 There's always a plethora of motorsport to follow during the Easter weekend; the Bathurst 6 Hour, Easter Sprintcar Trail and the Australian Modified Sedan Title, whilst plenty of other racetracks around the country hold a various array of race meetings. However, I'd instead travel to Quambatook, 'land of the wheat and wood, home of the tractor pull', for the annual Australian Tractor Pull Championships.   Australian tractor pulling began with its first organised event in 1976 at Elmore Field Days, an annual agriculture event, with Red Steer (pictured above) the first modified tractor in Australia competing. The following year, tractor pulling began in Quambatook, where the first purpose-built pulling track would be constructed in the country.  I've been to the Tooradin Tractor Pull twice as a spectator, and photographing one trackside has been on my bucket list for a while, and for the first time, I'd venture to the sports Australian home. I've written about the history and basics of tractor pulling after my previous trip, however I knew I wanted to give this unique motorsport a deeper dive.   This is where I introduce Baz Ward owner and driver of the handmade Ford Escort panel van known as 'Bizzee B', who I am very thankful for taking the time for an extensive chat on the ins and outs of tractor pulling. Baz followed the tractor pulling scene growing up in South Australia, and is part of a motorsport family, competing in drag racing, super truck racing and other forms of motorsport. Just over twenty years ago, Baz came to Quambatook interested in building his own and was given a try driving the tractor known as 'Flat Stick'.   Both Bizzee B and Rumpus were originally built by Keith Elliot in Quambatook, and with the help of Murray Hynam, Baz took ownership of both, one after the other, resurrecting and refreshing them, but still keeping the integrity of both tractors in honour of Keith, whilst making the promise to never separate the two. Bizzee B was originally intended for Baz' wife to take the wheel, but now Baz himself drives it down the track, as his son competes in Rumpus. [Bizzee B]'s got a 1000hp compatible TCI Mississipi powerglide 2-speed transmission behind a small block chev, and that runs into a little four-speed, and then you get your gear ratio, and that's in a Pommy truck hub reduction diff."    Bizzee B would one of four 2WD Trucks to compete, which also included the truck 'Bad Attitude', a Chevrolet pickup that had a flopper body, where it is hinged at the rear of the vehicle, and can be lifted upwards to reveal the driver and engine. This truck in particular reminded me of my first encounter with pulling competition, thanks to the wheelie trucks and funny car pullers in the 1985 DVD 'Battle of the Monster Trucks'.   When it comes to pulling the weighted sled down the track, it's not all about horsepower and torque, as the tractors gearing, tyre pressures and the track conditions all play a big part. At the end of a pass, it’s important to look at the hole that has been dug by the rear tyres, and depending on the holes shape, tyre pressure will be increased or decreased. Additionally, how grippy or slick the track is also determines what tyre pressures the teams use. No two tracks are the same, and the conditions change throughout the day, meaning it’s a constant dance to get it absolutely right.   Each time a tractor goes on track, the weight is increased (depending on their class), by adding weights that hang on the side or front of the tractor, and by setting the weight of the sled to be heavier. And before it goes on track, every tractor is taken to the weigh bridge to make sure they make weight.   Once the sled is hooked onto the back of the tractor and the green flag is waved, using the hand throttle the tractor is sent at full noise. Fifteen metres down the track is when the driver really starts to lean into it, and if the front is up in the air, the driver uses the two brake pedals - one for each of the rear tyres - to keep it all straight, as the sled comes up behind the tractor, pulling it back to a stop.     A few other interesting tractors included the Barra powered ‘Infected’, 'The Russian', powered by a V12 from a Russian tank, 'Sledgehammer', with a glowing Scania motor that always puts on a show, and of course one of the favourites, the triple engine 'Plum Crazy'.   The Mini Modified Tractors - with their own mini sled - are extremely exciting to watch as they move all over the track.    One of my favourite discoveries however, were the RC Tractor Pullers. I camped in the pits the night before and heard chainsaws and angle grinders whilst I was trying to sleep. Turns out they were these little things! A man called Lockie started it by making a remote-controlled sled and it has grown from there. The model of Plum Crazy, with three chainsaw motors was gifted to its driver Doug Williams the previous night, and brought him to tears.    As the night wound down, and even though the weight got heavier, the tractors started to go further. There was a moment during the night where we had multiple tractors go the full distance. 'X-Rated' took the sled to 115 metres, and straight after, 'Hectic' went even further with a mammoth 128.42 metres. A few runs later, 'Little Devil' went full pull with an even further 135 metres! It was an incredible moment to have three full pull runs so close together, and the atmosphere from the crowd was electric.
 Unfortunately, too much rain at the end of the night caused the track to be too slick for the final competitive runs, also meaning we didn't get to see the demonstration of 'Red Steer', or the butcher's picnic, where drivers can try out each other's modified tractors.    One final point I want to share is the camaraderie among everyone. They don't compete for money but instead get travel money to make it to tractor pulls across the country and put on a show. Everyone helps each other, whether it comes to learning the track, or if a tractor breaks. It's all about putting on a show and meeting new people, and I certainly felt more than welcome during my first time in Quambatook. Bonus Gallery                
1 Comment
 A record 108 cars would descend on Timmis Speedway Mildura for the annual Australian Wingless Title. Some were just happy to be part of the show, others wanted to make the feature on Sunday, whilst many were aiming to be crowned the Australia #1.     The field consisted of three previous Aussie title winners including Jacob Jolley, Kyle Mock and Joel Chadwick. The pair from Western Australia included current state champion Blake Iwanow, as Blake Walsh would be representing the Northern Territory as their state number one. Newly crowned Tasmanian and Victorian Wingless title winners of Danny Whitchurch and Brad Warren would also make up the field.   All eyes would be on reigning National Wingless champion Jacob Jolley from New South Wales. If he made it to a B-Main on Sunday, he would be able to take a provisional starting spot, meaning he didn’t have to finish in the top four of his B-Main to transfer to the feature. However, Jolley would decline, wanting to race his way in.   Speaking of the subject, here’s how the weekend would unfold. Saturday would begin with twenty heat races, with drivers competing in two each. The results of these heats would determine the starting positions for the five preliminary finals to end the night, with those at the top of the points being split up and starting at the front of each prelim.   Sunday would consist of ten more heats, giving each driver one last chance to nab some more points before the grid positions for the C, B and A-Mains were locked in.    Teams would arrive early in Mildura for scrutineering and a few hours of practice. The track was dusty, but practice wasn't an indication of the track conditions, but rather to test and tune the cars and make sure they were in tip-top condition for battle. During the two days of racing, the team at Timmis Speedway methodically worked on the track in between the racing, and we would be rewarded with multiple lanes for racing all night weekend long.    Before we went racing however, it would be an early start on Saturday morning for those wanting to be featured in the Australian Wingless Title television shoot. Thanks to Wade Aunger, master cameraman Richard Rowley and others, a 52-minute episode covering the entire event and the men and women that made up the competition would be aired to SBS Speedweek on the 11th of May, as well as being available on SBS On-Demand. If you can't catch this fantastic production on SBS, you can watch it on YouTube.   Before we went racing, 107 Wingless (yep, we’d already lost one) took to the track for a grand parade and four wide salute, with the state champions waving the state flags, and Jacob Jolley leading the procession.     And finally, racing was underway with two rounds of heats for all the drivers. We got a brief sunset before it got dark with a handful of heat races left. Tyson Martin took victory in both his heats and would be one to watch when he started from pole in the final prelim race of the night.     Luke Weel would fend off tough competition in clinical fashion to take victory in the first prelim final, as Todd Moule dominated in the second. Chris Temby fought through some heavy hitters to claim the third prelim, whilst Kyle Mock ran away from the carnage to win the penultimate prelim of the night.   