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Dirt track racing is amazing, and I would highly recommend you get out to your local track to watch a race meeting.
I know, however, that it can be intimidating to go into any sporting event as a novice surrounded by diehard fans, so here is my unhelpful guide to racing.
First you need to know what class of racing you’re going to be watching.
In Australia, 410 sprint car racing is the main event, with two major racing groups: the World Series Sprintcars, which runs Australia wide, and the Ultimate Sprintcar Championship, which runs in only Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.
These cars are the cool-looking ones, with a wing on the top for downforce and with more horsepower than a Formula One car.
There are also wingless sprints, which means smaller engines and no wings; litre sprints; and races for late models, street stocks and legend cars – but for this guide I’ll focus on the sprint cars.
A standard sprint car event involves hot laps for practice, qualifying, heat races, sprint races and feature races for categories C, B and A.
The qualifying and heat races are when you should select your favourite car for the night. Depending on the format, your favourite might start near the rear of the field in the heats – which is a good thing. Pick one that qualifies with a fast time or one with the coolest paint job, and when your driver isn’t racing in a heat pick a random one and cheer for them.
When the racing is on you might see some flags, and if you want to feel especially smug, you can learn about the non-standard ones.
A red flag means stop, a yellow one signifies caution and a green flag means cars can resume racing. A white flag means there’s one lap to go, and the chequered flag is waved at the end of the race.
That’s all pretty standard stuff, but what about the yellow flag with a black diagonal line? That’s a noise flag, which means the driver is too loud and the neighbours up the road will complain because they can’t hear their Andre Rieu DVD.
A black flag, with or without white markings, are bad news – they mean either the driver is being sent to race control because someone dobbed on them for something, the car is chucking a sickie and should return to the pits, or the driver has been really naughty and has been disqualified.
You may also see drivers saluting each other, telling their opponents that they are number one This is common as everyone wants to be in first.
A useful way to support your driver is to yell in excitement when they make a cool overtake past another car. Often called a slide job when performed in the corners – because the car is drifting – it’s particularly amazing when you remember the cars don’t have mirrors, so they can’t even see another car coming until they are gone.
The other common overtake is when you simply go faster than the other car. This should also be applauded when taking a worthy position, like the race lead or a high qualifying position, but only towards end of a race.
If you want to show off some more knowledge, you can say want your driver to go ‘straight to the A main’ whenever possible. If they are really going well, they will make it to the shootout, which decides the starting grid for the race. If not, the cars will race in the C main and B main races.
B main and C main races are often called the last chance qualifiers because only a small selection of the race winners are taken to the back in A main. Cars that go through can still win – sometimes your driver qualifies poorly but is really fast, for example, or maybe they wreck their car in a heat but can still continue.
Part of all racing classes are the crashes, and sprint car crashes can be some of the most incredible and scary to witness. Normally the announcers will say the driver is okay, and it is respectful to applaud. Then watch the replay a few times on the big screen, because it looks cool.
The last bit of audience appreciation is the four-wide salute. This is a perfect time to stretch your legs before the A main, because all the cars grid up in a four-wide formation. On larger tracks, like at Parramatta, this looks amazing, and in Adelaide, where the track is surrounded by a wall, the widest car is right near the fans. This is the perfect time for a selfie, as who doesn’t love a picture with all that horsepower?
If all that hasn’t sold you, check out the racing program for demolition derby nights. Having seen one at Parramatta, I can say those guys are crazy. Imagine the frustration of driving down the motorway and wanting to plough through cars in the way, and you’re part of the way to understanding what it’s about. As a 20-something-year-old I still love it, especially when the guy in the Mini is taking on larger cars.
That’s a quick, maybe unhelpful, guide, and with the summer hitting its straps, it’s worth checking out where your nearest race is being held. Tickets are often affordable, and it’s a family night out.
Maybe I might see some Roarers at the track.
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