Nineteen-year-old Parker Price-Miller arrived in Western Australia just 24 hours before his first race of the Down Under season but wasted no time getting the No. USA2 Sprint Car to Victory Lane at Perth Motorplex in Kwinana Beach. In doing so, he won the first race of the USA vs. Western Australia Sprintcar Speedweek Series on Tuesday night.

Over the course of the night, Price-Miller got acquainted with his new Sprint Car, which he drove for the first time in hot laps. The soon-to-be winner qualified seventh and then finished second in both of his heat races to start fifth in the feature.

However, the race was not without controversy.

On the first lap, pole-sitter Adrian Haywood encountered problems when a messy start sent Sprints in every direction in an attempt to avoid the carnage. He retired from the race on lap one. Andrew Priolo was also involved in the first-lap incident but would continue in the race until lap three when he also pulled in to the infield in what was to become an incident-filled, 30-lap A-Main.

With all the madness at the front of the field, Ben Ellement was able to quickly move from his starting spot of seventh to steal the lead away from Jason Kendrick and Price-Miller. Ellement was leading when the next caution flag waved for Scott Chatwin, who spun near the pits entrance on lap eight. Two laps later Ellement would have a caution cut into his momentum again when Daryl Clanden spun in the same spot.

Price-Miller was running second when he made contact with Chatwin while lapping him. Price-Miller drove away but Chatwin’s sprint rolled over into the path of Kendrick, who was running in the top five at the time. The carnage brought out the red flag and ended the night early for Chatwin and Kendrick.

The contact raised a cry of “foul” from a grandstand filled with fans who believe Americans get special treatment in celebrity races. It also underscored just how aggressive the visiting drivers can be when points are not on the line.

Price-Miller took the lead on the restart; Ellement fell back into second.

Ellement and Price-Miller pulled away from Jamie Oldfield and the rest of the field and were able to create their own race as the second- through fifth-place drivers held each other back through separate contests.

Jamie Maiolo was challenging Oldfield for third as his brother Brad Maiolo made his way past American Ryan Smith and Australian AJ Nash to enter the top five.

With only five laps to go, drivers began making “now or never” moves to advance positions, which meant the carnage that marked the beginning of the race continued.

Jamie Maiolo drove hard out of turn two and nearly passed Price-Miller and Ellement in one smooth move before being slowed by lapped cars. At the same time Ellement was trying to steal the lead from Price-Miller — racing him hard, side by side, in the tight corners. But when the duo hit the pits’ bend, there was simply not enough space. Price-Miller kept his nose going straight Ellemnt spun and clipped another car causing front-end damage and ending his night.

On the restart, Price-Miller was pursued by the Maiolo brothers with Jamie in second and Brad in third. As Jamie pulled up to the left rear of Price-Miller, he noticed the American’s car had damage to a shock mount that came from one of his incidents. Maiolo tried to use the damage to his advantage. With two laps to go the elder Maiolo brother recorded his fastest lap in hopes of passing the leader. In the end he came up short and settled for second.

Brad Maiolo joined the American and his brother on the podium and took the opportunity to use his “Joker Card,” which doubled his points from the feature to improve his standing in the AHG Sprintcar Series. Nash barely held off Ryan Lancaster to complete the top five.

Ellement lost four laps at the end of the race and failed to finish but was credited with 10th.

Price-Miller was the only American to finish in the top 10.

 Top 10 Finishers
1. Parker Price-Miller
2. Jamie Maiolo
3. Brad Maiolo
4. AJ Nash
5. Ryan Lancaster
6. Daryl Clayden
7. Jamie Landrigan
8. Paul Peet
9. Troy Beckingham
10. Ben Ellement