The racing had been great so far, but the final prelim of the night would be what everyone would be talking about. Tyson Martin and Brad Warren would start on the front row, before Blake Iwanow slid through the middle to take the lead. The front of the field would spread out with Daniel Evans up to third, following Martin's steps. A spin for Jesse Alexander would bring out the yellow with 10 laps to go, bunching the field up, and on the restart, Brad Warren would re-enter the picture. With five to go, Kirby Hillyer who started sixteenth would thread the needle, take the lead and make it a five-way fight for the win in the process. Two laps later, and after contact with Daniel Evans, Tyson Martin would retake the lead. You could put a blanket over the top five, however, Tyson Martin would go undefeated on Night 1 of the Australian Wingless Title.    Before you knew it, Sunday night was upon us, and so to was one final round of heats and a chance grab some more points before the feature grids would be locked in. Mitch Broome would so far be the only one to keep Tyson Martin at bay, as sympathy was felt for Daniel Goldoni. The Darwin native took an authoritative win in Heat 2, but unfortunately, would be underweight, handing the victory over to Kyle Mock. It sometimes seems that if Daniel didn't have bad luck, he'd have no luck at all.    After the final heats were ran, the top three of Todd Moule, Tyson Martin and Kyle Mock would be tied at the top with 100 points each., setting up what would be an exciting and close battle to get A1 on the tail tank.     After impressing the previous night, Kirby Hillyer would win the first C-Main to transfer to a B-Main, with Ryan Furler coming from a long way back to join him. Corey Sammut and Ben Hodge would be the final transferees from the second C-Main to the pair of B-Mains.   Super2 star Brad Vaughan led from start to finish, as Jacob Jolley fought off stiff competition to transfer to the A-Main with an opportunity to defend his title. Angus Hollis avoided the conflict behind to win the final B-Main of the night. The five other drivers to transfer to the championship race would be Adin Robertson, Scott Thomsen, Nathan Smee, Keke Fallard and Jason Davis.    108 cars had now been reduced to 24 of Australia's best. Zac Phelan has talked about the importance of the Australian Sprintcar Title, and although this isn’t quite the same, only now had the magnitude of the moment dawned on me. Meanwhile, Jason Bates and Bradley Whitchurch would wait in the infield in case one of the 24 drivers failed to make the start (as they finished fifth in their B-Mains), but they would never get the opportunity.   It had all come down to this. Drivers hopped in their car one last time, gave the fans a four wide salute, moved into their rows of two, the green flag dropped, and it was time to go racing.   Todd Moule created a gap at the start and Tyson Martin fell back to fourth as there was contact further back. However, Martin would get back to second ten laps later, as a gaggle of cars fought over fourth place.   Seven laps later, Martin had caught up to Moule, and things came to a head as they squeezed through the final corner. Contact was made, and Moule was sent up to the cushion. The Australian Wingless Title had now become a two-horse race.    Moule would claw back the deficit and swap the lead with Martin a handful of times, as Luke Weel was being hounded for third. The lone yellow flag would be waved with 14-laps to go after Nathan Smee spun in turn two, and when the green flag waved once more, a fire would be lit under Chris Temby, scything through the top ten up to third.   After a high pressure forty-lap dog fight, Tyson Martin would use the top of the track to sweep the competition and pick up the prized Aus #1. Bitterly, Todd Moule would lose his second-place finish after post-race scrutineering, relegating Chris Temby to second, and Luke Weel to third.  I've followed the Wingless series for a decent amount of time now, and both before and after the Australian Title, I feared to miss out on any of the racing. You get attached to the drivers and their ups and downs and seem to ride the waves of emotion as some suffer defeat, and only a handful rise to victory.
 Speedweek; Boxing Day to New Years Day is the start of the busiest time of Australia's speedway season, with the following approximate two months of summer continuing with the momentum yielded from that infamous week. Some of the biggest and most important races would be held during this time including state and national titles, big prize money feature races and grueling back-to-back meetings.   Previously, I would have written an article for each event, but with 20,000+ photos to go through, images to make available, plus those life commitments we all have, it's difficult to find time to sit down and right about a race meeting you honestly can't remember much about apart from having a camera in hand. Still, the seven race meetings I've already attended this year deserve to be talked about, so I'll mention all the highlights in what will be one densely packed blog.   To begin 2025, I'd follow the yearly Wingless Summer Slam. This time four speedways would be on the itinerary across four nights, starting at Laang Speedway. At only 280 metres in length, it's a tight bullring compared not only to the other three tracks we'd be visiting, but the rest of the Victorian speedways.    The nominations would be capped at 72 for the Wingless Summer Slam, but not all would turn up to Laang Speedway. Regardless, there would still be twelve heats, a C-Main and two B-Mains to set the grid for the A-Main. The crew at Laang would consistently yet quickly do some track works, particularly on the top of the track, and halfway through the heats, the top began to come alive. And it would be Brad Vaughan who would take first blood, victorious during the first night of the Wingless Summer Slam.   Night 2 would be over two hours west of Laang Speedway in Mount Gambier, home to the 15 metre wide and 372 metres long Borderline Speedway. Pro Speedcar Week would also join the action from here to the final night at Premier Speedway.   It's quite a beautiful track, with high and wide green spectator hills all around that really encapsulates why I think Speedway is a very spectator friendly sport: Because you can see the whole track. This seems obvious, but some tracks are just better at that than others. Still, the height and distance of the green still provided its own challenges, although I'm going to blame my baseline model 150-500mm lens for those.    I found my rhythm during the second round of heats, as those on track fought for a ticket straight to the A-Main. Endurance and consistency would be the key for a good result at the end of the four-day series. Even so, they were racing for keeps and resulted for some in flat tyres, broken parts and on occasion, rollovers. Hayden Vickers engine expired spectacularly as he led the first B-Main, bringing his Summer Slam to an instant end.   Brad Warren took the lead over Daniel Evans in the opening laps of the A-Main and didn't look back, not to be deterred by those fighting through the field to take victory of Night 2. The pole-sitter of Evans would unfortunately end in a tumble, as Blaine Densley and Matthew Symmons filled in the podium positions.   Night 3 would be a journey back to where we started, the south midwest of Victoria, this time at Simpson Speedway. Although it's only 20 minutes from the nearest town of Cobden, the track seems to be double-landlocked by farms, hidden away and out of sight. Still, the track is known to provide some fantastic racing, and I can confirm that not only is that true, but it's extremely photogenic. The stylish writing on the back straight, plus having American commentator Drake York on the mic, it felt like we were in the States.   The final characteristic that makes Simpson unique is its unique shape. with Turns 3 & 4 being the tighter end of the track, and also the lowest point. The front straight is uphill, with Turn 1 being the highest point, before the cars head downhill again in Turn 2 onto a flatter, yet still downward back straight. The tighter Turns 3 & 4 is Simpon's main feature, giving it that special egg shape.   Tensions were becoming higher with the third day of racing, as two big wrecks (both causing fence damage) and multiple cautions in the final heat races slowed down proceedings whilst bringing some driver’s nights to an end.   Both Luke Weel and Chris Temby would start on the front row of the A-Main after winning each of their two heat races. Temby took an early lead, but unfortunately, an engine issue sent him infield with only ten laps to go. Luke Weel snatched the victory and jumped up the standings after missing the first round at Laang.   For the final round, it would be a short drive down to Premier Speedway in Warrnambool. Over the past two years, the team at Premier have worked diligently, making major changes to the track so it can provide better racing, and these recent adjustments have delivered the goods. Long gone is the black clay and in its place, a brand new track surface that provided multiple lanes for racing.   Only 59 of the 72 nominated cars were left to fight on Premier’s new clay, as Super Sedans would return to Warrnambool to join the night’s schedule.  Ebony Hobson had suffered some rancid luck over the past few days, whilst Chris Temby was fighting more engine issues. Lucky for Chris, who was still in with a winning chance, Ebony offered her V89 Wingless for Chris to drive. And he would put that opportunity to good use, riding the cushion to a B-Main victory and advancing to the final A-Main of this year's Summer Slam. The driver swap only confused me a little while; Luckily, they both use the number 89 on their cars.   