Shae Davies nabs SST Darwin Race 3 win from Nash Morris

The third and final race of the Boost Mobile Super Trucks weekend supporting the Darwin Triple Crown was the Nash Morris Show, but Shae Davies crashed the party. Although Morris dominated the race, Davies chased him down and passed him in the final chicane to steal the victory.

Morris started on the pole ahead of Dave Casey, while the former’s father Paul was at the back after winning the first two races. Casey, who retired from Race #2 with a broken fuel pump, quickly pulled to the side when the issue struck again, forcing him to exit the event. Rob Whyte also retired after running in third for the first two laps.

“The motorsport Gods weren’t in our favour today but thats just the way it goes sometimes with mechanical failures,” wrote Casey in an Instagram post.

The younger Morris led the way early on with Trav Milburn in tow. Paul Weel moved up to third after Whyte’s exit, but a shunt from Davies on lap four sent him into the grass and out of podium range. At the competition caution a lap later, Morris led Milburn and Davies, the latter losing his hood along the way.

When the race resumed, Milburn tried to pass Morris for the lead in turn one but locked his brakes and slid wide. As Milburn fell back, Paul Morris joined his son in the top two. The pair—the fourth father/son duo in SST history—battled for the lead until the final competition yellow flag. Greg Gartner spun prior to the caution.

Chaos broke loose on the restart beginning with Ingall being hit by Paul Morris while trying to pass him, which sent him into the concrete wall opposite the paddock. Shaun Richardson slipped by on the outside but was turned by Morris in turn one, cutting his left-rear tyre. Nash Morris retook the lead when the dust settled.

Although Morris had led every lap and was poised to complete the sweep by scoring the win in his maiden weekend, Davies had other plans and chased him down for much of the final lap. Davies closed the gap in the last sector and ran side-by-side with Morris in turn fourteen. Riding the inside line, Davies squeezed by Morris as they exited the pit lane chicane to edge him out by .270.

The win is Davies’ third of his career and second of the season. Interestingly, all three of his victories came in the final race of the weekends at Adelaide 2020, Tasmania in April, and Darwin. Tasmania also saw Paul Morris win the first two races before Davies prevented a Morris sweep.

Nash Morris settled for second and secured his first career podium. Weel placed third for his third top-three finish.

The older Morris finished sixth, dropping him to second in the weekend standings despite his two wins. Davies, with some assistance from his Fastest Qualifier bonus point, finished on each step of the podium during the weekend to rack up 34 total points, which trumped Morris’ 31 and clinched him the overall victory. Gartner took third with 26 points.

“Today results weren’t perfect,” began Gartner on social media, “unfortunately I hurt my back in the first race today which was quiet painful but at the end of the weekend we ended up 3rd outright on points which we are stoked about”.

Race results

Finish	Number	Driver	Laps Completed	Status
1	88	Shae Davies	10	Running
2	94	Nash Morris	10	Running
3	50	Paul Weel	10	Running
4	70	Trav Milburn	10	Running
5	39	Russell Ingall	10	Running
6	67	Paul Morris	10	Running
7	410	Greg Gartner	10	Running
8	12	Shaun Richardson	10	DNF
9	11	Rob Whyte	8	DNF
10	121	Dave Casey	1	DNF

Weekend standings

Rank	Number	Driver	Race #1 Points	Race #2	Race #3	Total Points
1	88	Shae Davies	10	11	12	34*
2	67	Paul Morris	12	12	7	31
3	410	Greg Gartner	11	9	6	26
4	70	Trav Milburn	9	7	9	25
5	94	Nash Morris	8	5	11	24
6	50	Paul Weel	4	8	10	22
7	12	Shaun Richardson	6	10	5	21
8	11	Rob Whyte	7	6	4	17
9	39	Russell Ingall	3	4	8	15
10	121	Dave Casey	5	3	3	11

* – 1 bonus point for Fastest Qualifier