CANDID: James McFadden on the State of Sprint Car Racing in Australia

It's the Monday before the 2023 Knoxville Nationals.
Teams are prepping to either race tonight at Oskaloosa's Osky Challenge at Southern Iowa Speedway, or resting prior to the Nationals.
Toby caught up with Australian World of Outlaws star James McFadden in his motorhome to talk about his 2023 season so far, his Nationals hopes, and the recent revelation of the demise of World Series Sprintcars.
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[@rayabbott8211]

Well said James we need more people like you in Australia to run the show and keep up the good work toby

[@stevemcintyre4398]

Good one Toby. Agree with what J-MAC said, that being politics and lack of working together. If only they could get a country wide TV deal the money would start rolling in for the drivers, bringing in more fans, sponsors etc. IMO speedway in Australia is a niche sport that needs to be made more mainstream. Bring back WSC !

[@stevemcintyre4398]

OOps, I meant WSS

[@blaisemichael7872]

Do you guys not have DirtVision or FloRacing on anything down there? Serious question, American here. It seems like those 2 mostly (and other streaming platforms) have really helped grow the sport, as far as eyes pn it go. I cant speak on the politics much, but i do understand that part as well

[@stevemcintyre4398]

Yeah we do through KZbin which is how I get my fix of American dirt track racing but for our speedway season in your fall/winter there is some, but it is still on youtube for free although highlights. There are channels but they are per view only. IMO we need speedway on TV to make it more "mainstream".

[@ratbagswamprat]

Australian Speedway is filled with too many people with self interest in mind! That starts at the top and ends near the top with the promoters! The politics and the lack of direction in Speedway is stopping a great sport from getting anywhere, it's in a position to become a significant sport but sadly self interest is killing it!

[@frenzalrhomb6919]

It was one of the greatest "bums-on-seats" sports in the Country. On any given weekend, you could expect 10s of thousands of people to make their way to tracks, all round the Country. Kids grew up wanting to be the next Rush, Brazier, Tatnell or Krikke. In the years before that, it was the Midgets and their drivers at tracks like Sydney Showground, that would attract the attention of up to 30,000 people EVERY weekend, and thousands more at tracks around the country. Here's a another thought, when I was in my "impressionable youth" in the 1970s and 80s in Sydney, we had 3 tracks with 3 completely different surfaces. Liverpool was asphalt, Sydney Showground was dirt and Parramatta City Raceway was Clay. For a brief moment of time (2020-22) for the first time since the early 1920s, Sydney had NO TRACK AT ALL, and for a time, we didn't where we would race, or even if there was going to be a track within a kooee of Sydney at all. Wollongong, gone, Newcastle gone, even bloody Amaroo, gone. Just the drags at Eastern Creek and one or two cart circuit's were all that left. Too bad for the average Motorsport fan, no matter what your flavour was.

[@alanshepp2689]

All the very best for Knoxville this weekend J Mac from Aussie

[@jaredkinneyjr]

Looking forward to your Knoxville coverage this week. Thanks for all the hard work for us folk who can't be there in person

[@shanetelford2243]

James called it Correctly. The promoters and administrastors should be doing everything possible to make the Sport move forward. I am a Merchandise Seller at a regional track and this past week has severely dented our enthusiasm as the sport just seems to want to commit Suicide. Over my time as a Merchandise seller i have returned nearly $30 thousand Dollars back to my local track and without big name shows thats a hard act to do. I really hope some people step forward and pick up the ball and put it all back together.

[@markjohansson4444]

well said James ! The problem with sprint car & speedway in Australia at the min is to many self centered promoters that want every thing there way & not willing to work with each other ! As for the 2025 sprintcar title be programed the same time as the Classic ! Move the title like you say to before Christmas, this way you should get most of the lads back from the USA as they will be home to see family. The Classic has always been the Australia day long week end as far as i can remember & i know like you said most of them would pick the classic over the title. Some of the promoters need to grow up & put the sport 1st not them self's ! Its a sad time for the sport !

[@maryannsmith6927]

Another great interview. Thanks Toby…

[@Pbeats100]

I depend on Australian Sprint Car Racing when the off season is here in the States! I hope WSS comes back and the sport grows over there! Fun to watch from over here!

[@johndriscoll715]

Another excellent interview with thought provoking topics.

[@joshdowns7158]

Awesome Toby thanks for that mate

[@jasonbeer8818]

That was great Toby. Enjoy the Nationals mate .

[@simonbrown3766]

great listening to J Mac, when he talks you listen.. hopefully others from Australia do to sooner rather then later.👍

[@ARyan-ln1db]

Great interview Toby. Interesting to hear what James has to say. It’s time for a clean out and get some fresh blood in the system.

[@MartyMitchell74]

Great video. Insightful comments from James. The powers that be should be listening to drivers/owners of his calibre on how to promote and move the sport forward for the betterment of all the players involved in the current climate - drivers, team/car owners, promotors, sponsors and fans. A rising tide lifts all ships. Unity, not competition is what is required. Sprintcar racing cannot afford to have petty internal disagreements or it will never reach the audience it deserves. We know it's the best motorsport there is. High profile tarmac racers know it's the best there is as well. Fingers crossed some reasonable communication can ensure its promotion and growth for all concerned.