As the green flag waved, setting the Wingless Sprintcars loose, everyone would be chasing Travis Millar, not only as he would start on the pole, but also as he led the standings with only one 30-lap race to go. Like at Borderline, Brad Warren would grab the lead and run away from the field, but unfortunately on lap 23 would suffer mechanic issues forcing him to pull infield and relinquish the lead. Tyson Martin would be next to take the lead and would be victorious as you could put a blanket over those battling for the top five. None of the four different feature winners would claim the Summer Slam belt, as it would be Travis Millar whose consistency across the four nights would make him the 2025 Summer Slam champion.    Most of my favourite photos from my Summer Slam trip, weren't from the Wingless action, but rather from the supporting categories. With 72 Wingless', I had to make sure I played it safe and got shots of everyone, meaning I couldn't really experiment or spend time perfecting an idea. Some of the best photographers can provide photos for their clients without having to sacrifice their creativity, and I'm just not at that level yet. Still, I'd rather have to play it safe to get results for clients than not be able to photograph motorsport at all.   After two weekends off to recover from a busy four days, with lots of photos to process, my next race would be the President's Cup, the beginning of Classic Week, what I believe to be the most important week in Australian Sprintcar racing. All eyes were on Avalon, with big names all across the country and those from the U.S. Cole Macedo - who had already claimed four victories during his time replacing his brother Carson - would be joined by fellow outlaws Riley Goodno, Chase Randall, Corey Eliason and Kailb Henry.     The usual suspects of Marcus Dumesny and Lockie McHugh would set QuickTime in their respected groups, with the pair winning their respected heats as well, as Callum Williamson and Ryan Newton also took victory in their 10-lap sprints.     It's only this season that I've started feeling really confident taking photos at Avalon, now asking myself how I can push the envelope creatively, rather than how do I even take photos from the outside at Avalon in the first place. Even if ideas go wrong, I can learn and improve them next time, which is something I used to forget whenever I stepped foot into Avalon Raceway. I don't know why, but this track just intimidates me. On another note, rolling shots from the push-car during engine starts may be something I do at every Sprintcar meeting going forward.   Lockie McHugh and Brock Hallet would start on the front row of the A-Main, and when the green flag waved, McHugh took a commanding lead, as at the halfway mark, Ryan Newton overtook reigning President's Cup winner Hallet for second. With 11 laps to go however, McHugh would pull infield with a flat tyre, handing Ryan Newton the lead of the race. Newton would consistently keep lapped cars between himself and the chasing Jamie Veal and Brock Hallet to claim a redemptive victory after last year's President's Cup.  James McFadden in the new Brady Racing 23WX would return to the front, being crowned the winner at the King's Challenge at Borderline the following night, and picking up his third Classic win in spectacular style.   My next trip would be back to Tolmer Speedway, where like the President's Cup, I'd be joined by Jake of Northline Media. This time it would be to celebrate Tolmer's 60th Anniversary, with a 'Sprintcar Jamboree', there second race meeting with the brand-new track, playing host to 47 competitors.   That night, I also finally got to meet the very talented Zac Phelan, who also let me borrow his 85mm F/1.4 lens. I’ve barely used any prime lenses, but after keeping it on one of my camera bodies for the whole night, I now understand why photographers love their primes. The quality of the glass, and the wide aperture can make images addictively crispy, plus 85mm is just a gorgeous focal length.      Corey Eliason would set a new track record of a 10.856 to set 'Quicktime' in qualifying. Although Eliason and Grant Anderson looked to be the favourites of the night, Ryan Newton, Kerry Madsen, Matt Egel, and Rusty Hickman would all make themselves known by winning their individual heat races.    Corey Eliason and Ryan Newton would start at the front, but by the end of the first lap, Grant Anderson took a tremendous dive to take the lead from the second row and somehow still had the lead after another dive from Matt Egel before Jason Pryde and Jordyn Charge spun at the top of Turn 4. Grant Anderson led the majority of the race, but it could have been any of those top four drivers that could have claimed victory. Anderson, however, would hold off Eliason to take the victory as Matt Egel battled his way past McFadden for third.  Over my three seasons of photographing speedway, I've seen Grant Anderson be one of the quickest cars on track and a favourite to win many a race, but just have terrible luck thrown his way almost every time. This year's Sprintcar season has had many highlights, not only in front of my camera, yet finally being there to witness Grant Anderson claim a win is certainly one of my favourite moments.    Three nights later, as all eyes were on Murray Bridge as James McFadden claimed his third Australian Sprintcar Title (the first to win The Classic and the Title in the same year since Garry Rush in 1990), Jake and I ventured to a hot Blue Ribbon Raceway for the Victorian Wingless Title.    Mitch Broome would look to defend his Victorian Title against fierce competition as always, whilst I would have no infield access. Luckily, there's enough vantage points at Blue Ribbon to photograph all the racing. The challenges would rather come from the heat and getting engulfed by ants in Turn 3. The heat was too much for even the generator that powers the track, as we lost all electricity twice during the night.    Todd Moule was the only driver to win both heat races and would therefore start from the inside of the front row. Brad Warren would take the lead straight away as everyone behind fought for inches, which brought an end to Tyson Martin and Logan Davies' nights in separate incidents. Travis Millar would fight his way past Todd Moule as Mitch Broome followed through on the outside. No one however was catching Brad Warren at the front, taking a commanding victory and finally clinching the Victorian Wingless Title, as Travis Millar and the reigning champion finished second and third.   The following week we planned to head to Heartland Raceway in Moama for some 360 Sprintcars and Super Sedans, however the night would be cancelled due to a lack of water, meaning our next outing would be the following weekend for the Wide-Open Wingless Series double header at Simpson and Borderline. Vintage Super Modifieds and Sprintcars would be the supporting category at Simpson, however, that will hopefully be saved for its own feature.   The Wide-Open Wingless Series would consist of five rounds across four states at five different speedways. After the first two rounds at Toowoomba and Sydney, Brad McCarthy would lead the championship in points, but by the end of the weekend, that would change.   You’d think with two big Wingless meetings back-to-back, drivers would be taking it a little easy to make sure their equipment lasted the two nights of racing, but you’d be wrong. I've already mentioned it, but I'll say it again for the people in the back: These guys and girls play for keeps every time they get on track, which is what makes Wingless racing so exciting and one of the reasons the category has grown exponentially.   Multiple incidents plus patches of rain slowed the proceedings, but the crew at Simpson Speedway did a great job to maintain the track, regardless of how much rain came down. Additionally, Simpson Speedway had allowed free entry for spectators to encourage fans and those curious to come down on a Friday night and watch some of the best Wingless drivers from across the country.   Unlike the last visit to Simpson, Chris Temby would make it to the chequered flag in the lead to make it three winners from three rounds, closely followed by Tyson Martin and Jason Bates. This would also be my best result, as three of my clients for the night finished first, second and fourth. Nice to know I’m not a bad omen.   At Borderline, the competition continued to heat up, as I finally warmed to photographing Borderline Speedway with its unique (to me) outside fencing and angles. We'd have ten different heat winners across the ten heats, yet it would be Luke Weel who had the best average finish across his pair of heats, allowing him to start front and centre for the A-Main, with Chris Temby alongside.    When Luke Weel is having a strong night, he’s a tough cookie to beat, and no one could take away the victory at Borderline as he made it four different winners from four rounds of the Wide-Open Wingless series. Tyson Martin would come home in second again, taking the championship lead, as Blake Walsh surged through the field to claim third.   Tyson Martin took the lead of the championship with one round to go, sitting on 340 points, four points ahead of Chris Temby, who's only three points ahead of Brad Warren in third. The final round would be held at Timmis Speedway, one week after the Australian Wingless Title, held at the same battleground.   The Wide-Open round at Borderline would be my last Speedway meeting for the summer part of this year's season. The busiest part of the dirt racing year in Australia was over, yet there would still be plenty of champions to crown, racetracks to visit, and lots of exciting racing still to come.
