've ever seen it I made no ground at all and ended up last in this heat.   Anything I have to say about the event could be taken as sour grapes I think all I can say is "that's racing".  Hats off to Nigel Ross 1st, Brent McClymont 2nd and Tim Hood 3rd, good to see 3 Auckland cars in top spots.
After the sad result at the Nationals the week after the #9 team was looking for brighter results ahead.  We were not happy with the cars handling and I felt the car was not like it used to be inspite of the poor track conditions over the season.  Larry who comes with his family from Thames most weeks had been studying the videos of the last few meetings and after many long toll calls to and from Thames we decided to put some theories to the test.  Larry, Fred and I spent the Sunday before Huntly stripping out the rear suspension and doing some major changes.  We knew we had to improve the handling of the #9 if we were to have a good shot at the Taranaki Champs and North Island Challenge in Stratford and then Waikato Champs followed by the Auckland Champs the week after.

Huntly (30/1/99).
Craig Richards, Phil Toogood, Brent McClymont and I had been asked to run with the supers on the second night of the NZ Stock Car Nationals in Huntly.  I was really wanting to run on the Friday night with the Limiteds to get a better feel of how well we were going in our own class but the promotion insisted on having us run on Saturday with the supers.  The track conditions were to suit stockcars as it was their night and we had the water for every race, as we were running as supers this night, all 13 cars drew from the same hat.  I drew a 6 for Heat 1 and even though the track was wet, I could tell the #9 was handling much better and felt we now had something to work with.  I finished the 1st heat 9th but was happy with what we had learnt.  Heat 2 saw a track that started a little wet but as we had predicted soon went dry and slick.  The work we had done last Sunday was really paying off now as I was now going straight while most others were struggling with sideways cars.  As the race went on the #9 improved while cars ahead went off and this let me undertake several to finish this heat second behind Geoff Fletcher.  The 3rd Heat saw the track come back a little drivey and this mean't keeping intouch with the supers was harder in this heat.  Inspite of this Craig Richards finishing 2nd from grid 1, Phil Toogood 5th from grid 7, and #9 7th from grid 5, one spot ahead of 1NZ Skinny who had started on grid 10.  The win went to Geoff Fletcher from grid 2.
As there was time on the programme for an extra race and we were enjoying the learning and also how the #9 was running we put our hands up for more.  The track had alot of water put around the middle to outside and was very slippery out there for the first few laps. I had grid 5 inside Lance Jennings and with Skinny Colson on grid 1, Brent McClymont grid 2, I was thinking 4th was best I could hope for.  Skinny had decided not to start and the 3 other cars ahead of me pushed badly and our setup let me drive under them all to take the lead in the 2nd lap.  Lance was still outside me and had the race in his hands but unfortunately misjudged the wet track and ended his race in the wall.  I was able to stay infront through the race and was rapt to take the final win of the night ahead of 68, 7 and Geoff Fletcher 4th.
As we were so happy with the car and we still had a straight and ready to race car we ventured to Whangarei on the Sunday.  I was hoping to get some laps on a slicker tack to see how our setup worked but the weather paid toll to this by dumping rain every half hour or so and turning the whole place into a sea of mud.  Inspite of this we all enjoyed our day of racing and the northern hospitality.

 Stratford (6/2/99).
The next week was the North Island Challenge and Taranaki Champs in Stratford.  Jill, Kenneth and I headed down on the Friday along with Larry and family, Bryce and family, my Parents, Trevor, Lynda, Ian, Trevor and Karla from Auckland Ford & Holden.  There were 18 top Limiteds from all over North Island (7 of these were Auckland cars), and with the presence of Mark Osborne, Craig Richards, and Phil Toogood to name a few, I knew we were in for a tough nights racing.  We were prepared for the dry slick dusty track that Stratford can be known for but this was not the case this night.   The first few laps around this oval told me this was going to be a good night.  The surface was dead flat and smooth (no sign of sheep foot roller prints here) with a consistent surface from poleline to the wall and the massive sweeping corner at one end of this track, the racing was fast, close, 2 to 3 cars wide and most went through the night with little or no damage and tyre wear.  From my 1st heat draw of 17 I finished 6th and with some fine tuning won the 2nd and 3rd heat from grid 8 & 3 and 3rd in the feature from 9th.  After the 3 heats I had the same points as Mark Osborne who had finished 1st, 3rd and 4th in the heats.  Mark was unable to show for a run off as he had engine trouble and this gave the win to the #9 team, Mark Osborne 2nd and Phil Toogood 3rd.  This was definitely the most enjoyable meeting for me so far, and I look forward to returning there this season.

