Sprintcar drivers are passionate about racing and it’s those behind the scenes who give them a winning edge, writes JUSTINE McCULLAGH-BEASY.
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A FRIENDSHIP born out of a love for go-karts has turned into a favourable partnership on the sprintcar circuit.
Reigning Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic champion Corey McCullagh leans on team supervisor and mentor Murray Swayn for advice.
They’re cut from the same cloth which makes them a successful combination.
“We’re 20 years apart (in age) but anyone would think we’re from the same mother, we’re that fussy with the exact same things,” McCullagh says fondly.
Swayn, whose teenage son Lachie is now part of the pit crew, treats McCullagh as part of his family.
“It was one of those relationships which happened unofficially,” he says.
“We have similar standards and similar levels of expectations and are not driven by results but by doing things properly and doing it properly the first time.”
Swayn is one of the behind-the-scenes helpers who ensure drivers make it out on the track.
Glen Beaton is another. The Warrnambool father-of-two is a crew chief for South Australian driver Glen Sutherland.
Every week Beaton hops into his car and drives two hours to his job in Mount Gambier, where he spends half the week.
It’s a big commitment but life in the role means making sacrifices.
“It’s all based at his place and logistically-wise it’s probably not perfect but it’s how we’ve done it for the last three years,” Beaton, who has also worked for Warrnambool duo James McFadden and Jamie Veal, reflects.
“I love winning like everyone does but at the end of the day it’s about enjoying what you do and waking up everyday and getting paid to do what you love.”
Brody Moller is only starting out in the speedway game.
The Western Australian, who recently turned 17, is spending his school holidays helping Monte Motorsport driver McFadden.
Swayn, Beaton and Moller hold different roles but all three encapsulate the importance drivers place on off-track support.
For Swayn, watching McCullagh win races in the Victoria 90 car is “the icing on the cake”.
The 48-year-old is there to ensure McCullagh, 28, remains on track – both in life and in the sport.
“I look at it more as a business. There is so much involved, so much at stake being a family-owned race team, which is Corey and of course his dad (Brian),” he says.
“You don’t have all these massive, corporate sponsors and a big money pit.
“You’ve got to be accountable, you’ve got to respect their gear and you’ve got to respect all the other people because all the other people in the team are volunteers.
“Corey’s got to manage himself in relation to health, fitness, fatigue, both mental and physical, but you’ve also got to respect all the crew, which Corey does brilliantly.
“What we talk about a lot is being grateful.
“It costs nothing to say ‘thanks for your help’ or ‘I appreciate you being here’ or ‘are you OK to work next week or do you want some time off?’.
“That’s what I try and bring to it, rather than ‘let’s go out there and race and we’re going to win’.”
McCullagh, who came from ninth to score a memorable home-town win 12 months ago, will chase back-to-back Classic titles at Premier Speedway on Sunday night.
Swayn believes his protege gets into winning positions because of the team around him and working as a cohesive unit is the reason he’s considered a contender.
“Every team should have the attitude of ‘go out there, have some fun’ and when you pull the helmet off if you’ve got a smile underneath it, then we’re going OK,” he says.
“Whether we crash, whether we come last, in the middle or we win it, everyone feels part of it.
“It should be written somewhere that every person on a team is as important as everyone else, and if that person isn’t there then the team doesn’t work as good, whether it be the guy who puts tyre shine on or the guys putting fuel in it.”
Swayn, whose wife Sue is also involved, says being a part of the team was also teaching him life-lessons.
“It’s now run like a little motorsport business and it’s just great fun,” he says.
“It’s character-building, it teaches respect and discipline. It’s not just going around and around in circles trying to win a race.”
Beaton’s role with Sutherland is more hands-on.
The experienced mechanic worked for McFadden and Veal, both past Classic champions.
He’s been a crew chief since 2010 when he moved to Warrnambool.
“When I was a kid my grandparents lived in Warrnambool and we used to go to the New Year’s Day (meeting) and the Classic every year and I just loved the sprintcars,” Beaton recalls.
“I’d just finished my apprenticeship in Ballarat when I went and worked on V8 Supercars for about five years in Melbourne and I switched to sprintcars after that.”
Beaton works full-time with Sutherland, spending half his week across the border ensuring the cars are race ready.
“Attention to detail is probably the biggest thing and time management, preparation, logistics,” he says.
“The majority of the work is getting prepared for the races and preparing for it to all turn to shit real quick.
“Obviously you race a lot this month and there’s a lot of chances to be fixing a lot of stuff.
“When you have a lot of races in a row everything has got to be ready to go spares-wise and stuff like that.
“You’ve got to have all your ducks in a row during the week or prior to Christmas.”
Beaton, who was part of Veal’s winning Classic team in 2016 and has also worked in America on the World of Outlaws circuit, said travel was a major factor too.
Sutherland races all around Australia, including stints in Darwin and Brisbane.
Beaton says his wife Simone supported of his career choice.
“She was born into it as well and she is actually from Sydney and moved down here to be with me a few years ago,” he says.
“She’s a very understanding partner, so I appreciate what she does for us and the family.
“Now my kids (Cade and Cole) are starting to get involved in it and it’s something I really enjoy that I can pass on to them.
“They are only three-and-a-half and one-and-a-half but they love going to the races, they were born into it.”
A car crash and subsequent shoulder injury has ruled Sutherland out of the Classic.
But Beaton’s professionalism and skills piqued the interest of rival drivers, meaning he’ll still have a hand to play in this year’s event.
Moller is a racing enthusiast hoping to forge a name for himself in the sport like Beaton has.
He met McFadden through his dad Shane, who is friends with Perth-based Monte Motorsport crew chief Kim Buswell.
He’s in his second season helping out, spending almost two months on the road with the team during his summer school holidays.
“I just work on the car and help ‘Buzz’ and Stephen (Hamm-Reilly), our other crew guy whenever pressure builds up at the race track and we crash and all that,” Moller says.
His introduction to sprintcars was at Western Australia’s Kwinana circuit and his first experience at another track was a visit to Warrnambool when he was 15.
“Dad used to work on them (cars) with ‘Buzz’ and then he stopped for a while and I went to speedway with my grandad (Garry) and that’s how I got into it,” Moller says.
He’s unsure what direction his career will take.
For now he “just likes working on race cars”.
“I learn a lot under Buzz, Stephen and James and when you’re on the road you learn a lot more,” Moller says.
Swayn, Beaton and Moller will be nervous and excited onlookers during Sunday’s Classic finale – a 24-car, 40-lap A-Main.
At heart they’re just race fans. And that’s why they invest their time and energy.
“I am a really strong believer in the race part of it being just the icing on the cake,” Swayn says.
“It’s the whole involvement, it’s the journey to get it on the race track.
“When you do get up the front and meet the chequered flag it’s ‘wow, that’s a bonus’.
“I think a lot of people do it the wrong way. All they want to do is win and if they don’t win, it isn’t (considered) successful, which I think is really backwards.
“It’s the enjoyment, it’s the involvement, it’s the participation, it’s from getting from this level to the next level.
“If we get to the end of the night and ‘by the way Corey won’, it’s ‘how good is that, what a bonus’.”
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