American rising star chasing speedway success on Australian soil

American teenager Chase Randall is part of a talent-stacked field vying to win Max's Race at Premier Speedway on Saturday, December 16.

More than 55 drivers have entered the event which pays homage to sprintcar great Max Dumesny.

Randall, 19, landed in Victoria on Thursday and will contest 16 meetings, including the famed Flying Horse Bar and Brewery Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic, during his month-long tour.

The Texan, who went toe-to-toe with World of Outlaws great Donny Schatz on the opening night of this year's Knoxville Nationals, has high expectations for his second Australian campaign.

He will compete in South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland too.

Randall impressed in his classic debut 11 months ago and is determined to better his results when the 51^st running rolls around from January 19-21, 2024.

"I love it, I am really excited to be here and thankful for (car owner) Danny (Mayson) for wanting me to be back again," he told The Standard.

"It is really cool for me to be able to race here, (I want to) really enjoy it and have some fun.

"I have really high expectations, for a track I have seen a couple of times now.

"We were really fast last year at our first time and I think everything we have improved on so much this season in America means I am very excited to be here to see how it plays out."

Randall produced a showing which belied his age at this year's classic, making the night three finale.

"On my prelim night I was actually racing for the lead and I feel like I just made a mistake in traffic and got into the wall," he said.

"I was running about 13th or 14th (in the finale) and it was on lap two or three, really early on in the race, and I just caught the cushion wrong with a full load of fuel and had a big tumble again."

Randall arrives following a successful campaign in the United States.

He contested upwards of 85 shows across the country and credited the jam-packed schedule for helping him adapt to the rigours of full-time racing quickly.

"I feel like we exceeded a lot of our expectations this year for our rookie season in the 410 (sprintcars)," Randall said.

"In America it's really tough with all the competition they have all over the country.

"Wherever we went I felt like we were competing for the top spot and were a force to be reckoned with.

"We had a lot of good finishes across the year. We picked up several wins at Knoxville and I finished second (to Schatz) in my prelim night at the nationals and finished third at the Tuscarora 50 for our first time at Port Royal (in Pennsylvania).

Randall is based in Pakenham with Mayson while in Australia.

He shrugged off jet lag to help prepare the car, which will have a new white, red and yellow colour scheme, after landing just two days out from Max's Race.

The field is star-studded - it features the likes of classic champions James McFadden, Jamie Veal, Corey McCullagh - but one Randall feels ready to battle.

"That's a lot (of cars) for my first race, so it will definitely be a tricky one for sure but I am really excited and I think once we get rolling we can be very consistent and very fast," he said.

One thing is for sure - Randall will enjoy the ride.

"I love it. It is everything I dreamed and ever wanted to be. I am living my best life you could say," he said of becoming a full-time race driver.

Premier Speedway gates open at 3.30pm with racing from 5.30pm.