 The week beginning after Christmas was a great time to be an Aussie Sprintcar fan. Boxing Day means the beginning of Sprintcar Speedweek, and this time around, the sensation was felt all across the country. The American High Limit series brought their show down under to the Perth Motorplex for three nights and a $100,000 prize pot, along with some of the States best Sprintcar drivers.    Carrick Speedway in Tasmania hosted two nights of Sprintcar racing, Toowoomba had four nights of action, with Super Sedans and Sprintcars sharing the spotlight and Sydney International Speedway was finally delivering the racing we all knew it could produce. And of course, all eyes were on the Southern Sprintcar Speedweek as teams across the country travel across South Australia and Victoria for five nights of racing, across five different tracks.    Although most of the drivers from the U.S.A would be competing in Perth, three would traverse the Speedways of the south, those few being Riley Goodno, Chase Randall and Garet Williamson.    Among their competition would be Aus #1 Lockie McHugh, 2022 Aussie champion Marcus Dumesny, previous Classic champion Brock Hallet, and the successful Jamie Veal, along with newly crowned SA Sprintcar champion Rusty Hickam to name a few.    The aforementioned Speedweek would begin at Murray Bridge Speedway, where reigning Ausse Champion Lockie McHugh took the victory ahead of Brock Hallett and Ryan Jones who started on pole. Next, the Sprintcar extravaganza would visit Australia’s newest dirt track.   Pevely Missouri USA is home to I-55 Raceway, a 1/3-mile dirt bowl with wide nineteen degree turns and ten-degree straights, the track consistently provides thrilling racing. 15,500km away is Tolmer Speedway in Bordertown South Australia, a track that has been around since the 1960’s. The last race meeting held here was three years ago, with the track needing safety upgrades, but that’s where I-55 Raceway comes in, because now, Australia has one of America’s most famous dirt bullrings on home turf.   When the Tolmer Speedway community were given the chance for a complete overhaul, they seized the opportunity. Bordertown is only between two and a half to four hours' drive from the other tracks that host major events, those being Murray Bridge, Borderline Mount Gambier, Timmis Speedway in Mildura and Premier Speedway in Warrnambool. Thus, this prime location would also need a prime racetrack, which is why the team at Tolmer decided to replicate I-55 Speedway in Pevey.    I-55 were happy with the idea and allowed a scan of the track to be made for Tolmer to use. Next came the big job of digging out the track and creating a larger pit area for both the Speedway and adjacent go kart club to use. The concrete walls and fencing would be put in place and finally, some ridiculously good lighting. Both the banking and the quality of the lighting are nothing like any other speedway I’ve visited.   The excitement for this speedway had bubbled for two years and now it was time for the first race meeting, which would be none other than a packed Night 2 of Sprintcar Speedweek. On another note, it’s awesome to see a small country town bustling and full of people, especially when the reason is automotive related.   Expectations were high, but I wasn’t expecting amazing racing just like I-55 Raceway from the beginning. Yes, there had been a couple of practice days to try out the track, but this would be the first full night of racing. Making sure a dirt track has multiple lanes of racing, both at the top and bottom of the track all night is an art in itself. So, I expected there to be some teething issues, both with the racetrack and its infrastructure, and there would be nothing wrong with that if it did happen. However, I was happily proven wrong.   Sprintcars and their mules entered infield for Hot Laps and Qualifying for the first time under competition, with Grant Anderson going Quicktime in Group 1 with a 11.213 time, as Brock Hallet topped Group 2 with a 11.300.     The Tolmer Speedway sponsored Sprintcar of Marcus Dumesny would win the first heat race on the new track, with Rusty Hickman, Lochie McHugh and Jamie Veal taking victory in the other three heats. This is where I’ll mention one of Tolmer Speedway’s downside that I hope to be addressed before future race meetings. The spectator areas are very flat, which make it quite difficult to see, especially when you’re four rows back, whilst there were also no designated walkways, particularly around Turn 1 & 2.   Back to the racing, and with the help of the Wingless supports, the track was slowly widening, but as the sun set (and I headed infield again), the track seemed to really open up, with multiple lanes available to the drivers.   In the C-Main, Chris Solomon would hunt down Steve Loader, before the engine on the V11 expired. It was Keke Fallard’s turn to attack Loader and would succeed, taking the C-Main win ahead of Loader, with Ethan Wyllie and Chad Gardner also advancing to the B-Main.   The pair of Fallard and Loader would fight through the field as the track truly opened up and cars were easily able to race side by side. Fallard made it into the Top 4 to transfer to the feature race, whilst Chase Randall took a convincing victory, as Dane Court and Brendon Guerin followed him into the A-Main.   The previous Dash race set the Top 8 spots for the A-Main and became the first indicator that we were in for an exciting end to the night, with drivers beginning to ride the cushion, and enter the corners with extra speed in order to slide underneath the drivers ahead. Marcus Dumesny would grab the Dash victory and the pole position for the A-Main, as Lochie McHugh and Jamie Veal weren’t happy with each other’s overtaking attempts.    Mules rolled into the dome, drivers gridded up, appreciated the fans with a four-wide salute, the green flag dropped, and the A-Main began. Sprintcars! Sprintcars! Everywhere! That’s the simplest way of describing it. They ran high, low and everywhere in between and it was glorious to behold. Never have I had to gather my bearings so much during a 35-lap A-Main. I always try and take half a lap to refocus myself and take a quick look at what I may be missing behind the camera. At Tolmer, I lost count of how many times I had to do that with the amount of side-by-side racing that was happening.   Marcus Dumesny led the majority of the race, before McHugh caught up with three laps to go, taking back-to-back victories at the beginning of Sprintcar Speedweek. Dumesny would have to lament a second-place finish, as Jamie Veal fought through to third.   Brock Hallet took victory at Murray Bridge, bringing an end to Lockie McHugh’s winning streak. Now the only streak left was Jamie Veal’s run of three out of three wins at Avalon this season.    For me, I’d go from the brand new Tolmer Speedway to Avalon Raceway, a track that’s been around since the dawn of time. My time at least, as I’ve been coming here since before I can remember. Now for me, as a photographer, Avalon is the hardest speedway to photograph. To get quality photos here, you have to fight for them. Not spectators or other photographers, but rather fight your camera gear, as well as take the time to find a good spot to shoot from behind the double fencing. It’s tricky to create magic here as Avalon seems to both give and take however, will reward your persistence.   Luke Dillon set the early pace in Flight 1, with an 11.874 second lap time, as Jordyn Charge - who had had an unlucky week when his transporter suffered mechanical gremlins - went quickest in Flight 2 with a 11.902, a deserving result.      Daniel Pestka would dominate the first heat as Delamont fought his way to the Heat 2 victory, whilst Jy Corbet, flipped on his lid, but would continue to finish an impressive fifth with a damaged wing. Brock Hallet and Peter Doukas would take the final two heat victories respectively.    Cam Waters would start and finish at the top in the A-Main qualifying Dash, whilst Glen Sutherland would lead all 20 laps of the B-Main to transfer into the A-Main. Lockie McHugh would have to fight his way to the feature from the B-Main, and would do so as Randy Morgan and Brett Milburn filled the final transfer spots.   So far, it had been a relatively clean night, but that was about to change as the green flag was shown for the A-Main. Cam Waters lead from the front as to my surprise, Jamie Veal found himself battling on the edge of the podium. Brett Milburn looked to be fighting his car from the beginning and was the first to roll over on lap 19, and this stoppage, would just breed more.   Jamie Veal's chance at four wins on the trot at Avalon would come to a violent end after contact with Brock Hallet sent him tumbling soon after the restart. Veal jumped straight out and headed straight to Hallet's car for some words. Because of this second large and time-consuming incident, teams were allowed to come onto the track and fill up the cars with fuel and make some adjustments.    On attempt number two of the lap 19 restart, Jordyn Charge rocketed past Pestka and was right behind Waters. Unfortunately, contact with the back of the V6 destroyed the front left, whilst almost simultaneously, Ryan Jones and Tate Frost made contact on the backstraight. Frost spun and stopped causing a chain reaction, with Jordan Rae, Jackson Delamont, Grant Anderson and Peter Doukas along with Frost, out of the race in an instant. Somehow Lockie McHugh and Grant Stansfield survived driving directly through the chaos. Only three laps later, Jy Corbet would smack the wall all on his own and this time, flipping out of the race completely as Michael Tancredi stopped on track with damage to the V29.   It would be green to the finish, with the adjustments made to the S63 proving effective as Ryan Jones grabbed the lead from Waters who had led the entire race up until that point. McHugh and Pestka scrapped over third place unfortunately both spinning out in Turn 2 and now without a chance of the podium.   Ryan Jones took a popular and well-deserved win as Cam Waters would finish second, still waiting for his maiden 410 Sprintcar victory. Grant Stansfield would survive the carnage to come home third.  Lockie McHugh would wrap up the series with the overall win at the final round at Premier Speedway and has shown himself and his team to be a force to be reckoned with when it comes time for Classic week, and also when he has the chance to defend his Aussie title. Bonus Gallery
                                It had all come down to this, another exciting season of Touring Car Racing in Australia had arrived at the famed racetrack of Mount Panorama for a champion to be crowned. Reigning champion Josh Buchan would arrive at Bathurst on 640 points, as Zac Soutar trailed on 604 points.   Garry Rogers Motorsport would race two more of the brand new Peugeot 308 P51s for the Valvoline pair of Aaron Cameron and Ryan Casha, after Jordan Cox and Ben Bargwanna debuted the new models at the previous round in Sydney.   99 Motorsport would return during the final round of the championship, this time with New Zealand Formula Ford champion Blake Knowles behind the wheel. Although this would also be his debut in the category, he is no stranger to TCR, as the 18-year old already has multiple wins in both Audi and Hyundai TCR cars back home.    Josh Buchan threw the first punch in the first practice session going fastest with a 2:17.092, as Zac Soutar would be seven tenths (2:17.881) down the road in second, with Aaron Cameron in third (2:18.095).    The second practice session would be faster and much closer, with the top three being separated by less than a tenth of a second. Brad Harris, who had been fast all season long topped the timesheets (2:16.101), Dylan O’Keefe second (2:16.155), and fellow Wall Racing teammate and brother Will Harris in third (2:16.177).    Zac Soutar would do everything in his power to grab the championship, and he would begin my nabbing pole position with a blistering 2:12.813. Will Harris would line up alongside on the front row after setting a 2:13.657, and Josh Buchan would start third with a 2:13.755 lap.  Before Race 1 could begin, Aaron Cameron suffered a power steering failure, and unfortunately that would spell the end of his weekend altogether.    Brad Harris started outside his grid slot when the lights went out, which resulted in five-seconds being added to his race time, dropping him from fourth to fifth. Zac Soutar however, would go mistake free to lead every lap on his way to victory, followed by Dylan O’Keefe and championship rival Josh Buchan.  Race 2 would be a reverse grid race, with Blake Knowles on pole and Will Harris alongside. However, both front row starters would have poor starts, with Will Harris stalling on the grid, and Brad Harris running into Ryan Casha, who then hit Blake Knowles. Knowles would spin out and have to retire due to the sustained damage on his Audi RS3. It seemed that nobody was near their original starting positions as they arrived at Griffins Bend.    Will Harris would remarkably climb back through the field to a second-place finish, after Ben Bargwanna would pull over due to an oil pressure warning in his Peugeot 308. Jordan Cox took the victory, with Tom Oliphant rounding out the podium.     All the anticipation would build up for Race 3, particularly thanks to the grid walk before the race, open to all spectators, with Supercheap Auto pulling out all the stops, as the naming sponsor for both TCR and the Bathurst International.    Zac Soutar would start from pole position once again, however, through Griffin’s Bend, on the outside of O’Keefe, he would run wide almost smacking the concrete and losing multiple positions. Jordan Cox’s engine would die, then get going again, as Soutar fought through the field.    Dylan O’Keefe would grab the Race 3 victory and the round win, followed by Tom Oliphant in second. Zac Soutar would climb back up to third, but it wouldn’t be enough.      Josh Buchan had become back-to-back TCR Australia champion. He becomes the first driver to win multiple TCR Australia championships, as HMO Customer Racing and Hyundai nab their third championship since the category’s inception in 2019.   With this being the final round of the Shannon’s Nationals/Speed Series, fans await the announcement for the championship’s plans in 2025.
 Mount Panorama would play host to the final round of the GT World Challenge Australia 2024 season, and the last ever Speed Series round before the SRO takes over both GT3 and GT4 categories. Both the Pro-Am and Am class champions would be decided here at Bathurst, after the two 1-hour endurance races had been completed.   Although there were five driver pairings that could mathematically win the Pro-Am championship, with Arise Racing GT’s Chaz Mostert and Liam Talbot in the lead, and Audi’s Brad Schumacher and Will Brown still in with a chance, unless both pairings suffered horrendous bad luck.   For Michael Sheargold and Garth Walden from RAM Motorsport to claim the Am championship, all they needed to do was finish ahead of James and Theo Koundouris' Supabarn/Tigani Motorsport Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo in Race 1.   Acclaimed German team Car Collection Motorsport would debut in Australia at the Bathurst International with their Porsche 911 GT3 R, being piloted by Greek Alex Fontana and American Hash Patel.     Arise Racing and the Ferrari 296 GT3’s would top the timesheets in Practice 1, with Jaxons Evans and Elliot Schrute fastest with a 2:02.943 as their teammates Mostert and Talbot set a 2:03.083. Brendon Leitch and Tim Miles would set the third fastest time with a 2:03.423 whilst Valmont Racing’s Sergio Pires was the quickest in the Am class with a 2:06.351.     Realta/Tigani Motorsports Jayden O’Jeda and Paul Lucchitti topped the afternoon practice session with a 2:03.457 lap around the mountain. The two Audi’s of Brendon Leitch/Tim Miles (2:03.592) and Alex Peroni/Mark Rosser (2:03.606) followed, displaying how tight the competition truly was. Am class leaders Garth Walden and Michael Sheargold set the quickest time in the AM class with a 2:06.417, as the KMB Motorsport Aston Martin V12 Vantage failed to make it out, after stopping on track at the end of Practice 1.    Qualifying would be split into two sessions, one for each driver, setting the grid for each race. Session 1 would set the grid for Race 2 and pole position would be taken by Brendan Leitch with a 2:01.831 with Jaxon Evans (2:02.017) and Alex Peroni (2:02.261) rounding out the top three. Chaz Mostert and Arise Racing’s #1 Ferrari would be disqualified after a blistering 2:00.986 after the car was deemed to have had too much turbo boost.      With the drivers swapping over, Liam Talbot would secure the pole position in Session 2 for the previously disqualified Ferrari, followed closely by Paul Stokell and Brad Schumacher. Garth Walden was the fastest Am driver in Session 1, as Sergio Pires qualified fourth overall in the Am class Valmont Audi R8 in Session 2.   The start of Race 1 would be delayed thanks to timing issues, but when the green flag dropped, Paul Stockell made sure to hound the back of Liam Talbot all the way to pitlane for the driver swaps.   To the surprise of the Supabarn/Tigani Motorsport, the #47 Mercedes would come back into the pits for a second time, and stop at the entry, and after being pushed into the garage the driver-side exhaust billowed smoke. The car would be retired for the rest of the weekend, destroying the Koundouris brothers’ chance at the Am title, handing championship victory to RAM Motorsport’s Michael Sheargold and Garth Warden in a puff of smoke.    Paul Stockell would hand over the car and the lead to Renee Gracie after the pit stops, but both Will Brown and Chaz Mostert made quick work, overtaking her as they travelled up the mountain. Will Brown and Brad Schumacher would take the win and keep their championship hopes alive, as Mostert and Talbot finished second and Leitch and Miles grabbed third.    Sergio Pires grabbed the Am win, as Garth Walden and Michael Sheargold secured the Am championship in addition to second place, as Ben Schoots and Shane Woodman of Black Wolf Motorsport clinched third.    There were only two teams competing in the Trophy class, and when Stephen Coe in the Ferrari 458 GT3 lost control at The Chase and glanced the wall, all Valentino Astuti and Liam Dunn had to do in the Aston Martin V12 Vantage was finish. And that is what they did, a worthy reward after a difficult Friday.   Brendon Leitch would lead from pole position at the start of Race 2, as battles throughout the pack intensified and Chaz Mostert climbed through the field. Ash Samadi would spin but save it at Griffins Bend, but unfortunately would smack the wall at Reid Park, bringing out the Safety Car.    The KMB Motorsports Aston Martin would suffer more unreliability as it came into pitlane, unable to leave due to overheating issues, giving the Trophy class victory to Stephen Coe. More drama would occur in pitlane, as leaders Leitch and Miles were handed a drive through penalty after their pitstop was deemed too short, ending their chance at what would have a been a brilliant victory.    Instead, Alex Peroni and Mark Rosser would grab the win ahead of Declan Fraser and Peter Hackett, and Chaz Mostert and Liam Talbot who would fight through from last place to third, securing the GT World Challenge Australia championship.    The Am class top three would be the same as Race 1, with Sergio Pires claiming victory, Am champions Sheargold and Walden in second, and Ben Shoots and Shane Woodman in third.     With the stalwart pairing of Chaz Mostert and Liam Talbot, Arise Racing and the Ferrari 296 GT3 would impressively win the championship on debut, triumphing at the last Shannon’s Nationals/Speed Series event, at the track where kings are crowned.
 The sixth round of the 2024 Trico Trans Am season would be a special one. The penultimate round would be held at Mt Panorama, during the last ever Bathurst International, and would also be the start of the ‘Mountain to the City’ double-header.     A blockbuster field of 22 cars included race winner Tim Brook, who would return to the category after a year absent. A handful of drivers would again come from the AASA’s TA2 Muscle Car Series, including Sprintcar drive Domain Ramsay, Mark Crutcher, Jason Pryde and Des Collier.    After two race victories at The Bend and three at Queensland Raceway, Todd Hazelwood has leap frogged the GRM pair to lead the championship with 660 points. Reigning champion James Moffat follows on 628 points, as Jordan Boys has climbed past James Golding for third with 613 points.   With the final round of the championship just around the corner, and only two days of running available for the Trans Am crews, every point would be crucial before the final round in Adelaide.    After dropping to fourth in the championship, James Golding started strong, setting the fastest lap during the only practice session of the weekend with a 2:11.763. Tim Brook would show his speed finishing the second with a 2:13.028, as Todd Hazelwood slotted into third with a 2:13.059 lap. Unfortunately, Elliot Barbour would fail to turn a lap, with the car stopping at The Cutting on his outlap.    James Golding showed no signs of slowing down, qualifying on the pole (2:10.672), but not by much ahead of Todd Hazelwood (2:10.693) lining up alongside, and Nathan Herne in third (2:10.811).  Golding would hold the lead into Hell Corner for Race 1 and never look back, as James Moffat gained two places with a daring move up the inside, moving up to third from seventh at the end of Mountain Straight. Both Todd Hazelwood and Tim Brook would be hung out wide on the exit, kicking up gravel and losing a position each.    The Safety Car would come out as John Hollinger had a massive shunt at McPhillamy Park smacking both the outside and inside concrete walls. Hollinger would be okay, but his Trans Am Camaro would not see any more action. No one could catch James Golding, even on the restart as he pulled away to take a dominant victory. Nathan Herne would finish second as James Moffat held off championship leader Hazelwood for third.    In the Pro-Am class of Trans Am, Joshua Thomas would lead the way, finishing the first race in twelfth, with Mark Bailey finishing four-seconds adrift, and Mark Crutcher holding off Brett Niall for third on the Pro-Am podium.    At the start of Race 2, Nathan Herne would drop to fourth from second as the field entered Griffins Bend and Nash Morris sustained front right damage and a cut tyre. The Supercheap Auto Racing team would fix Morris’ Ford Mustang to finish the race, two laps down. Edan Thornburrow and Mark Crutcher also made trips to pitlane, with Crutcher going back out and Thornburrow retiring with a drive belt issue.   Up front, no one could match James Golding, who would clean sweep the weekend, from practice to the final race. Reigning champion James Moffat would hold off Todd Hazelwood again who would finish second and third respectively. A special mention goes to Elliot Barbour, who won the MPI ‘Up on the Wheel’ award for gaining the most positions throughout the two races.  Joshua Thomas again would be the leading Pro-Am driver at the end of Race 2, finishing tenth, with Mark Bailey and Brett Niall line astern.     The Trans Am teams would use Sunday to prepare and setup their cars for the streets of Adelaide and the final round of the 2024 championship, which would be held the following week at the VAILO Adelaide 500. Todd Hazelwood still leads with 716 points, however, Moffat has closed in now on 694 points. Jordan Boys still sits in third with 659 points, but only just as James Golding has reeled him in, only 13 points behind. The first part of the ‘Mountain to the City’ has been complete, now to finish it all off in the city of Adelaide.
