Current Australian champion Shane Carlson, from Raymond Terrace, 2016 champion Blake Eveleigh from Maitland and reigning NSW champion Brenda Wakeman all have huge chances to claim the 2019 title.

Sunerton has had a reduced campaign this season but dominated her most recent outing winning both her heats at Valvoline Speedway in Sydney. Unfortunately, the final was cancelled. 

Sunerton said she was confident going into the meeting and hopeful of claiming the Australian title after podium finishes in the past.

“Hopefully I can take that form to the Australian titles,” she said.

“I have placed in the Aussie titles before but would love to win it and this might be the year.”

Dungog’s Wakeman is prepared for a long and hopefully successful Australia Day.

Wakeman will be up bright and early as one of the finalists in the Dungog Shire senior sportsperson of the year award and then has to hit the road to get to Gilgandra

“It’s such an honour to receive the nomination for the Dungog Shire awards so I’ll go there first and then head out to Gilgandra. It’s an exciting day.”.

This year’s titles have been reduced to one-day because of forecast heatwave conditions and Wakeman, the 2018 NSW and Queensland champion, will need to be at his best from the first race.

But first he and his mechanical crew will need to fix the steering rack on his No.35 Commodore after an accident in last weekend’s Newcastle Street Stockers series.

“I’ve got a few days to get everything sorted out with the car and then it’s big day on the Saturday,” Wakeman said.

Wakeman and Carlson have been continuing their friendly but intense rivalry in the Newcastle series, with Carlson making up ground to lead the series by a handful of points after the Wakeman’s troubled with his vehicle on the weekend.

“I just crawled around the track to make sure I got whatever points I could pick up as it’s always close between the two of us,” Wakeman said.

Carlson, a veteran of 30 years in the sport, won his first Australian title last year and will be keen to defend it.

The Hunter contingent also includes East Maitland’s David Robertson, Cessnock drivers Daniel Forbes and Chris Campbell, Darren Cassidy from Kurri, Matthew Ryan from Abermain, Daniel and Mark Eveleigh from Singleton, Max Cotton  from Medowie and Newcastle’s Brendan Myers and Brett Smith.

Wakeman said outside the Hunter drivers, 2017 Australian champion Shaun Davoodi was a strong chance to win.