CANDID: James McFadden on the State of Sprint Car Racing in Australia

Well said James we need more people like you in Australia to run the show and keep up the good work toby

Good one Toby. Agree with what J-MAC said, that being politics and lack of working together. If only they could get a country wide TV deal the money would start rolling in for the drivers, bringing in more fans, sponsors etc. IMO speedway in Australia is a niche sport that needs to be made more mainstream. Bring back WSC !

Australian Speedway is filled with too many people with self interest in mind! That starts at the top and ends near the top with the promoters! The politics and the lack of direction in Speedway is stopping a great sport from getting anywhere, it's in a position to become a significant sport but sadly self interest is killing it!

Looking forward to your Knoxville coverage this week. Thanks for all the hard work for us folk who can't be there in person

All the very best for Knoxville this weekend J Mac from Aussie

I depend on Australian Sprint Car Racing when the off season is here in the States! I hope WSS comes back and the sport grows over there! Fun to watch from over here!

James called it Correctly. The promoters and administrastors should be doing everything possible to make the Sport move forward. I am a Merchandise Seller at a regional track and this past week has severely dented our enthusiasm as the sport just seems to want to commit Suicide. Over my time as a Merchandise seller i have returned nearly $30 thousand Dollars back to my local track and without big name shows thats a hard act to do. I really hope some people step forward and pick up the ball and put it all back together.

Another great interview. Thanks Toby…

Well said James , the one things you did not say is the promoters are to greedy and don't pay the people who put on the shows enough. You are not old enough to remember before WSS , there was a lot of sprincar racing in the nation. We had the Queensland trail , where the cars would race up the state and back again so all the major centres had meeting , which were always packed and we use to have the big Aus vs USA meetings in different racing classes. Then the promoters started to change things, WSS come along and was great , still has a high number of rounds throughout the country, until they started to get money hungry and shortened to seasons. Then we started to have drivers go to the states and not return regularly. All because they could make a good living doing what they love. Maybe the Sprintcars politicians require a new job away from the racing scene.

We want world-class racing in Australia, but the money coming in from the gate will never cover the cost of doing it. Look around the pits anywhere, Eastern Creek or Nowra, the bulk of sponsorship is from moms and pops businesses, losing money chasing their passion. Australia is too big and the population is too small; we're as broad across as the USA but we only have 25 million people vs their 330 million; the maths just doesn't add up...

well said James ! The problem with sprint car & speedway in Australia at the min is to many self centered promoters that want every thing there way & not willing to work with each other ! As for the 2025 sprintcar title be programed the same time as the Classic ! Move the title like you say to before Christmas, this way you should get most of the lads back from the USA as they will be home to see family. The Classic has always been the Australia day long week end as far as i can remember & i know like you said most of them would pick the classic over the title. Some of the promoters need to grow up & put the sport 1st not them self's ! Its a sad time for the sport !

Great stuff there guys. Just my personal opinion of The Aussie Title. World Series should be a lead up the the Aussie Tittle. The highest points scorers of a national series should race for the title. Take the top 24 cars from the series and let them race far the national title. I have always hated that the title can be divided on 1 or two nights racing. It’s the Australian Champion we are taking about, so why shouldn’t it be decided within a national series ?

great listening to J Mac, when he talks you listen.. hopefully others from Australia do to sooner rather then later.👍

Awesome Toby thanks for that mate

Another excellent interview with thought provoking topics.

That was great Toby. Enjoy the Nationals mate .

Australian Sprintcar racing, at least in my state is a shadow of itself. Having been a fan for over 40 years, I didn’t bother going last season bar one race that had Sprintcar start at 9pm, one heat race and an A main with only 4 top drivers, it just wasn’t worth it unfortunately. Even in the 80’s they used to have a piece on the news about the Sprintcar events on the weekend and in the paper, surely in todays media climate the community could do better, they can’t continue to rely on die hard fans.

As an American.... I can say, Australian sprint car racing needs WCS to continue on. Because we need you kids to look up to the best drivers racing in the best series jn the country. That ambition to be the best, as a kid, is super important. You don't have that ambition if that series if the best, is no longer around! Kids, or adults! If you don't have that ambition to be the best, the sport will die in Australia, in your case, Toby!

Great interview Toby. Interesting to hear what James has to say. It’s time for a clean out and get some fresh blood in the system.

I feel all the Promoters need to unite instead of clashing...