Huntly (13/2/99)
The next week saw us on the road again.  This time only about 1 1/2 hours south to defend our Waikato Champs title at Huntly.  This popular event saw 40 cars on the board and with the locals Craig Richards and Phil Toogood who run strong infront of their home crowd, we knew again this would be hard work to qualify let alone finish up in top places in the finals.  I had grid 13 for the first of 2 qualifying heats and although the track was quite wet and heavy I got up to finish 4th in this heat and won 2nd heat from grid 8.  Although we were  rapt with our performance I was informed by several people that the local hero Craig Richards had won both qualifying heats in the group he was in.  This news did not surprise me and I always knew he would be hard to match let alone beat on his home track.  Phil Toogood was side lined with a broken gear box.  Huntly use a computer to draw the girds and it gave us what we had hoped for with a grid 20 in the 1st heat.  This was to be the heat for us to make the most ground and we were quietly confident we had the #9 tuned for the job.  With the track the best we had seen in Huntly so far, and the #9 doing what it ort to, I came from grid 20 to finish 4th behind Leon McCord, and Craig Richards  taking a win from grid 7.  I had my middle grid in heat 2 and again had the setup spot on and won from grid 10 ahead of Nigel Ross 2nd, Brent McClymont and Craig Richards 5th.  Heat 3 saw me off 1 and with 1 point ahead of Craig I knew all I needed was to stay ahead of him and finish the heat. From start to finish I only had one small panic passing some back markers.  Craig had finished 4th from grid 8 behind Steve Williams, Brent McClymont 2nd.  Final results were #9 first with 57 points, Craig Richards 2nd with 53, Brent McClymont 3rd and Nigel Ross 4th.  What a night for the #9 team.  The car was so close to perfect and everything went like clockwork.  To win here against all the visiting and local talent was the supreme reward for all the hard work by the team, the hours of studying the theories and getting it all together on the night.

 Auckland LTD Champs.(20/2/99).
The next weeks racing was in Auckland for the Limited Champs.  As we had not raced in Auckland for the last 3 weeks we were concerned to say the least at what was in store for us.   The changes we had made to the #9 and the learning we had developed since the last meet in Auckland would hopefully give us what we needed on the night.  The Auckland LTD Champs were closed to Auckland cars only and there were only 20 cars entered, there was no need for quailifying.  I'm infavour of having all local champs closed for local cars or if more cars are required to make-up a field of 20 cars then the locals should be placed in and visitors qualify for remaining spots on the night.  However most tracks run an all in and everyone races on the same format for their titles.  I started the first heat on grid 7 behind Nigel Ross and the surprisingly good track surface lent itself for some good fast racing and outside passing.  I finished heat one 2nd behind Nigel with Nigel Harlen 3rd.  Heat 2 had me leaving from grid 17 and as this was my back grid, I knew this would be the deciding heat for us.  Everything the team and I had done since our last meet in Auckland had paid off.  The #9 came from the second to last row to win this heat ahead of Leon McCord 2nd and Nigel Ross 3rd.  The last heat had me on Grid 8 and again everything worked like clockwork and I came home 1st with Geoff Gentry 2nd, Chris Miller 3rd and Nigel Ross 4th.  This easily gave the #9 team the win again for the 4th year running with 59 out of 60 points with Nigel Ross 2nd on 55 points and Geoff Gentry 3rd with 47.  Although the changes to the #9 were definitely the biggest reason for our success this night, I think the track preparation was the best it had been for weeks.  The combination of grading, rolling, watering and wheel packing was spot on this night.

