Official Website of Sprint Car Driver Daniel Rogers

Daniel is currently up in America soaking in the lifestyle and racing in and around Oklahoma. Check out some photos from his trip so far, and also an interview from one of the OCRS nights.

Check back soon for more photos!

MODIFIED INVITATION - BAYPARK
31st March 2012

With the season winding to a close, the team made the tow to Baypark Speedway for a chance to get some more racing in before the winter break. Along with the sprint cars, modifieds were also on the program.

A good field of sprint cars were on hand, and as always all cars got two heats to qualify form the feature. The first heat saw Daniel pull a front row grid. He ran a strong race and placed 3rd. The second heat saw a reverse of the first heats grid. He charged to another 3rd place finish. This would set him up nicely for the main event.

With the points accumulated from the heat races, Daniel was seeded to start 2nd, alongside former National Champion, Rodney Wood. The pair got off to a flying start, with Wood getting the early lead. Daniel was holding his ground to Wood, who was definitely not pulling a gap on the 17 year old. Also keeping within striking distance was the #14 of Bradly Tyrell. With the laps winding down, Rogers began to pull in Wood. The two engaged in a battle and coming off the final turn on the last lap Daniel got a great run propelling the Castrol Edge/Konica Minolta #5 to the win by only 4 hundredths of a second.

This marked Daniels first feature win in a sprint car! A great way to cap of a successful season! The team is now winding down as the season draws to a close. A huge thanks to all the sponsors for the support this season, along with all the people behind the scenes who make this effort possible. Bring on next season!

DERBY NIGHT - BAYPARK
10th March 2012

Baypark was next on tap for the Konica Minolta/Castrol Edge #5. Seventeen Sprint Cars signed into the pits with the show starting earlier in the night, with the hope the Features would run full in length.

The first heat of the night saw Daniel start off Pole. He led the first half of the race, before loosing his brakes and having to settle for 2nd, behind Brad Tyrrell.

Heat two was a full invert, which would see Daniel start from 16th. He got a good start an avoided carnage to end up finishing 8th. Two good heats would have him sitting good for teh feature, however he was unfortunately relegated 3 positions in the first heat, due to a jumped start. Daniel would in turn start 9th in the 25lap A-Main.

Daniel got a good start, and found himself in battles with cars from the get go. The track was very racey all night, with multiple grooves working on the wide 1/4 mile racetrack. After 25 laps of hard, fast racing Daniel scored a solid top 10 finish placing in 7th by race end. Brad Tyrell took out the win, over Brindle and Logan.

Thanks to Konica Minolta, Castrol Edge, Kirrane Automotive, Electric Designs and Custom Ride Body Works, along with everybody who helps out for their continued support. Also, a special thanks to Zach Rayner for his photos from Baypark. Its been a great season!

FINAL NIGHT - WESTERN SPRINGS
3rd March 2012

Threatening skies looked over Auckland City for the majority of Saturday. The fans and teams were hoping the weather gods would be nice, and allow the final night at Western Springs to be run. Fourteen sprint cars lined with pits, with all the regulars signing in.

Daniel started his first heat on the front row outside, alongside Dean Brindle. With next to no water being put down prior to the night, with uncertainty in the weather the track was already going slick. There wasn't a whole lot of track to work with up top, so the racing was pretty single file. After a bunch of laps, Brindle and Rogers were having a good race. Unfortunately as Dan nosed into a gap, Brindle closed it and around went Dan putting the #5 onto the infield, and 2laps down.

Daniel started his second heat on the front row outside, alongside Dean Brindle. The pair got off to a good start with Brindle getting the advantage into turn 1. Allard immediately started to work over Rogers, and got by him to put Daniel back to the 3rd spot. After 10 laps, the final result was Brindle, from Allard and Rogers coming home in 3rd.

25 laps was the distance, for the final feature event at Western Springs for the 2011/12 season. Daniel would like up 10th, for the A-Main. On the start he got cut off and would slot into 11th for the initial start. He make progress and passed a few cars as they slipped up the track. On a mid race restart, Daniel would misjudge the start and make a costly error passing before the line. He later got locked together with another competitor and spun around. This would end his night, and his string of finishes.

