Collector carpenter Michael Stewart had to fend off the current Australian champion to win his second consecutive NSW speedcar title

Stewart, 26, went wheel to wheel with experienced Sydney driver Matt Smith, trading places and the pair streeting the field in the 25-lap final, with the Collector carpenter eventually clearing out in the final few laps to win the title comfortably.

Stewart also raced a sprintcar at the same meeting but broke a driveshaft in the car and was unable to progress in that category.

Speedcars are a non-winged, 400-horsepower speedway category, and are flighty and more lively to drive than sprintcars.

"In a way it was a blessing in disguise that we had to park up the sprintcar because it meant that I could really focus on the speedcar races," Stewart said.

"The speedcar felt great to drive as soon as we rolled it out.

"Dad [former champion speedcar driver Chris Stewart] had set the car up to suit the track, which was a bit bumpy, and we felt reasonably confident we had the pace to be competitive."

Stewart performed strongly in both lead-up heats going to the final, bringing the showdown with the in-form Smith.

"It was a really enjoyable final; we didn't block each other and I found some good drive out of turns one and two which made the difference and I managed to clear out on the final lap and a bit," he said.

Father of two Stewart is only the third driver to win consecutive NSW speedcar titles.

He will head back to Eastern Creek in a fortnight for a 50-lap showdown - quite likely facing Smith again - and then in late May intends to race at two major meets in Toowoomba and Brisbane.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: