Why a NASCAR Track Sits Abandoned In Australia

[@nascarnational]

considering the aussie & kiwi invasion of nascar in 2024, revamping this place would be a PERFECT ploy for nascar, as it's rumored to race in mexico or canada to test international reception before a possible race overseas. it's sad this place is just rotting at the moment

[@simracing4simpletons978]

Not a rumor. Mexico is currently winning the bidding war between them and Canada for the race

[@Wotwudino]

Re vamp it and hold a round of Supercars there, one oval race in their calendar!

[@CRFLAus]

Aussies just aren't that interested in oval racing. And the housing development in that area is getting really close to the track. I love Calder Park and I used to circuit race there but it's been rotting for a long time. 20 years ago there were 6 foot high weeds everywhere and it's still the same today.

[@PiDsPagePrototypes]

@@CRFLAus It's the one track in Australia where the housing development can't do squat about the noise, even when Top Fuel or Jet Cars run - because Calder Park sits squarely under the westbound take-off flight line of Tullamarine Airport!! 😂🤣😂 Aussies do love roundy roundy racing, it just has to be on dirt, with wings bigger then any others in motorsport.

[@PiDsPagePrototypes]

@@CRFLAus Oh/And - weeds etc - that light that was hanging by the cables on the infield near the drags start line eventually fell off - the tapped off area is 'safe' now.

[@thepumpboy]

I’ve driven on the Dome on track days. Yes it’s a bit run down and the track is very bumpy but it’s still a buzz driving flat out on the banks. I was there as a kid on opening round of NASCAR so to drive it now fulfilled a childhood dream ❤️

[@mikespearwood3914]

*fulfilled

[@thepumpboy]

@@mikespearwood3914 stupid autocorrect lol

[@mickeysmiths]

It's an oval right? Why not play an afl game in the middle on race day?! It's called diversification 😅

[@PiDsPagePrototypes]

@@mickeysmiths It wouldn't pass the AFL's OH&S requirements, for players or for fans.

[@mickeysmiths]

@@PiDsPagePrototypes Aha. Thanks for tuning me in. We can't have Jo Blo public hurting themselves on a day out now, can we? 😅 👍

[@burbmoto2857]

We fixed North Wilkesboro here in America after it sat Dormant since 1996. I think there’s still hope for The Thunderdome…

[@batchmotorsport]

Well you guys have a slightly bigger population and budget then us down here.

[@MrTakaMOSHi]

​@@batchmotorsport To be fair, North Wilksboro is out in the middle of nowhere and super historic as one of the original NASCAR tracks. I think it was the perfect combo of stuff for restoring

[@PiDsPagePrototypes]

Was North Wilkesboro built up using toxic soil and random waste dumping? Calder was. Turn 3 for NASCAR (right next to the front straight of the road course) oozes out green and yellow slime through the cracks in the surface after the rain. What went in to the ground, and the resulting soil samples, is one of the reasons the land Calder sits on doesn't appeal to any developer for very long.

[@vaughneaston733]

I was really happy for you guys last year when I heard that, if there's anyone who feels how much that meant to you it's us with the Thunderdome. The owners want to fix it up but it's the question of 'is it worth it?' Given our current interest in NASCAR is probably at it's best since the 70s, I'm sure we'd turn up. We drive past it everyday, it's on the outskirts of the city just sitting there waiting and so are we.

[@caseysmith544]

@@MrTakaMOSHi And a smaller track.

[@J3Wbacca]

Best name for an Australian Nascar track possible

[@mikespearwood3914]

?

[@johnbrooks9523]

@@mikespearwood3914 Please take the rest of the day off. You're behaving like AI since only AI could be dumb enough to not know he refers to the name "THUNDERDOME".

[@mikespearwood3914]

@@johnbrooks9523 How is that name synonymous with Australia though???

[@skaldlouiscyphre2453]

@@mikespearwood3914 Because for non-Australians we assume Mad Max is a documentary.

[@mikespearwood3914]

@@skaldlouiscyphre2453 Ahhhh, Mad Max. Now I get the reference. 👍

[@bigwillotv]

Great video. Should also make mention that recently, Calder Park has been making a bunch of strides in getting the track back up to standard again. There's a bunch of new signage and regular race meetings coming back, so hopefully that's the start of the rebirth of the track as a constant go-to venue in Australian motorsport.

[@vaughneaston733]

THE TIMING IS RIGHT!!! NASCAR!!!. We lost interest when V8 Supercars took over but now it’s in the toilet! I’ve been more interested in Gizzy’s NASCAR venture this year than the Supercars championship. We are bored and so are our drivers (hint; the rising interest). It would be a dream come true to see NASCAR race the Thunderdome again. And I dare to dream from then onwards: I could see NASCAR race Sydney Motorsport Park or even the streets of Surfers Paradise just like INDY did. Let’s make it a new era in USA/AUS/NZ Motorsport. 1st step; Bring the Thunderdome back to life!

[@Shanes_Shed]

Supercars has been on a general downward spiral ever since they left free to air TV in my opinion. And now they have so few races over the course of the year its hard to maintain any interest at all. Scrap the current gen cars and use Nascar's instead, revamp the thunderdome and you'd have a real good stepping stone for drivers to head to the US. I've been following Giz's efforts this year much more than supercars as well

[@nuztuz903]

the current gen NASCARS are very similar to gen3's so let me ask this, what is better in NASCAR?

[@Shanes_Shed]

@@nuztuz903 they don't drive them like they are open wheelers for a start

[@goodshipkaraboudjan]

Supercars is in it's death twitches. Aussies just don't care about Cameros and Mustangs enough to get invested into it. Surfers can't run to what Indycar/Champcar on the track due the light rail. Hence it's likely to be dropped from Supercars as they're not even running half the lap distance they used to.

[@vaughneaston733]

@@nuztuz903 Gen3 can't handle the tyres so the drivers have got to be cautious and conservative pretty much 95% of the race so if they get into a heated battle they have to show restraint or it will wreck their result. With NASCAR it looks like they drive with a 'go big or go home' attitude which must be a lot more fun, hence why our drivers want to give it a go, they are obviously not happy. And the pay rise is better too.

[@rocnoir4233]

Went to a few races as a kid and remember how bloody hot it was but the roar of those engines will never be forgotten. Still have the Calder Park "Nascar Australia's #1 Motorsport" shirt.

[@southysmototonysouthwell1779]

They were great days mate. I love seeing comments like this, being so positive about our 14 fantastic years racing NASCAR Stockcars in Australia. It was the best time of my life 🏆🏁 Cheers 🍻 Tony Southwell #17

[@markblanch2905]

At least we don't have to worry about it being "bloody hot" again. Ir seems the regular summer days reaching the high 30s, low 40s are over, long gone

[@SirDaffyD]

Went to many a race meeting at the Thunderdome. Saw great racing. It was a sad day when racing there stopped. One of the most memorable meetings was when they had truck racing there. That was a blast, with the meeting being cut short after a truck hit the wall on a banking after blowing a tyre and punching a big hole in the wall. I lived in StAlbans, about 15 minutes pushbike ride away at the time, when the Thundedome was first finished. My mates and I used to ride everywhere. We rode the the Thunderdome and managed to ride our pushbikes around the dome about a week before the first ever meeting there. There was no security, so we just rode it through the tunnel. To say the banking is steep is an understatement! I rode my mountain bike up the banking that day, but it was a struggle. Even drove our cars around the dome a few years later when we went to watch a club track day on the main circuit, and found we could just drive through the tunnel & onto the dome. We were the first that day to work this out, and not long after, other cars started doing hot laps on the dome until we got asked to leave. lol. Even rode a motorbike around the dome a few years later when I did a defensive rider course with H.A.R.T. (Honda Australia Rider Training) at the dome. Had many a great time at the Thunderdome in years gone past. I hope this icon of Australian motorsport is fixed up & bought back too life one day, but sadly I don't see happening any time soon.

[@Classickoolcars]

Back in the 80’s a mate and I rocked up to Lakeside just north of Brisbane. There were a couple of blokes lounging around the gate to the track, we cruised up in the old HQ wags and asked if we could do a slow lap of the track……. We got told to F**K OFF.. which we thought was extremely rude. Never went back. What an a**ehole….

[@lduffin72]

I was driving past the complex once with some mates back in the early 90s and drove into the dome just to take a look from the inside - just drove through the tunnel and stopped on the other side where you turn left to go around to the pit area....I remember looking up at the banking and thinking that looked almost vertical from that point of view. That was when the security guard in pit lane saw us and couldn't run to his car fast enough to chase us out....

[@asd36f]

The second Australian round of the 1987 World Touring Car Championship used the combination road/oval track

[@MrBdog1021]

This track today would probably race excellent with the next gen cars. The long straightaways plus the very banked corners would put on an awesome show.

[@Johnnwho]

They would need to re do the track surface as it has sunk in a few places.

[@RealMr_Wonderful]

It also hosted an infamous Guns and Roses concert. Massive crowd on a stinking hot day where they ran out of food and drink real early. A bottle of water was going for 50 bucks by the end. Crazy gig.

[@RobEmbury]

And then a giant thunderstorm turned the carpark into a quagmire and folks got stranded.

[@UnitSe7en]

All we want is life beyond the Thunderdome.

[@galactica1980]

2 cars enter, 1 car leaves.

[@markblanch2905]

😅😅😅😅

[@phugemawl]

Back in the days when we had Commodores and Falcons !

[@CC-gg4oj]

Just stumbled upon this. Brings back the memories from the first 10 years of Thunderdome. Felt like most of my childhood was spent there, went to every meet and drag event, seeing Bob around was a treat. Listening to the spotters at the back of the stands, and the HQ races... the crashes!

[@PSMotorsport]

Its like going back in time visiting Calder Park, with most of the infrastructure still the same as when it was built plus the giant weeds growing in between stadium seating its makes for an interestesting aesthetic. Keep it Reet still use the Thunderdome section for their drift events and the Victorian State Race Series returned there for the first time last year and they're back again this year. Its worth checking out if you ever get the chance.

[@southysmototonysouthwell1779]

You obviously haven't been there for a while. Rodney and Kim have spent millions over the past two years on freshening up the whole facility. It looks brilliant.

[@aaronnoyb]

Have they fixed up the dome, or just the flat track/dragstrip are behind it??

[@zrad770]

Flat track and drag strip have been brought up to national racing standards, but the thunder dome still needs work.. the more events they hold there, the more improvements will be made..

[@southysmototonysouthwell1779]

@zrad770 yes I know, the Thunderdome has had work on tidying it up and painting the walls, at this stage they are not fixing the track itself or the stands. It's still positive to see Rod and Kim investing in the place.

[@southysmototonysouthwell1779]

@aaronnoyb they have done work tidying up and painting the walls on the Thunderdome, there are no plans to work on the track or the stands at the moment. It's still positive to see Rod and Kim investing in the track.

[@MrBaroshi]

Very intriguing!! While certainly not first on NASCAR’s to do list. Given the cost of restoration and construction. This is almost certainly coming back someday in some capacity.

[@MadeByPerspective]

Hopefully!

[@nicestoriesnottherealstori3006]

Eh, NASCAR had never really had a race outside North America in over 20 years.

[@simracing4simpletons978]

@@nicestoriesnottherealstori3006 I follow a lot of the goings on in the sport, and I can confirm that NASCAR is now looking to resume its international racing. Mexico and Canada are the first targets, but Germany, Japan, and Australia are likely targets in the future.

[@NoContextVideosChannel]

A Nascar race would be a great way to promote the launch of a possible NASCAR Australia series. I could see it happening within the next 10 years

[@vaughneaston733]

@@NoContextVideosChannel Supercars Gen3 already looks like the 1st step to that happening, which I actually condone because the cars right now are not competitive and going the European way didn't work in the 80s and I don't see it working today either.

[@81carrerasc]

Bob Jane was an absolute visionary. Forget all the BS about his personal life and business troubles with his ex wife and son. If it wasn't for his determined drive the Thunderdome never would have existed, we owe a huge amount to him. He was a "take no prisoners" champion race driver, with the vision to bring his fire breathing '69 Chevy Camaro to tracks around Australia just like Allan Moffat with the awesome '69 Trans Am "Coke" 302 Boss Mustang. I took my late father to the first ever night meeting at the Thunderdome and it was packed to the rafters with over 50,000 fans what a spectacle !!! As a young kid Allan was my hero and Bob was the "enemy", that's because I was a one eyed Ford fan. I met both of them around 10 years ago at the Phillip Island Historics and was fortunate that they both signed a Sandown program cover showing Moffats Mustang just behind Janes Camaro, Allan spent a quiet 15mins alone at my stand recounting memories of all the different pics / ads I had of him .... real lovely gentleman, and Bob was very obliging as well. A great memory for me. Sad to see Allan in waivering health and RIP Vale Bob ................... 2 massive Icons in our motorsport.

[@DeeBees76]

We lived in a time were Daring to be bold by chasing your dreams and having such a grandeur vision is unheard of now days because of the way we live in a box these days

[@jimmyholster]

I mean, his 'visionary' vision was quite short lived as he didn't envision Supercars stealing his Thunder(dome). lol He also didn't see that feuding with CAMS would shoot him in the foot. Not very visionary in my opinion.

[@Mali-kuValdes]

​@@jimmyholsterhe robbed the fuck out of the two blokes who's idea it was to manufacture tyres in the first place the both worked at Kimberly and Clark and did the ground work as they had the contracts in rubber industries their mistake was getting bob in on it...he's a dog

[@stevenleades]

Boring at bat shit is the reason it sits abandoned

[@COOLARUL]

You wouldn’t want to buy a used car from Bob Jane though (yes he once sold used cars); you would likely find the battery missing and only just enough petrol to get you home.

[@maxholmgren7936]

love these odd one-offs, great video!

[@B-A-L]

We had a superspeedway at Rockingham in England that NASCAR never bothered to visit in the 2000s, although Indycar did manage a couple of races. It's just a test track for car manufacturers now. Don't forget though that the first ever banked oval racing circuit was also built in England and that was in 1907 but WW2 put an end to it and the only part that survives is a museum now.

[@briandavies1809]

I owned a Bob Jane T Mart at that time & it was to the franchisees detriment that the Thunderdome was built, more & more pressure to sell more so he could get more of his fees to fund it. Some franchisees were even threatened with the loss of their businesses if they didn’t come up to his demands of having no debts to his HQ at the end of the month, never mind the fact that main suppliers were left waiting up to 90 days to have their bills paid. Between the Thunderdome & his personal life he forgot that the T Mart owners were his lifeblood.

[@bryan3550]

Why are we not surprised..?

[@Gough-jf9zf]

Good on you for taking the risk buying a franchise, it took guts. They _can_ be highly rewarding and profitable, but more often harsh, restrictive and can cause bankruptcy. I'm sorry you went thru that. I hope when you walked away it was with a pocket full of $$$ and a feeling you'd achieved something.

[@briandavies1809]

@@Gough-jf9zf in 5 years of owning the franchise, I made ten percent on my investment , in other words two percent a year. When I finally sold it after a year of no one wanting it, the Bob Jane Corp personally guaranteed the loan for the new owner who was a manager at another store, then when I received my sale cheque, the corp took ten percent from what my profit was between my original purchase price & the selling price. The only time in my life I paid thousands of dollars to have an unscrupulous boss.

[@kadmow]

- you mean that megalomania has a (often hidden) cost?? Who'd a thunk. (Self made, yes indeed but it takes the sweat of many.)

[@Doogsa-dl8sc]

Selfish guy was old mate BJ.

[@rishikaul5048]

I heard about Calder Park Raceway and the layout looks quite nice.

[@TheChocDonk2000]

I used to go a lot as a kid. The Werribee Timezone would hold Daytona USA comps and the winner would get tickets to AUSCAR at Calder Parks which was easy pickings. I was there when a record for flips or spins or something was set during a crash in the support classes. I LOVED watching the HQ's.

[@ga1e0john35]

I remember back in 1989 arriving at the thunderdome at just 4 years old hopping out of the back seat of my uncle’s new and evolutionary Holden VN Commodore. It was a cold sunny day and oh boy was it loud, every time a car came around I’d put my fingers in my ears. It never meant anything to me back then but every time I drive past the thunderdome at 39 years old I remember that nostalgic moment in the good old days. Damn that VN Commodore felt so ahead of its time and was so fast compared to any other six cylinder.

[@sadikurrahman4833]

and now v8 supercars is falling off; a shadow of its former self really Would love a video on that.

[@ronsmith6041]

Supercars still the best series and driver's in the world. It is sad to see that some show called drive to survive has grown F1 popularity despite the fact we just witnessed the most uncompetitive F1 season in History.

[@Mac-jx8uj]

Super cars there so similar has become irrelevant ! Just not working out . Most people I know have dropped off, still all will watch Bathurst but that's about it .

[@dxfifa]

@@ronsmith6041 Best drivers? Lmfao you're off your head. Where are all the foreign drivers then? WEC/F1 are clearly so far ahead it's not funny. Best international drivers vs a country who produces less top level talent than their tiny neighbour with a fifth of the population (similar to queensland). Best aussie talent goes overseas at 15 and never comes back. SVG and Scotty Mac are the only world class drivers in the past 15 years

[@ronsmith6041]

@@dxfifa Yea and Lance Stroll is a world class driver.

[@ashdog236]

@@dxfifa how is he off his head when the NASCAR team are hiring and importing Aussie and NZ supercar drivers? SVG is smashing NASCAR atm, your comment gives me an aneurism, delete it 😂🤦🏻‍♂️

[@sgtarmas]

Great work as always. Love the F1 and non F1 content!

[@jacekatalakis8316]

This showed up in quite a few videogames as well, so there's that, also AUSCAR also ran at Bathurst, IIRC As did FFords and FHoldens IIRC

[@PiDsPagePrototypes]

FFords only ran a limited number of times, they realized how effing dangerous it was for them over those bumps. Don't think the FHolden (aka Foumula Brabham aka F4000) ever ran the oval, they were a CAMS run series.

[@jacekatalakis8316]

@@PiDsPagePrototypes No no I meant ran at the Mountain, not Calder Park. I remember in the mid 2000s Motors TV would show FFords doing three lap races at Bathurst and that was a wild, wild watch. Same era as Touring Car Masters which was absolutely awesome and the V8 Utes running wherever they could I swear FFords ran there in I want to say 2005-2006 (for Bathurst) and the 90s for Calder Park though. The only name I remember from Auscar was \terry Wyhoon, we had Australian NASCAR and Auscar broadcasts over here every once in a whilebroadasts

[@PiDsPagePrototypes]

@@jacekatalakis8316 Oh yeah, wild indeed, F-Fords snaking all the way down Conrod, and three wide in places on the way up the hill! TCM was fantastic,... Filmed interviews with a few drivers, there were a couple of non-fords with Watt's links,.. "Yeah, don't put that on TV,.." ;)

[@robossuperchannel9434]

​@@PiDsPagePrototypes I think it might have been Formula Vee and not Formula Ford. The Formula Vees even raced on the Thunderdome in the rain.

[@PiDsPagePrototypes]

@@robossuperchannel9434 Vee's,.. with Swing Axles, over those bumps,... y'd need a race-trailer, just to tow along the balls to do it!

[@jimmyholster]

I was lucky enough for my Dad to take me out to Calder for the NASCARs a few times. I was obsessed with NASCAR in the mid-late 90's so I am so lucky that it lined up with the Thunderdome being open!

[@fourbitplayer8934]

The fun thing about the Thunderdome as well is that, as an american who knows a ton about oval racing and NASCAR. It's an amazing oval, it's genuinely such a unique track, 1.12 miles high banked, really wish we had something like that here in the states tbh. I hope they get the whole place renovated, I'd love to see some endurance racing on the combined layout (probably put a chicane on the oval front stretch), plus it get some SAFER barriers on the oval. Hell the absolute end goal would be a NASCAR event again, and that would be so good, NASCAR is looking to expand internationally and well it's mostly road courses to choose from (which I like tbh), but if the Thunderdome were to be renovated and revived it'd be the perfect place for an international race that's actually on an oval. Plus it just makes sense with the current supercars invasion of NASCAR (go SVG you mad man)

[@timhinchcliffe5372]

The USAF could fly the entire fleet of NASCARs over for a yearly race in a few Globemasters. Write it off as as a joint international military exercise.

[@divid3d]

calder is still used regularly for drifting, drags, etc. and parts of the facility have been tidied up recently. I've seen it worse than it is now.

[@watsakerring]

fancy seeing a random david-3D out in the wild :) BE THERE!!!

[@divid3d]

@@watsakerring cirrhosis of the liver, liver, LIVER!

[@patheddles4004]

Good to hear. I've driven past Calder Park so many times, never actually been in, and lately I'm looking at going to a track day there.

[@hammondcheeseman5361]

​​@@patheddles4004did a track day there on the bike many years ago. Was pretty decent. Highly recommend if you have the chance.

[@patheddles4004]

@@hammondcheeseman5361 thanks mate, great to have a direct recommendation.

[@PaulBorg-fe3lo]

I driven an Auscar on the Tunderdome at a track day and used to watch the races at the Thunderdome in the late 80's and 90's. HQ's, Auscars and Nascars. Loved it! Driving on the banking makes you realise it's a lot steeper than it looks from afar. And with your foot planted to the floor and the V8 revving hard on the banked turns it's something I'll remember forever. With SVG doing so well, it's time to renovate Thunderdome! Bring it all back

[@dieterkoch8414]

I remember watching HQ racing around the Thunderdome in the 90s.... was awesome

[@Gino_567]

yeh they were fun to watch

[@kevinstevens4354]

I helped construct it and update circuit. Robert was a visionary and dawn good bloke. Pity cams and he never got along as it is one of the great curcuits in Australia. Let's hope it one day can be reserected.

[@robertchapman6795]

The only time I saw the oval track used was the 1987 Swann Series Superbike races. I loved the ATCC as a kid, but never saw a race live. As for NASCAR, it was just never my thing. Most Australians preferred racing on tracks with corners going left AND right! Once Phillip Island, Eastern Creek and The Paperclip opened, it was game on for touring cars! I wish we went back to the old GroupC. Supercars just don’t have diverse enough grids. And yes. Even GroupA and the “international” cars was better than Supercars. I never stopped watching until it became a “silouhette” series. 👍

[@VFAFOOTY]

Great Video ....Calder Park would be great revamped and restored ....Lets also not forget Guns and Roses 1993 Concert which is remembered for lots of different reasons !

[@dalboymarto7458]

I remember watching the Debut race as a kid

[@aaronmachado13]

Love the coverage other motorsport history. Would be awesome to see you talk about Jett Lawerence in motocross and how’s he representing Australian motocross in the USA

[@Bluth53]

Learned something new while being entertained. Great video!

[@ebutuoy8272]

I went there for stunt driver practice for the film "Metal Skin" Did a few laps in the Nascar and the Valiants from the film. Good times.

[@Gough-jf9zf]

Very good film. Geoff Wright, director, with a talented acting cast. I don't think it did well, but what a blast of a movie. Hope you enjoyed it.

[@turbolag94]

I was lucky enough to drive the dome a few weeks ago as part of our race series. What a blast it is going flat out on the banked corners. It's like nothing I've ever experienced before feeling the car bottom out and hunker down onto the corners whilst holding yourself flat to the floor. The surface is pretty bumpy though and it hasn't been maintained very well, but you still get most of the fun. If anyone ever gets the chance to do it, go before it's probably gone some day.

[@martinheagney8033]

I was there at the first Nascar race in February 1988 , had seats just after the start line. The noise and vibration from that many V8s at full noise on the first few laps was unreal.

[@bales1569]

Very interesting video. Can you please make videos on other old Australian tracks like Oran Park? 😊

[@Gough-jf9zf]

Oran Park in the 1980s! Rough as guts, pit toilets, bogans, drunks, but a great day out. You were scared to take your girlfriend, but shitloads of fun. Very casual, and you got close to the drivers and cars. Now there's a few patches of bitumen left in patches of bush between housing estates....