The team will now move onto Baypark Speedway, in Tauranga. It should be a good nights racing, and a solid car count. Hope to see you there.

Thanks to Konica Minolta, Castrol Edge, Kirrane Automotive, Electric Designs and Custom Ride Body Works, along with everybody who helps out for their continued support. Its been a great season at the Springs!

SUPER SALOON SERIES - BAYPARK
25th February 2012

The Konica Minolta/Castrol Edge team were looking foward to the night ahead at Baypark speedway on Saturday night. A good field of cars in the pits promised for a great nights racing.

Daniel pulled a 6 marble for the first heat, in which he would end up running 2nd, closing in on Tyrell. Heat 2 saw a reverse grid. Starting out of 5th, Dan made his way up to 3rd by race end. After finishing 3rd and 2nd in the heats, along with having the fastest times in both races, this put Dan off 3rd for the scheduled 20lap feature.

The feature got off to a shaky start with 55h getting upside down on the opening lap. The second restart saw the field break away with Tyrell leading, followed by Dahm and Rogers. Rogers started closing in on dahm and within a couple of laps he had passed him through turns 3&4. Soon after there was another yellow. The restart came with Tyrell getting a good jump on the field. Rogers was closing in on Tyrell fast, but unfortunately due to time constraints the checkered flag was waved after only completing 6 laps.

This was very unfortunate for the team, as the car was very quick all night, and would of been a rocket at the end of the feature. We will return back to Western Springs this Saturday night, for their last show of the season.

Thanks to Konica Minolta, Castrol Edge, Kirrane Automotive, Electric Designs and Custom Ride Body Works, along with everybody who helps out for their continued support.

Saturday night was a big night for the midgets and TQs, with titles on the line for both. Also on the lineup was a healthy number of sprint cars with all the regulars signing in, plus Australian Glen Saville for the 2nd consecutive week.

As the sprint cars rolled out for Heat 1, the track was already forming holes. Daniel was set to start out of Grid 4. The field got off to a clean start as drivers were adjusting to the conditions. By race end, Daniel finished where he started, 4th. The next heat Daniel would start from 7th and finish 7th.

Daniel lined up for the 20-lap main event in 7th. Into turn one Daniel biked and checked up, which then resulted in Carl Wilson doing the same. However Carl was very unlucky and went over spectacularly. The race was called back for a full restart, and as it got back underway Daniel searched around the track. In doing so, he gained some valuable experience and ended up finishing 8th.

Next on tap is Baypark(25th Feb). With a bunch of cars heading down to the North Islands in Palmerston North, this should be a good chance to try some things and gain some more experience on the fast 1/4 mile.

Thanks to Konica Minolta, Castrol Edge, Kirrane Automotive, Electric Designs, Custom Ride Body Works, along with everybody who helps out for their continued support.

Seventeen 410 Wing Sprint Cars were signed in Saturday Night for the Annual Barry Butterworth meeting at Western Springs. With the likes of Allard, Brindle and McDonald back in town it was set to be a competitive evening.

Heat one was lead around by the #5 Konica Minolta/Castrol Edge J&J of Daniel Rogers, with Ryan O'Connnor to his outside. Ryan got the jump and on a hooked up race track ran away from the field. Dan was consistently the 2nd quickest car turning laps in the 12.0 second bracket. Mid race, a small slip up allowed Jamie McDonald to sneak by and take 2nd putting Dan back to 3rd where he would finish.

Heat two was a reverse grid off the first heat race, starting Dan off the 12th. A solid start led to a number of passes, before it was all unreeled as Rogers looped the car up into turn 3. This would put him to the back again, with only a handful of laps left. A good drive at the end landed Rogers back into the 7th spot by race end.

The 30lap main event was gridded off points from the heats, with a 6car invert. Capitalizing on others misfortune, Daniel managed to sit 5th on points going in, which would mean he would start outside front row for the feature!