 There are two common ways that tracks go about creating an itinerary for a race night. Either a number of smaller categories supporting a larger form of speedway racing, or two big categories. Additionally, quite a few country speedways will have their own classes that compete every night throughout the tracks season.   If a track gets Winged Sprintcars on their agenda, a larger than average crowd is guaranteed, and the same could be said when holding an Australian or even state title of any class.
 Regardless, the organiser's aim is to have a high enough nomination count that will guarantee a large enough spectator turnout to make enough money to cover the expenses needed to hold a race. Whether that be with six small categories, or simply two headliners   Additionally, the larger the field of winged Sprintcars, the smaller the support category needs to be. However, the pair of categories would be pretty even for Avalon's opening night of the season: 29 Winged and 20 Wingless.   In Australia, 410 Winged Sprintcars are the most popular dirt racing category without a doubt, whilst the Wingless, despite being two cylinders short have grown quickly in the past few years thanks to them being a cheaper form of full-size open wheel dirt racing.    Of course, it wasn't always like that. Before the addition of wings to racing cars, there was no major difference that split this style of racecar in two. Wings began to be added to Sprintcars in the 1970's, which lead what we have now, not only in Sprintcars, but midgets, F500's and Speedcars alike. A chance to pick your poison: Winged or Wingless?   With the added wings comes more grip in the form of downforce and thus, more adjustments that can be made to suit the track as it evolves. Without the wings, it's really just the driver, the horsepower and the track, a more raw and traditional form of Sprintcar. Unfortunately, in Australia our Wingless Sprintcars barely compete with the 410-Winged Sprintcars due to being powered by the Ecotec V6, rather than a screaming V8. Which is a bit of a shame, because the Wingless category produces some great racing, and were more exciting than their winged brethren on Avalon's opening night.   Instead of an invite only format, this year's Jackpot would revert to standard time trials, which would set the grids for each of the single heat races. The heat races would determine the top 18 that would go through to the A-Main, as the rest would fight for two spots in the B-Main.    Grant Anderson looked to be the force to be reconned with after setting quicktime and grabbing his heat race win. Jamie Veal would do the same as Sprintcar Classic winner Cory McCullagh would also win his heat race, in his return to the Sprintcar saddle.   Only 20 Wingless drivers would be accepted for Avalon's first Wingless round of the year, including some of the country's best. Christopher Temby would win the first heat race as the new surface was ripped apart. Travis Millar would lead the field to the green for Heat 2 and wouldn't look back.   Northern Territory Wingless Title champion Blake Walsh would show what he was capable of, running away from the field in Heat 3. Ebony Hobson would survive a slide job late in Heat 4 from Angus Hollis to take victory, as the top four became congested through the final corner of the race, with Thomas McDonald holding of Christopher Temby at the line.   To make up the top six for the A-Main, the top two from each heat would compete in a pole shuffle. This is where the Jackpot comes into play, as each driver would pick out of hat their starting position in the shuffle. Luck would serve Grant Anderson a bad hand, placing him sixth and the task of fighting his way through the duels. He would beat Daniel Pestka and Glen Sutherland in their two lap duels to make up two places, starting fourth as Jamie Veal and Lachie McHugh lined up on the front row.   Bobby Daly and Josh Buckingham would make the transfer from B to A-main, being the final pieces to the Sprintcar Jackpot feature grid.   Jamie Veal and Lockie McHugh would lead the field to the green flag, but Brett Milburn would spin at Turn 2, causing a restart. On said restart, the mid pack bunched together through Turn 1 & 2, meaning Peter Doukas ran into Dane Court, causing Jock Goodyer to run into Doukas, giving the Tasmanian race ending damage.  Brett Milburn would also be involved in the third incident of the night, but this time, he'd end up on his lid, after rear-tyre contact with Dennis Jones on the backstraight, sending the V68 into a somersault.     Lockie McHugh would spin but keep his foot in it whilst hunting down Jamie Veal. The reigning Aussie champion would fall to fifth but would make quick work of Daniel Pestka, then Glen Sutherland and two laps later would fly past Corey McCullagh. No one, however, was catching Jamie Veal, claiming victory and the $10,000 prize as McHugh and Glen Sutherland rounded out the podium, a long way behind.   Now it was time for the Wingless to show what they were capable of with their 30-lap feature. Luke Weel would take the lead at the wave of the green, as Christopher Temby and Travis Millar fought over second place. Behind, Blake Walsh was making moves through the field, improving from his eighth row starting slot, as his team owner Ray Wallis stopped at Turn 2, bringing out the first yellow.   Christopher Temby took the lead, but Blake Walsh had moved up to second and was closing in. Unfortunately, with six laps to go, Walsh hit a hole on the cushion of the track, puncturing his tyre and his unbelievable run through the field, as Matthew Symmons suffered the same fate at the same moment.    The race would restart, and Luke Weel would hound Temby, overtaking him with three laps to go. As the overtake was complete, the yellow would come out for Matt Tuckett who had spun, meaning the positions would revert back to the previous lap. Temby would use this lifeline to hold on to victory, as Travis Millar nabbed second off of Luke Weel at the line for a photo finish. Bonus Gallery             
                  North Carolina, a southeastern state in the U.S.A, is home to a population of ten million people and also where most of the NASCAR teams are based. Although NASCAR drivers come from all across the United States, a large portion over the years have come from the southeast, and so too have most of their fans, and in 2024, the series will visit 27 tracks, with a cluster in and around Carolina. There's no doubt that the southeastern quadrant of USA is NASCAR country, with North Carolina at its centre.   In 1988, NASCAR would venture across the Pacific Ocean for their first race outside of North America, to the newly built 1.19-mile Calder Park Thunderdome in Melbourne, a track based off the Charlotte Motor Speedway, in North Carolina.   A week before the 1988 Goodyear NASCAR 500, AUSCAR would be born and hold the first race on the Thunderdome, a battle between Commodores and Falcons, anticlockwise on the 1.19-mile oval. The only other paved oval in Australia would be at Adelaide International Raceway in built in 1972, known as the Super Bowl, an 805-metre oval with 7 degrees of banking first seeing AUSCAR competition in 1990.   With Calder Park holding the only American NASCAR round in Australia, birthing the AUSCAR category, which also sanctioned an Australian NASCAR series, Melbourne is no doubt the spiritual home of Stock Car racing in Australia. Welcome to AUSCAR Country.    There was one sentence that was repeatedly spoken at last year's racing return to Calder and as Stock Cars completed laps once more on the Thunderdome: 'We'll be back'. The team at Stock Cars Australia had made sure that last year's event wasn't a one off, with the category competing on the National Circuit for Round 4 of their 2024 season, under the VMRC (Vic Motor Racing Championships) banner.    Of course, both spectators and drivers were most excited to see these NASCAR's and AUSCAR's perform exhibition laps around the Thunderdome, and they'd get the chance at noon on both Saturday and Sunday. Even a handful of Hyundai Excel's had a go!   