Jamie Veal commits to Premier Speedway's 2020-21 season-opener on New Year's Day

The Warrnambool-based competitor said Premier Speedway, which had to delay its season and shelve its 2021 Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic due to COVID-19 crowd restrictions, needed race teams and supporters to rally around it.

"It would be hard for the clubs, especially Warrnambool. Every club is in the same boat but Warrnambool has such big income from this month of racing," Veal said.

"There is a lot of effort to go in behind the scenes.

"I know when I rang 'Millsy' (general manager David Mills) at one stage he said 'I have a 20-page document I have to fill out' and then they had the issue with the ambulance.

"You just want to see the club come the best out of it, that is the biggest thing I reckon.

"We are pretty lucky so we have to support it as much as we can."

Veal said the coronavirus pandemic had impacted speedway clubs across the country.

The former Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic winner and current Australia number one said "you want to see the clubs do good out of it in these tough times".

"It is pretty tough for entertainment businesses at the moment to achieve anything," he said.

Premier Speedway has a crowd cap for its season-opener and there will be strict rules in the pits, which usually allow drivers and spectators to mingle.

Patrons will be seated on the Warrnambool side of the venue and the Mount Max, usually packed with fans, will lay bare.

"The club is only allowed 1000 people and on January 1 there would normally be 4000 or 5000 there," Veal said.

"It is going to be a little bit different with fan interaction and stuff like that."

Veal last raced in March. He is unsure how he will fare on Friday.

"It'll be good to get back in the car and cut some laps," he said.

"The last show (I did) before COVID was at Warrnambool.

"I'll probably be a little rusty but everyone else will be in a pretty similar boat.

"It's the longest I have been out of the car for a long time, I don't really know what to expect."

Fellow south-west drivers who have nominated for the New Year's Day meeting include Classic winner Corey McCullagh, Jye O'Keeffe, Jack Lee, Brayden Cooley, David Murcott and Grant Stansfield.

Warrnambool's James McFadden is racing for Monte Motorsport in Western Australia and will miss the season-opener.

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