Dan got the early lead, with Allard and McDonald right on his bumper. Coming off turn 2, he got out of shape and into the wet stuff on the pole line, forcing the car to the infield and then back onto the track. Luckily Dan was able to hold down 3rd, before getting passed by Ricky Logan. After having a great battle with Eggleton throughout the race, swapping the lead on a number of occasions Rogers ended up sitting in 4th with a few laps to go. A charging Dean Brindle was on the move, and got by Rogers and Eggleton, putting Rogers back to 5th. First over the line was Jon Allard, followed by Logan, Brindle, Eggleton and Rogers rounding out the top 5.

Once again, another solid top five for the team. Some small tweaks to the car for next week, should eliminate some potential mistakes, and hopefully we can keep making strides forward. We are back at Western Springs next week. With only two races here left on the calender it should be a great show. See you there.

Thanks to Konica Minolta, Castrol Edge, Kirrane Automotive, Electric Designs, Custom Ride Body Works and everybody who helps out for their continued support.

It was a small field of Sprint cars on Saturday night, with most heading down South for the NZ Title, held at Ruapuna. While numbers were down, a good night was ahead and a slightly different format in the mix.

Instead of starting the night with a heat race, it was decided the Sprint cars would run a self seeded pole shuffle. The results from this, would set the heat race grids. Daniel rolled out 4th, and came up against Raymond Griffen. Dan got the lead into turn 1 and ran away with it. Next up was Greg Pickerall. With a bit of confusion on the start, Pickerall jumped out to the lead and knocked Dan out of the running.

This set Dan to start out of 4th for Heat 1, and he drove well to a 3rd place finish. Heat 2 inverted the results for Heat 1, and again Daniel drove to 3rd from 4th. With a set of 3rds, this put him 2nd on points to Ricky Logan. Logan was to start off the back, and then pick who starts beside him, and so on so forth. He chose Daniel.

Starting out of 5th for the Feature, with 15 laps on the board, Dan got away to a good start, quickly asserting himself into 4th. A few laps in, Daniel Eggleton lost a tire, and in turn gave Halpin the lead, closely followed by Logan and Rogers. Mid race, Logan made a move on Halpin to take the lead, as Rogers began to close on 2nd. However he ran out of laps and had to settle for a third.

Next week we are back at Western Springs is the Barry Butterworth midget Classic, and the sprint cars will be back in full force as everyone will be back home. Hope to see you there!

Thanks to Konica Minolta, Castrol Edge, Kirrane Automotive, Electric Designs, Custom Ride Body Works and everybody who helps out for their continued support.

With rain once again on the radar, everyone was hoping this show would make it in. For the midgets, the 50 lapper is one of the most prestigious races in the Southern Hemishere, attraching drivers from all over the globe. For the Sprint Cars, the night is equally important as it is part of the International series.

The first heat got underway with Daniel starting out of position 9. He got off a good start, and by race end he moved his way up to 6th. The Heat was taken out by Ricky Logan, followed by Brindle and Allard. Heat 2 had Daniel starting off grid 4, and on the outside row. The inside row got a great start and when Daniel had got moving, he was back to 6th, with all fast cars infront of him. At the conclusion of the heats, he would end up with a pair of 6's.

Daniels heat race finishes, would put him off Grid 7 for the main event, 20 laps in length. He got off to a good start getting underneath Hartley and slotted into 6th. Out front it was Jamie McDonald racing hard with Jon Allard. Allard went low side on Jamie and made slight contact in turns 3&4 putting both cars in a half spin. This contact would end up damaging McDonald's car, and in turn would fall back through the field. Mid race and Daniel was comfortably in 5th pulling in Daniel Eggleton. They raced hard for a few laps until a late caution tightened the field up once again. Eggleton got a good start on Rogers and this was enough to hold out the #5 Konica Minolta/Castrol Edge J&J for 4th. Rogers would cross the line in 5th, ahead of a charging Ryan O'Connor.

_With the string of International race over, now the question is, can anyone beat Jonathan Allard? The current 1NZ has won every race since we saw Donny Schatz win mid November. What a great run he is having. We now have a few weeks off, before we head back to Baypark for the Midget Invitation event on the 28th January.

Click the link below for Audio from the Main Event,
courtesy of www.thedirttrackchannel.com
AUDIO LINK

Thanks to Konica Minolta, Castrol Edge, Kirrane Automotive, Electric Designs, Custom Ride Body Works and everybody else who helps out for their continued support.