Someone who's familiar with racing full throttle on the Thunderdome in its heyday is Jamie Hollier, who took a handful of lucky fans on passenger laps around the track in the ex-Rodney Jane EF Falcon AUSCAR, which has also raced extensively on Calder Park's high banks. [The EF Falcon has] done most of its racing on the Thunderdome. When the Thunderdome stopped it went up to Wakefield Park and Winton as a ride car, so it's done a gazillion laps around those tracks." - James Hollier   The entire car is original apart from the engine, now a Ford Cleveland V8 sits in the engine bay rather than the original Windsor. It was Troy Perichon, the owner of the Jim Richards Falcon above, who worked on the Rodney Jane EF Falcon, and brought both to last year's circuit racing return. Jamie showed interest in the EF Falcon and bought the car off Troy twelve months ago.   Jamie Hollier raced both the Sportsman class and AUSCAR's on the Thunderdome until 1996 and now, behind the wheel of the EF Falcon, he has made his return to racing this year. As Jamie competes in his third race meeting with the car, he tells me there's still a little bit of work here and there to be done, including adding a front sway bar, upgrading the rear brakes as well as battling oil temperature issues in the engine. The car is still faster than what I am, so I just want to work on my skills before we start playing with the car too much and make it quicker. But we're getting faster and faster every time we go out." - Jamie Hollier   The #2 Wayne Menkin AUSCAR similarly has recently returned to the track, with the round at Calder being its second outing with Col Matton behind the wheel. The car was last used in the early 2000’s by Wayne’s son Darren on some Thunderdome practice laps, before it was put into storage. Col located the car in a Moorabbin warehouse and was able to strike a deal six months ago on the VP Commodore in the same condition it was in when it last completed a lap in anger. The car was in amazing condition for its age. We’ve really just gone and done perishables like belts and hoses, fuel lines, fuel pumps, a new set of rubber under it. We had to draw up the geometry in the front end just because it was a Thunderdome spec car.” - Col Matton   The entire driveline including the M21 4-speed gearbox hasn't been touched, which is a credit to how well Wayne Menkin has built this car. A Holden 308 spec engine still sits up front, with a Quadrajet carburetor on top, all up making just under 400hp.    Straight off the bat too, the car has been quite competitive, with Col being the best finishing of the three AUSCAR's during the Calder Park round. The only issue that Col has faced are the brake pads, as he went through multiple sets throughout the weekend. Regardless, of worn-out pads, it looked right at home on both the National Circuit and the Thunderdome. My Uncle was a keen motorsport fan. He used to bring us out here almost every race weekend, he had an old XF ute… me and my brother… we used to sit in the back of his ute with our deck chairs. Loved it, absolutely loved it.” - Col Martin   Although it's certainly the AUSCAR family that has grown in the past year, there are still a number of American stock car brethren to join the action. Daniel Stubbs would pilot the 2000 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, which competed in the United States in the ASA series. Although not a NASCAR, it is labelled as a GTA car (no relation to Grand Theft Auto), which are earlier versions of the cars used in the now popular Trans Am/TA2 category. This example was brought over from the USA and raced up the front in Stock Cars Australia, before being put up for sale circa 2019.    One thing that separates these cars from the 'lightning in a bottle' era of NASCAR's is the engine, as ASA instead required fuel injection, hence the LS1 under the bonnet, whilst NASCAR only permitted carburetors at that time. The Stubbs family now races the car with Daniel Stubbs behind the wheel, as his father Jeff Stubbs also raced a Dodge Challenger Trans Am. Although the Monte Carlo was already in racing condition, competing regularly in the Stock Cars Australia, they’ve refreshed the quick-change differential as well as the gearbox. It’s unreal, I love it. It’s quicker than anything I’ve ever been in.” - Daniel Stubbs   Scott Nind is known for dominating in his Xfinity Ford Mustang, but this year he had a new pony in his stable. The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Ford Mustang driven by Michael McDowell for Front Row Motorsports turned heads on its Australian debut at Sydney earlier this year and garnered a crowd at Calder too.   Because Scott didn’t qualify with the car, he would start at the back for Race 3 and would come through the Stock Car and Super TT field to clinch third. It was awesome to watch! The most surprising part of this Gen 6 Cup car is how light the carbon fibre bonnet is, it feels like you’ll snap it by simply touching it.    Thanks to passionate people behind Stock Cars Australia, the teams and drivers across Australia keeping these cars alive, media websites like Aussie Stock Car News who continue to spread the word and unearth AUSCAR history, more cars and enthusiasts are seeking a return to AUSCAR country.                 
               
           There are plenty of crazy motorsport categories, the more maniacal the better and Sidecar racing is certainly one of those. I've photographed Sidecars before on dirt, but as soon as I found out Australia has their own circuit racing championship for Sidecars, it went straight onto my to do list. Their fourth and final round of the 2024 season would be at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, tagging along with the Victorian Road Racing Championships.   Most known as being a part of the Isle of Man TT motorcycle competition, Sidecars race on circuits across the world, from Kyalami in South Africa to Spa Franchorchamps in Belgium.    A 600cc four stroke engine sends power the rear wheel, propelling these machines to maximum speeds of 250km/hr. The wide and flat slick tyres provide a much larger contact patch then a normal curved motorcycle tyre, providing more grip and better braking performance. However, because of that third wheel, a sidecar is not symmetrical, which means left and right-hand turns are approached differently.   This is where teamwork comes in as both driver and passenger are crucial to the balance of the sidecar. The driver controls the steering of the front wheel, as well as the throttle and brakes via the small handlebars, trusting their passenger who controls the balance of the sidecar as they move across the rear of the vehicle.   Because of the sidecar's asymmetry, it will take right hand corners slower than left hand ones. The passenger will move to the right behind the driver, shifting weight to that side and in the left corners, hang over the left-hand side. Even with the passenger's weight hanging over the side, the sidecar still wants to naturally tip over with its wheel in the air.   It's not just the corners where the passengers are moving, they duck down in the straights to reduce drag and pop up in the braking zones to act as an air brake. There's massive trust involved, as the driver has to trust that the passenger will be in the right place at the right time, whilst the passenger has to trust that the driver will position the sidecar in the right place at the right time. It's also interesting to see how each passenger both sits and positions their body differently to one another to get the job done. These guys and girls need to be seriously fit and agile to handle the g-forces and quickly move around the sidecar lap after lap.    Sidecar riders have no fear and have to have complete trust in each other as the race in pairs, on purpose-built racetracks, through the mountains of the Isle of Man, in quarter mile dirt speedways or even midair on motocross tracks! Bonus Gallery                          |
AuthorMy name is Noah Thorley. I'm a motorsport and car culture photojournalist based in Melbourne Australia. I document and tell visual stories for the current and next generation of car enthusiasts. 
|