[@robertcharles1026]

Well said James , the one things you did not say is the promoters are to greedy and don't pay the people who put on the shows enough. You are not old enough to remember before WSS , there was a lot of sprincar racing in the nation. We had the Queensland trail , where the cars would race up the state and back again so all the major centres had meeting , which were always packed and we use to have the big Aus vs USA meetings in different racing classes. Then the promoters started to change things, WSS come along and was great , still has a high number of rounds throughout the country, until they started to get money hungry and shortened to seasons. Then we started to have drivers go to the states and not return regularly. All because they could make a good living doing what they love. Maybe the Sprintcars politicians require a new job away from the racing scene.

[@frankisfunny2007]

As an American.... I can say, Australian sprint car racing needs WCS to continue on. Because we need you kids to look up to the best drivers racing in the best series jn the country. That ambition to be the best, as a kid, is super important. You don't have that ambition if that series if the best, is no longer around! Kids, or adults! If you don't have that ambition to be the best, the sport will die in Australia, in your case, Toby!

[@darrenmolloy9147]

This video proves James is one of the best ever in the sport . Thanks for loading this interview

[@michaelgleeson1198]

James has hit the nail on the head. It seems that those with a vested interest in sprint car racing need to go and look in the mirror. As a fan of sprint car racing and someone who's been to World series sprint cars. Australian sprint car racing needs World series sprint cars. It needs big time sponsors and the Media coverage an event of this type deserves.

[@paulhall170]

We want world-class racing in Australia, but the money coming in from the gate will never cover the cost of doing it. Look around the pits anywhere, Eastern Creek or Nowra, the bulk of sponsorship is from moms and pops businesses, losing money chasing their passion. Australia is too big and the population is too small; we're as broad across as the USA but we only have 25 million people vs their 330 million; the maths just doesn't add up...

[@blaisemichael7872]

I love the sprint stuff. Been subbed for a while now, HOWEVER. Being australian, what do you think about Peter Britton absolutely crushing it in the modifieds over here? I know they arent as widely known here (mostly a New England type car), but he is an Aussie as well. Grew up watching him and now hes been racing at my home track for the past couple years chasing that track champ on Saturdays at Land of Legends Raceway in NY

[@ernierundall1336]

Good job

[@Jimmcgregorphotography]

Great stuff there guys. Just my personal opinion of The Aussie Title. World Series should be a lead up the the Aussie Tittle. The highest points scorers of a national series should race for the title. Take the top 24 cars from the series and let them race far the national title. I have always hated that the title can be divided on 1 or two nights racing. It’s the Australian Champion we are taking about, so why shouldn’t it be decided within a national series ?

[@Justin88Exelby]

Absolute legend James. 🍻👌

[@jasonfleming3328]

Agree. move the title back to the start of the year

[@user-tg9og3xi4v]

Welcome to Iowa

[@dominicscelzi7975]

Jimmy red beard just gets it. 100% agree with everything said.

[@joelpopplewell3247]

Who ever thinks the Aussie title should be run on the same weekend as classic week should be committed to a mental health facility as they are suffering from some sort of issue clearly. Maybe run the Aussie title the first or second weekend of December has some merit. Gives each state league 6-8 weeks to be up and running before hand. From a personal perspective Ive been to the speedway once since the covid as its seem to has lost it gloss plus in from Adelaide it a big hike to get to a race track for club race event or maybe its lost its gloss for one reason or another. Added to this buy the time you pay for dirtvison, floracing and kayo to pay for clayperview and then you get charged extra for the classic and Aussie title seems a bit rich for me.

[@ollysfishing4231]

I'd like to see James' take on the krikke boys shootout, which he's won under the Monte Motorsports banner numerous times, moving Bunbury to the Motorplex

[@dbzgameplay9034]

The only way speedway will move forward is to get on free to air TV. That’s the only way sponsors will come in my opinion

[@mick9371]

Hope Australian speedway power brokers listen to him…..they argue amongst themselves and forget about the fans

[@Ridingthecushion]

Top bloke 👏 such a good driver and spokesperson and I don't think 🤔 I would be able to replace as favourite driver ever gone from Ron krikke to Ryan Farrell by far since James was rocking the bob the builder car years ago he my favourite hard racer go get boi

[@landonmurray3814]

Enjoy Oskaloosa, oddly basic but great track

[@horizonxx_1]

Australian Sprintcar racing, at least in my state is a shadow of itself. Having been a fan for over 40 years, I didn’t bother going last season bar one race that had Sprintcar start at 9pm, one heat race and an A main with only 4 top drivers, it just wasn’t worth it unfortunately. Even in the 80’s they used to have a piece on the news about the Sprintcar events on the weekend and in the paper, surely in todays media climate the community could do better, they can’t continue to rely on die hard fans.

[@andrewreid7717]

Agree…. we love seeing the #1 on track and running the title before Christmas makes so much sense. AND to learn that the title is being scheduled against the Classic beggers belief. If that is the case, the event should be boycotted by teams and spectators. What a disgrace.

[@bruceolsen9863]

I feel all the Promoters need to unite instead of clashing...

[@shanedowie8993]

👍👍

[@steveballard515]

30,000 to win at Toowoomba, No McFadden ?

[@jaredkinneyjr]

It seems these days that the "bosses" want the biggest piece of pie instead of splitting the revenue equally & fairly. This includes WoO / All Stars. And why High Limit is such a big deal. High Limit in another year or two will continue to really stir the pot & force these series promoters to fork over more & more of the pie, as it should be or they will die. Competition breeds excellence & hopefully fairness in this case. Btw, I'm a no one & know nothing. Outsider looking in

[@IT535]

James dont be too humble about the state of sorintcar racing in Australia. It has become pathetic. Running the Aus titles and Classic on the same date is mental . Money talks bullshit walks . Yes politics always involves bullshit .