_Next on tap, for the Xmas/New Years International Sprint Car string of events, was Baypark Speedway. This event was scheduled for late December, but was rained out. With 21 Sprint Cars in the pits, and a wide fast racetrack, this was set to be an awesome nights racing.

The format was very different to what is commonly seen in New Zealand Sprint Car racing. After two 20 lap heats, the highest point scorer starts dead last. He then picks who he wants to start next to him,  and then the next person picks and so on so forth. This is the same, self-handicapping format which has been run in the the National Midget Car Series(NMCS) in years past.

Daniel drew Grid 5 for the first heat. With all 21 cars on track for a heat race, this was a good place to be to stay out of trouble. Daniel got off to a good start and got up to speed fairly quickly. However the race was interrupted with a number of cautions, bringing the faster cars starting in the back, closer to the lead. Dan raced inside the top 5, up until a late race restart. As he got up to speed down the back straight, the car spluttered, and died on him sending him to the infield. With the amount of cautions in the race, the car had run out of Fuel!

With plenty of fuel in the car for the next race, Dan now was starting out of Grid 17. He got off to a decent start and began to make his way forward. With the car's setup slightly off, it made things a little more difficult and managed to run inside the top 15. However, with this format the heats didn't effect your grids for the feature, as it was self-handicapped.

Sammy Swindell ended up high-point man, and he picked to the red-hot Jon Allard to start along side him. Daniel managed to stay relatively under the radar and avoided started super deep in the feature. He ended up getting chosen to start 7th.

_With 25 laps on the board for the feature, there was plenty of time for anyone to move forward. On the race start, the inside row didnt get a good start at all and the outside row blasted by them. This placed Daniel outside of the top 10 initially, and then he started to move foward. It didnt take long for Allard, along with the other stars to get to the front, and with the car still not quite dialed in to run the bottom, Dan struggled to keep track position. At the checkers, Dan finished up just outside the top 10.

It was good to be back racing at Baypark, the facilities are top class, and the format was something fresh and interesting. The next race is back at the Springs for 50 lapper night on the 5th.

Check out the action in Heat 1 Courtesy of Murray Guy:

_After a strong showing on Boxing Day, the team was excited for the first race in 2012. This was another round of the International Series, so once again all the top drivers were signed in.

Heat 1 consisted of many top drivers, and Daniel drew Grid 10. With little track prep due to uncertainty with the weather, the track was already starting to break up and was shaping up to be rough all night long. After 10 laps Dan forged his way up to the 7th spot, a solid start to the night.

With his rear Grid behind him, Daniel was set to start off pole for the next Heat. The initial race start saw Dan off to a flyer, but the start was called back, as the outside row never got going. On the restart Greg Pickerall managed to jump Daniel, and got out to an early lead. After a number of laps Dan was closing in, and by lap 9 was on Pickerels bumper. In a last grasp effort, Daniel went to the topside in turns 3&4, however he ran out of room and had to settle for second.

With a bunch of guys having very good heats, this put Dan off grid 7 for the 20 lap Main event. Dan got off to a good start and slotted into the 6th spot. He immediately began to work on Pickerall who was running 5th. After a number of laps he got around him and now set sail on the lead cars. A late race caution would pull Dean Brindle on Dan's bumper, who had charged from the back. With 2 laps to go, Brindle pipped Daniel again moving the #5 Konica Minolta/Castrol Edge J&J back to 6th for the finish.

Overall 6th is a fantastic result, and now has Daniel sitting 4th in points for the International Sprint car series! The next race is Baypark tomorrow night, which hopefully will dodge the rain. With over 20 cars entered and a fastest off the back format, this will be a must see event.

Click the link below for Audio from the Main Event,
courtesy of www.thedirttrackchannel.com
AUDIO LINK

Thanks to Konica Minolta, Castrol Edge, Kirrane Automotive, Electric Designs, Custom Ride Body Works and everybody else who helps out for their continued support.

