'Let us entertain you': Australian ace calls for changes to sprintcar scene

The Australian sprintcar scene is in a state of flux.

Complex closures, late finishes, track concerns, a lack of prize money and the demise of a national series have those most invested questioning its future.

McFadden - one of the world's elite drivers fresh from his most successful season on America's World of Outlaws - has returned to Australia for the summer worried about the sport's direction.

The articulate competitor knows there is no quick fix, nor is he out to question anyone's commitment.

But the Warrnambool-based driver is eager to see changes - on and off the track - which will help drive the sport forward and encourage the next generation to invest.

"A lot of people forget we're an entertainment industry and I think once we promote us as an entertainment industry I think we're going to be a little better off," McFadden told The Standard.

Earlier, family-friendly finish times, an increase in prize money down the fields and improved facilities are priorities, according to McFadden.

He also believes the return of a national series - think World Series Sprintcars - would give competitors a goal to strive for while also providing a pathway for the next generation.

Then there's things like entertainment, perhaps a band could play in between races? A playground for children and food vans with a selection of delicacies from across the globe could also appeal to a wider audience.

"I think the opportunity is there. Our product is unbelievable - you can see all the racing," he said.

"I think we need to shorten the races up, we can't be there past 9.30, we have to make it a family sport again.

"I don't watch cricket, I can honestly sit here and say that, but I could go to a twenty20 game and enjoy it.

"We might be able to attract a different demographic (if it finishes earlier) and then the sponsors will come that way as well."

McFadden believes speedway is putting hurdles in front of itself as it battles with other sporting markets for its share of exposure.

Promotion is king, he says.

"Unfortunately times change and unfortunately speedway in Australia hasn't changed with the times. As soon as they figure that out I think we're going to be fine," he said.

"We need to get some more younger blood into the promotional side of things, into the way speedways are run, into the way the formats are.

"I think once we do that, without being disrespectful to the people who built the sport to what we know now, once we work together, it will be a lot better.

"There's a lot of things that are done the same way they were done in the '90s and that's not the way our teams are run anymore.

"You can look in the pits and there's five or six hundred thousand dollar operations and that wasn't like that back then.

"I think team-wise, driver-wise (people) have stepped their presentation up. I think 60 to 80 per cent of cars in the pits are as good as an outlaw car in America."

Sprintcar racing can often stretch from 5pm into the early hours of the morning with weather and crashes pushing programs out.

Tyres can cost up to $600 each and sometimes prize money won't even cover that.

"It is so expensive over here right now with the way the dollar is. We have to look at formats, whether that's a tyre rule or a different way to keep the cost down," McFadden said.

"The promoters need to make money for us to make money. It works hand in hand but right now I don't think the races pay enough to cover the cost of one tyre, let alone four.

"It doesn't need to be $20,000 to win every race but it needs to at least pay enough for someone to pay for a set of tyres.

"I don't see a lot of the tracks going out there and chasing big sponsorship money and I don't think there is any reason why us as a sport shouldn't be able to attract big organisations."

McFadden has a newfound appreciation for the media and promotional side of the sport, having linked up with Warrnambool's Tim Hodges and his Hodges Motorsport team for the first time last summer.

Hodges is a producer at Fox Footy and knows the inner workings of the media game.

McFadden said the sprintcar industry needed to know how to sell itself.

"I have been in this sport a long time and I can put my hand up and say I was just going through the motions and doing it and was earning a living," he said.

"But I wish I knew what I do now five, six, seven years ago and I could have built my brand a lot bigger and made it more of a successful career in winnings and being able to make a living out of racing.

"I think a guy like Jock (Goodyer) or Lockie McHugh who are racing 40 times a year should be able to earn enough money to buy a house and I know if you're not winning those races you're not going to be able to do that."

Track surfaces are another point of contention at present.

McFadden's home-track - Allansford's Premier Speedway, the home of the Flying Horse Bar and Brewery Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic - has found itself in the firing line from drivers.

Goodyer - one of the competition's rising stars - labelled it "treacherous" after its season-opener in early November.

McFadden knows there "is a science" to it.

"You're never going to keep everyone happy, that's the number one rule in sprintcar racing and dirt tracks," he said.

"There's normally one happy guy and that's the guy who wins the race.

"But at the end of the day I think Premier need to do a lot different. I think they might get a couple of races that are good and then it gives them false hope for the next one."

McFadden said too many variables were at play at Premier.

"It's not as easy as changing the surface and it's all good. It's probably one of the skinniest tracks we race on and the dirt on it creates a monster," he said.

"When they get it right, it's great. But the percentage of getting it right is pretty tough for them.

"I hope Premier start to listen and take notes from people. They have a lot of people in this town that have done a lot of racing - Jamie (Veal), who is also a machine operator, myself who has been to 600, 700 race tracks in the world, you've got Jack Lee who races and works with dirt (as an excavator).

"I think there is a lot of people who want to see the right thing happen because the race on the weekend is not affordable for any driver or car owner to do."

McFadden is home after his most successful season on the world's best sprintcar tour with Roth Motorsport.

He had six World of Outlaws victories and seven in total, crisscrossing the country in a campervan with partner Zoe and son Mav, who turns three in February.

"It has its great moments - the last week we were there we decided instead of driving all the way to Charlotte and to sit in Charlotte for the week, we drove down to Florida and parked it on the beach for three days," he said of his home on wheels.

"The other moments where we drive 40 hours and are staying in a Walmart car park, they're the nights I miss having a home."

On track it was a successful season.

"Everything clicked. It was a solid year. I sit here a little disappointed with six, I think we could have had 10 but to be in that position and be able to win those races is half the battle," McFadden said.

"The plan is to go back, whether we do or not I am not sure. It is still up in the air right now.

"You have to have the right team and everyone surrounding you otherwise you're wasting your time.

"As long as all those factors are right I'd definitely want to go back and have another go at it."

There was one blight - a four-race ban for a tyre issue.

It still doesn't sit right with McFadden.

"It was a tough deal. We as a team did a lie detector test and we all passed that," he said.

"We all passed everything to say we didn't do it. I am not saying the tyre on the car wasn't illegal but our team itself didn't purchase the tyre knowing it was illegal and we didn't alter the way the tyre was chemically at all.

"They're the guys I trust with my life for 80 nights of the year and if they said they didn't do it then I believe them."

McFadden will launch his Australian season in Max's Race at Premier Speedway on December 16, 2023.