When I was about 3, my dad took me out to Avalon Raceway to see dirt sprint cars. I don’t remember a whole lot other than it being really loud to my toddler ears, and my dad not being that impressed with the show. It obviously didn’t leave much of an impression on me and I never asked him to go back, for I didn’t really understand what the fuss was about. I seemed a lot more interested in road racing categories such as V8 Supercars and Australian GT, visiting Sandown regularly over the next 19 years. It has been a constant in my life and almost always provides joy and excitement, except for that one time in 2011 when I didn’t go for the Supercars. I didn’t ignore the existence of sprint cars and occasionally watched them on Speedweek, but I never really cared for them that much. That is until I picked up the World Of Outlaws game on PlayStation 5 a few months ago. One of the guys I race with online expressed a very keen interest in the game, and I said “screw it, I’m going to give this a go” because I was sick of all the road racing. Time for change, I guess.
I didn’t know what I was getting into with the game as I had very little dirt experience, but after a few days I was hooked. It was a breath of fresh air for me, and it’s fleshed out career-mode made me feel like a proper racer. I started out in a crappy Street Stock, upgrading and making my way through the ranks on the way to the top level of Sprint Car racing – the 410 Outlaws (410 referring to the engine size in cubic inches). As yet I haven’t actually reached that stage, however I got to witness some of Australia’s best 410 drivers (and even an American from Texas in Chase Randall) fighting it out on a quarter-mile dirt bull ring. The cars are totally overpowered for the circuit, kicking out over 900 HP and weighing just above 900KG with crazy aero to help them stick to the clay. A recipe like this one is sure to provide fireworks, tempers and spectacular crashes. Which it did!
Dad and I left home a few minutes before 5 in the afternoon anticipating a heap of traffic, but that wasn’t an issue at all. What WAS an issue was getting in to the place and finding a half decent spot to watch the action. We didn’t know what the deal was but we pretty quickly found the disabled parking after being pointed in the right direction by security. The place was already abuzz, and we had to wait in line for a few minutes before entering the track proper. I drove my wheelchair through the gate and up an embankment, expecting to the see the main straight. I did, but it was to the left around the first corner. As I was heading around to the disabled “seating” (a small dugout in the primitive grandstand) I got whacked in the face by some dirt. Yep, I was in the right place for some barnstorming dirt action. Anyway I got myself sorted in the dugout as qualifying drew to a close for the 410 Sprint Cars. Shortly after that was done and dusted, some mini-me sprint cars came onto the track for their first race of the night. Turns out these little cars had 500cc motorbike engines and were designed for young kids to compete and develop their skills. However that’s selling them short because they were surprisingly quick and provided some unique theater to accompany the main show.
After the race was over, a tractor, a truck and several service vehicles came out onto the track in order to “reset” it. You see, an organic surface like clay can change quite dramatically when several cars drive over it dozens of times, so it needs to be prepared and re-prepared to ensure a fair racing surface. The tractor had a plow on the rear to dig up the track, the truck had a hose on the back to wet the surface and the track vehicles, the same ones used to push the cars away (more on that later), drove over the top to flatten it out. It’s not something I’m particularly accustomed to. Once all that was done, a group of 10 410 Sprint cars came out for the first of 4 “Heat” races to determine the grid for the C Main, the B Main, and part of the A Main. That’s the simplest way for me to put it. These short, sharp races had a level of intensity that you just don’t get with other forms of motorsport, and the purity of it from a sporting context was something that I found particularly engaging. No politics, no stupid gimmicks and no strategy to artificially improve the show. A welcome change compared to what I’m used to.
The heat races brought out a decent amount of action, from cars turning over in turns 3 and 4, drivers bumping each other out of frustration and another gaining 5 spots to secure a spot in the A Main after running a wide line around the top as they say. It was a lot of fun to watch these wild machines running soo close together and throwing up dirt. After the heat races the little cars came back out again for their second race of the night. More carnage unfolded after a false start, which seemed to happen quite a bit over the course of the night. The track was reset again before the 10 worst cars in the heats for the 410 Sprint Cars competed in the 10 lap C Main. The top 2 drivers from that race would then progress into the feature race, otherwise known as the A Main. I can’t remember who progressed but I don’t really think that matters too much to be honest. Anyway before the B Main and A Main, the top 2 drivers from each heat battled it out in a qualifying shootout to determine the first 8 starting position for the A Main. It was definitely an added bonus to see an extra qualifying session, for it showcased the raw pace of each driver. The B Main was run shortly after, hence setting the field for the A Main feature.
Before the A Main for the 410’s, the little cars came out for their feature race, and not even 2 laps after the race had started, there was a red flag. This delayed proceedings a bit, which I suppose increased the tension and anticipation for the main event. The incident was cleared and they went back to racing without any more drama. Then it was time for the main event. 20 410 Sprint Cars came out onto the track, each being pushed by their team’s buggy as they were introduced to the arena that they’d be doing battle on for 35 heart-pounding laps. After that happened the cars got pushed started by the track vehicles (because they don’t have starter motors) to do a few warm up laps. Unfortunately, someone stacked it on turn 4 and ruled themselves out of the A Main before it had even started. It caused an unnecessary delay and a good deal of embarrassment to the driver I’m sure. The rest of the warm-up laps were completed as per usual before they positioned themselves for the customary 4 wide salute to the spectators. The track vehicle that paced them around had sparks coming out from the back and several fireworks went off before the competitors gridded up in 2 single-file lines. The green flag waved and we were underway. However within about 30 seconds one of the cars got into the wall, riding it and then flipping over on it’s nose. Another car made contact and flipped over too, bringing out the red flag. Not an ideal way to start but once things got back underway, it became clear to me just why people loved these things soo much. The action did not let up for a second and the sound was as raw as anything I’ve ever heard in my 22 years. The skill on display was world class to say the least – the drivers were thrashing the things, using all their talent to slide around the tiny course as fast as possible. I can’t believe I slept on these cars for soo long.
As the laps ticked down, more and more dirt accumulated on me and my wheelchair, getting into every nook and cranny. It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before and much better than I anticipated. Avalon Raceway may be a rough and ready facility but that doesn’t matter when the racing is soo good. James McFadden ended up winning the A Main feature over Jock Goodyer (yes, really) in an intense scrap that went right to the last lap. I was able to meet him in the paddock before I left, with dad expressing his surprise at the amount of wind, the speed of the cars and the noise they made. James didn’t show the same level of excitement, casually saying that Avalon was a “slow” track. He would know being a star of dirt racing both here and abroad in the USA. Dad told him that we’d be coming back, which I think says enough about the impression left on both of us.
DevMacCars 