_After a disappointing rain out last weekend at Baypark, the team has had plenty of time to prepare for the Christmas/New Years International Invasion. Over this period we will see the return of Sammy Swindell and Peter Murphy, along with Jon Allard and Ricky Logan, plus the fastest New Zealand Sprint Car drivers.

A huge crowd was on hand to witness close to 20 Sprint Cars and 40+ Midgets. The format was no different to any other night at the Springs, with the only exception being the length of the feature. It consisted of two Heats per driver with finishing points going towards the grid for the 30 lap A-Main.

The first heat group was stacked, consisting of many top drivers. Daniel was drawn to race in the 2nd and 3rd Heat group, meaning he could get a good gauge of the racetrack while watching from the sidelines for the first heat. A pretty narrow racetrack meant passing was at a minimum with Swindell edging Allard and Logan.

With the second heat group up, Daniel was set to start 10th. He drove a good race and made his way to 5th. This was a good start to the night and gave him solid points going into the next race.

The final heat got underway with Dan starting off pole, along side Pete Murphy. Murphy got the jump on Daniel and he quickly slotted into 2nd. After running a number of laps on the bottom of the track, Jamie McDonald was starting to close in as the top came in. After working on Daniel for a number of laps he finally got around him, but a late race restart allowed Dan to pass him back and hold on for 2nd.

_With two great drives in the Heats, this put Dan off Grid 3 for the 30 lap A-Main. Dan was surrounded in very good company, starting behind Allard and Swindell. The feature got underway with the outside row getting the jump, meaning Dan would slot into 4th. It didnt take long to figure out where he needed to be on the track, and started to make progress on catching the lead cars.

Midway through the race Pete Murphy's drive line exploded, meaning he was out, putting Dan back into 3rd. The restart order was Swindell from Allard, then Rogers and O'Connor. Daniel got a good restart, but struggled to get the car to turn early in the run, however within a few laps for the car came back to him and he got back in his rhythm. With Ryan O'Connor equally as fast on the topside, it was set to be a good race for 3rd. The two battled for a number of laps with Ryan getting the better of Dan at one point, and then Dan getting him back on the bottom.

_At the front it was now Allard, who had got the better of Swindell, then Rogers from Logan. With the laps winding down, it was time to make something happen. The cars got back up to speed and Dan immediately started working on Sammy. Dan was one of the only lead cars committing to the bottom for the entire race, his car was looking good and coming fast. He got to Swindell's bumper and then went on to pass the 3-Time World of Outlaw Champion, getting to 2nd! Allard had a sizeable gap on the field, but with lap cars in effect, Dan was able to close the gap to the reigning NZ Champ. With a handful of laps to go, he was within two car lengths of Allard. However when he got to the lap car, he struggled to get around him. This allowed Allard to break away, and Swindell and Brindle to close in. With a lap to go, Dan was still holding on to 2nd and then coming off turn 2 Dean Brindle found a gap and got by Dan, and then coming off turn 4 Dan made a small mistake a slipped up the track allowing Swindell to just get him at the line.

Keep an eye out on Sky Sport at 6.30pm every Tuesday for "The Dirt" to catch the action. Also, check out the Full length A-Main Onboard with Dan, by clicking on the thumbnail below.

__WORLD SPRINT CAR CLASSIC  - WESTERN SPRINGS
26th November 2011
With the car repaired, the team was set for a night against some of the greatest sprint car drivers in the world. Donny Schatz was racing in his own car direct from America, along with Sammy Swindell, Peter Murphy, Jon Allard and Ricky Logan.

The format for the night was 2 heats lined up by random grids, and then the top 8 in points doing a pole shuffle to set the grid for the 30lap main event.

For the first heat, Daniel started out of 8th and worked his way up to 6th by race end. In the second heat Dan started 6th and would go on to finish 4th, which gave him solid points heading into the remainder of the night.

At the conclusion of the heat races, Dean Brindle and Jamie Duff were tied with Dan on points for the 8th and final spot to compete in the pole shuffle. The tie breaker was decided on lap times, and unfortunately this would not work out for Dan and he would start in 9th for the main event.