Auckland final.(27/3/99)
The final meeting in Auckland was 27 March 1999, this was the last night of the points for the season and was a 3 heat draw format.  We already had the heat 1 and 2 feature and overall points sewn up for the season but we were 3rd in the 3 heat draw with Nigel and Brent 2nd equal.  The only way I was to beat these 2 top runners was with good luck for me and bad luck for them, the later turned out to be so with both Brent and Nigel having a DNF and the  #9 finishing well in all 3 heats.  This handed the seasons points on all 4 totals to us and we were rapt.

Meremere Easter 99
Easter weekend took us to Meremere. I love racing on the BIG track as it promotes fast, close racing with heaps of room to pass and very seldom any body damage as there is so much space out there.  The first disappointment was to hear we had been cut form 4 heats each day to 3.  This meant the run 4 and drop the worst was out the window and also meant we would have around 1/1/2 - 2 hours between races.  The track looked good and the grand total of 11 of us ran hard and fast in the first heat.  I won with a good margin and everything was tops.  The second heat (about 1 1/2 hours later) saw the track as dusty and dry as you could get and to make it worse they dumped a line of water around the middle of the track which was like skating on soap.  What a let down, Meremere normally stays drivey and has an outside lane all day even when the weather is hot.
The next day was the same deal and the racing was very slow and one lane like you never expect at this top venue.  We ended the weekend second overall behind Brent McClymont and ahead of Gavin Hinsley.
The tyre wear was unbelievably high. I was told by the drivers who ran here last season about the heaps of rubber they had worn away off their tyres, but I did not believe it could be like this, not Meremere.  Anyway another lesson learned and as many have said before, "that's racing".

Napier (17/4/99).
The final meeting for the season for us was at Napier.  This was an invite only meeting as there was no time for qualifying.  We made the long journey down on the Friday and awoke to rain on the roof on the Saturday morning.  The rain lasted all day and we all thought it was a long drive for nothing but luckily for everyone the rain stopped about 2 hours before race time.  There was 16 of us in the grid for heat one. I drew 10 behind Mark Osborne and ahead of Phil Toogood.  They had watered the track just before we went on and didn't give us any laps to wheel pack, on the second corner I ended up in a wet patch and gave Mark Osborne a good serve in the door.  Mark recovered OK and followed me home 2nd ahead of Phil Toogood 3rd, I was not proud of what had happened and was called up by the SNZ Officials.  I spoke to Mark after this and he was relaxed about it and accepted my apology.
Heat 2 saw me off one ahead of Phil Toogood and Brent McClymont on grid 5.  Lead from start to finish but the #9 was not happy with this track. We couldn't workout what was happening but knew we would have to get it better for the last heat or we would be in trouble. By the time the last heat was ready to run the track had developed alot of big holes around the pole line and seemed to have got wetter on the outside than the race before.  We had lost a left rear tyre in the first heat and only had one bigger or one smaller to go with.  I choose the bigger tyre for the last heat as I thought the track would go off and the less stagger may do it for us.
This was a bad decision and again the #9 was a handful. We were pushing in the turns and this cost us the race by only finishing 8th from 15.  The final points saw me, Phil Toogood and car #61 with the same points.  The 4 lap runoff saw me on 1, Phil on 2 and 61 on 3.  The track still had heaps of holes around pole and we still didn't get the setup right, with Phil going like he had been all night I knew I was in trouble when he left me in turn one from his outside grid.  All I could do was follow and protect my 2nd place.  If we could run this meeting again we would do things alot differently and all we can say now is hopefully the lesson learned will help us in the future.  I look forward to running here again next season.

I would like to thank all the sponsors that have supported me over the many years without whom I am sure the results would not have been anywhere near what they have been.