Jace Kempton spins on final lap to miss podium as title winner leads just one lap

It was a title race that wasn’t decided until the final corners as Derby’s Jake Hoath stole the 2023 Total Safety and Tools SSA Street Stock WA title at the death.

Across three nights of hard and fast action, more than 60 drivers would battle it around the Port Hedland Speedway with the State title on the line.

Night one saw 18 heats in a busy evening and the evenness of the competition was on display with only three drivers claiming multiple race wins.

One of those was Carnarvon’s Jace Kempton, claiming two wins and a second place to be tied at the top of the standings with former WA champion Hayden Norman.

This would see him start on the front row of the 40-lap feature race by which time the 65-strong field had been cut down to just 22 cars. Fellow Mid West driver and defending champion Damon Lyall started from the midfield as Geraldton’s Peter Dowie failed to make the cut.

Norman grabbed the initial lead as the race went green followed by Kempton and Lenny Bates, who started third.

But Bates spun on lap 11 bringing out a yellow to bunch the field and at the restart the top six broke away with first, second and third all battling into the same corner and fourth to sixth forming a chasing pack.

The yellows would then come on as Kayne Dellar, who had raced into seventh after starting 11th, spun in turn four setting up another restart with 25 laps to go.

Norman and Kempton made their own space on the track as the battle for third continued to rage behind them between Ben Norman, Jack Barnewall, Hoath and Jack Yates.

Lap 23 saw Lyall’s campaign come to an end as he slowed down the back straight and headed infield.

Back on track Hoath was able to get by Ben Norman for fourth and almost out of nowhere, with 11 laps to go Hoath made his way past both Barnewall and Kempton to grab second.

Unfortunately, the yellows would come out shortly after as Barnewall made contact with Kempton and spun him around, seeing Barnewall sent to the rear with seven laps remaining.

Norman got away on the restart with Hoath again looking to make the same move out of turn four, again unsuccessful with Kempton now in third.

With the battle for first raging, Kempton was waiting for his opportunity to poach the win before a crash on the penultimate lap saw the yellows come out, setting up a two-lap shootout for the title.

Hoath would take the lead on the back straight on the penultimate lap and drive to the total while there was a disaster for Kempton, who was half-spun in contact with Ben Norman, allowing both him and Cody Avins through with Kempton settling for fifth.