With the feature being 30 laps in length, there was plenty of time to move forward and get those spots back! The race got off to a solid start and Daniel raced with Jamie Duff and Ryan O'Connor for the opening laps before settling into 9th. Due to incidents earlier in the night, the meeting was running behind schedule and the race was in jeopardy of being cut short. With a late race caution, this gave Dan a good chance to move forward with the field bunched up again. However the officials decided they did not have time to get the lap cars out of the running order and this forced Dan to start behind them, and in turn loose touch with the lead cars.

On the restart Daniel got straight to the point and started passing the lap cars to get back to where he was. In doing so, he used some grass/infield coming off turn 2, which would later bite him. He would end up finishing 9th, and the 3rd Kiwi home. How ever, post-race, the officials deemed the pass on the lap cars unfair. They went on to put Daniel a lap down, relegating him to 11th. It was an unfortunate call which seemed to be a little inconsistent with the rest of the night, but that's just how it goes sometimes.

The next event will be at Baypark on the 3rd of December, with racing starting at 7PM. This will be the teams first visit out of town this season and we are looking forward to racing at Baypark.

Thanks to Konica Minolta, Castrol Edge, Kirrane Automotive, Electric Designs, Custom Ride Body Shop, American Tire & Racing Services and everybody else who makes this effort possible.

_HERITAGE SHIELD - WESTERN SPRINGS
19th November 2011
After a solid run in the first meeting at the Springs, the team was looking for more of a result this week. Last season in the Heritage Shield, Daniel drove to 3rd which was his best result of the season, so this year we were looking to go a few steps higher.

For the first heat, Dan rolled off 4th. This was a good chance to grab some good points to head into the feature. Dan got off to a decent start, but lost a few spots as the cars around him got up to speed. The car was running well and Dan drove a good race to end up 6th.

With an inverted grids for the first heat, Dan would line up 7th surrounded by fast cars. Again he made a good start and started moving around and passing cars. The car was dialed in and was rolling around as good as anybody. By race end Dan ended up finishing 6th, giving him solid points heading into the feature.

The grids were set and Dan lined up out of the 10th starting position. Immediately he went to the top and started racing hard with Jamie Duff. Sadly after a few laps Daniel made contact with Duff's car and slipped up the track into the wall and rolled over. The night was done.

It was unfortunate the race had to end the way it did, as there was a high rate of attrition as the race unfolded and the car was looking fast!

Next week is Round 1 of the International Sprint car Series which features 4x World of Outlaws Champion Donny Schatz, along with Sammy Swindell, Peter Murphy and regulars Jon Allard and Ricky Logan.

OPENING NIGHT - WESTERN SPRINGS
5th November 2011
It was great to be back at Western Springs after what seemed to be a long off season. After getting the creases ironed out at the second practice the car was set to go for opening night.

The night started with Dan off the back of Heat 2. With a narrow track it was always going to be tough to move forward. Dan put in solid laps and ended up 10th. Heat 3 saw Daniel start from pole with Brindle to his outside. Brindle got the jump and asserted himself the lead with Allard close behind. With fast cars starting around him, Dan ended up falling to 4th by race end.

This put the Konica Minolta/Castrol #5 off P11 for the feature. With 20laps on the board, the plan was to be smooth and consistent. It didn't take long for Dan to get into a rhythm and start passing cars. Dan got up to 7th, before a late race caution cost him. Under caution he made an adjustment on the race car which would which cost him greatly. As the race got back to green, immediately got the car got tight and he pushed up the race track, giving away all his hard work and positions. By the time he got the car back to where it was, it was too late and he ended up finishing in 12th.

Overall the night was solid. The car was strong up until the final restart and we learnt alot. The main thing is the car rolled in the trailer and we can now prepare for the next race in two weeks back at Western Springs. 

Thanks to Konica Minolta, Castrol Edge, Kirrane Automotive, Electric Designs, Custom Ride Body shop and everyone else who helps out. Check out the video page, where we have uploaded come clips from Saturday. We look forward to seeing you all back on the 19th.

NEW LOOK FOR 2011/2012
17 September 2011
A huge thank you to Custom Ride Auto Body for the paint work, Uniscreen for assisting with printing and Electric Designs for the design and wrap!