The Article below is from the briscaf1 newsletter. Words are from Jonathan Abbott and Photographs are from Dave Bastock Photography.

I distinctly remember the start of this year's Shootout. It was King's Lynn, the end of August...Shorts and T-shirt the clothing of choice. A November Skegness Finale seemed an age away, and yet here we are! Writing this on Thursday evening; in just over two days' time, we will know who has claimed the GBE UK National Points Champion Shootout title for 2026!

Whoever does so, they will absolutely have deserved it! This championship is tough...big commitment, brutal racing, high stakes, and this year it goes down to the wire. All six drivers can still mathematically take glory, for some, the current points standings makes their odds much more favourable. But we (well me) are getting ahead of ourselves...

Your previous Shootout E-News covered off the opening round of Stage 3 at King's Lynn. Skegness Finale on Saturday night is Round 4. The filling in this Shootout Sandwich is Sheffield Round 2 and Buxton Round 3...which we are going to tuck into right now.

( I am really not sure that this analogy worked, emails to BSCDA HQ gratefully received...and whenever I write about Sandwiches I always think of the meatball ones Joey ate in Friends....enough!).

Going to be upfront. I love Sheffield! It's a proper old school stock car track and watching any race from the brilliant bar area creates a fantastic atmosphere. Such good news that the well appointed venue was a (very) late addition to this year's fixture list.

Tuesday night, in the middle of half-term, it was really difficult to pre-estimate the size of the crowd. I cannot be on my own in saying, I would never have suggested it would have been that big! I can't ever remember seeing such huge numbers at Owlerton, the queue to get in after start time must have been a hundred deep. Let's hope that this 'one-off' was enough to convince all parties that Stock Car Racing has a future in Sheffield.

A 2/3rds format, with minimal support formula, to be done and dusted in three hours was the ask; one big incident for the Shootout contenders and it would be night over...as we saw play out.

With 84 Tom Harris away, the big question was who would take advantage? Early doors 515 Frankie Wainman Jnr set his stall out. A 2nd and a 3rd in his two heat races, things were looking good. But in the meeting Final, with big points available, disaster struck, a flat outside rear sent Frankie to the infield and a decision that would end his night's racing.

In a moment of frustration, Frank spun his rear wheels on the grass, a big no-no. Consequently he was told by the meeting promoter that he would not be permitted to race the Grand National. A costly mistake in the chase for Silver from the Silsden ace. Frankie details all in his interview from Buxton...available on our BSCDA's YouTube channel.

Dave Bastock Stage 3 photo 1

Another driver who had a not too dissimilar night, long-distance traveller 418 Neils Tesselaar. Like Frank he did well in his heat races, two fourths, on a track he has raced only once. Neils was motoring well in the Final, only to be unceremoniously dumped into the turn three wires by a rejuvenated 212 Danny Wainman. With a strict curfew of 10pm and only 15 minutes between Final and National, Niels had no chance of further adding to his points tally. With shale as his preferred surface and the opportunity to boost his Shootout chances, Neils must have been feeling like Frank's right rear...deflated.

Dave Bastock Stage 3 photo 2

I don't think anyone was more excited with the return of Sheffield than 212 Danny Wainman. We were all clear that this is / was his favourite track. But Danny really struggled in his opening races, looking nothing like the self-titled 'King of Sheffield' he purported to be. A brake problem was the route cause, and once this was resolved pre-Final, Danny was much more on the pace, ending up 'top-scorer' on the night. Thirty-four points in the bag.

Finishing just behind Danny, adding thirty points at meeting close, 16 Mat Newson. I wouldn't describe Mat's Sheffield as spectacular. Consistent places were the order of the day, which to be fair to Mat, was his agenda all along. Sheffield is an unforgiving racetrack, a DNF highly probable. Mat raced safely, and was rewarded in that he would head to Buxton leading the GBE UK sponsored Shootout.

Halloween, October 31st and the Shootout headed to Buxton Raceway. I liked that they ordered some foggy conditions to really add to the spooky atmosphere. Just thirty points separated Mat in P1 from Neils in P6. Another 2/3rds format, all six in attendance and a big crowd...clear anticipation for another instalment of the 2026 Shootout story.

84 Tom was back...and alongside tar specialist 368 Callum Thornton, many were expecting the two to dominate proceedings. Callum scored seventeen points at Sheffield, having never raced there, that was good going. It had kept him very much in Silver roof contention.

From the outset Tom was 'on it'. Hitting everything in front of him. It was a fab demonstration of hard fast tarmac racing. He was justly rewarded for his efforts, adding forty-six points to the scoreboard, come meeting close. Callum came close, especially in the Grand National where a last bender on the gold car nearly paid off. If it had, the chequered flag was his. In the end he had to settle for second.

How did the others fair? The drivers always talk about consistency in the Shootout, you have to finish races. One DNF has a big impact. When reviewing the results, it shows all the other four had at least one non-points scoring race through either mechanical failure or race damage. When this kinda thing happens, I find it fascinating the impact it has on the leaderboard...and it isn't just me. Love the crowd that gathers at the Shootout Hub post race, waiting for Sophie or Sam to update the big screen. I am biased, but what a brilliant addition this is to the race tracks (just need that heating sorted for next season please!)

Dave Bastock Stage 3 podium

It was another good night of racing at Buxton. Yes Tom scored well, but the Championship is absolutely wide open as we head to conclusion on Saturday. Joint top are Tom and Mat on seventy-nine points. Joint third, twelve points in arrears, Frankie and Callum on sixty-seven. Danny W remains in contention on fifty-two, which is only twenty-seven off of P1.

At this stage Neils looks to be too far off...but this is BriSCA F1 Stock Car Racing and anything can happen!

Saturday at Skegness Raceway is really building up to be the 'meeting of the year'. A huge championship will be decided and there are so many permutations as to what could happen. Our Social media coverage has been in full swing, lots of 'build-up' content all week, and there is so much interest in this one, both sides of the fence. On a personal note, I do feel quite sad that this signals the end of another season, let's hope we go out on a high!

Racing gets underway at 5pm. Our social's will have everything you need with live results and points updated immediately post race. We will kick things off with the Junior Draw at the Hub, this determines who will race who in the opening heats...wonder if any mind games will kick in? If you are at Skegness why not pop along to see, timings available via Facebook on the day.

Before I sign off this penultimate Shootout E-news, a big 'thank-you' to the meeting sponsors of both Sheffield and Buxton. Your support is invaluable in making this championship what it is!