[@smiddysmidton8313]

Just a crappy housing estate now with rows of crappy houses and street names like Brock ave , Moffat st and Skaife rd etc Total cringe.

[@Gough-jf9zf]

Does anyone know if Barry Sheene really did blow up those stinking toilets? That was the legend, he used dynamite after complaining for years about the filthy toilets. Not long after I learned who he was, he was playing the dopey sidekick in embarrassing TV commercials. But in his day....

[@catmus1506]

Saw an event there in the 80s as a kid. Auscars, Nascars (with Brock in one) and a demonstration of top fuel dragsters in the pit lane. Those dragsters literally pushed you back into those hard concrete terraces with their noise. What a buzz.

[@goodshipkaraboudjan]

As an Aussie Indycar fan who casually follows NASCAR, revamping it won't do much for anyone. V8 Supercars is in it's death twitches and likely to be a GT3/production touring category. There just isn't the apatite or emotional connection for Mustangs and Cameros to support that series so I don't know how NASCAR would get inroads here. Maybe a demo race from Nationwide even on a track but all the street circuits that were good (Adelaide, Gold Coast, Newcastle) have been altered beyond use. It's the same as Baseball, every few years they try to make inroads into Australia during summer where the national sport, Cricket, is at full steam and it never works out. Problem is unlike Cricket, racing here doesn't have an identity anymore since Holden and Ford bailed after local manufacturing died.

[@GruntyGame]

I think you're right. Big Bash League and NRL are the mainstream sports for Australia it's unlikely a sport will breakthrough, especially sports that don't already have a significant domestic following. With no connection to the motor industry Australians are more inclined to follow international motorsports like F1 or GT series.

[@menocat8353]

I had to laugh at Dick Johnsons description of oval racing as running a marathon around a cloths line.

[@southysmototonysouthwell1779]

Only because he couldn't do it!

[@robossuperchannel9434]

That was Winton.

[@Donut_Tom]

theve started reconstraction of the whole motorsport complex at calder park and the track just outside the oval now holds a licence for small touring car events

[@assininecomment1630]

Very nice choice of background music. The Bellrays are a mighty band!

[@HazeyAuto]

I’d love nothing more than to go full Cleetus McFarland and buy this track and bring it to better than formal glory condition. Both the track and oval have massive potential for races and events alike beyond the weekend warriors and sideways sliders.

[@timducat8318]

I came looking for this comment

[@maddog789]

I went to about 6 races there Some of my favourite memories as a kid

[@tonyross6506]

This brings me back I went to races regularly with my best mate and his dad this was my introduction to motorsports and I loved it the sound was awesome heaps of crashes it was the best

[@needsLITHIUM]

This was a raceable track for both Indy Car and Stock Car in the old Andretti Racing games for N64 and PS1. All the Down Under and kiwi drivers moving from ASCC to NASCAR, and NASCAR trying to go international with Project Garage 56, Euro NASCAR, even merging with IMSA and purchasing Brasil's stock car series in recent years, running ARCA equivalent feeder series in both Canada and Mexico... I have a lot more hope for NASCAR to break out of the USA than I even had when they were running exhibition races at Twin Ring and Suzuka East in the 90's. Funny story, those races in Japan happened right when I discovered NASCAR, because I found out my grandfather was a fan and former bootlegger/street racer, and I had friends start getting into it simultaneously at the impressionable age of 6 lol. I just remember trying to convince my mom to let me stay up to see the Bristol night races on TV to see if Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Mark Martin, or one of the Labonte's won (because even then I had my favorite drivers and teams), and her being very impatient because she wanted to program the VCR to record her soap operas.

[@danielsteyn7464]

There is also unused/abandoned oval track at/in Welkom, FreeState, South Africa.

[@timhinchcliffe5372]

I bet there's not a gram of copper left anywhere there now.

[@FanAtTheFence]

I've always been curious about the Thunderdome. I wasn't around in its hay day but always found it a fascinating facility, even in its current sad state. Thanks for sharing more about its history!

[@lessblazing8882]

W vid keep doing more Aus n New Zealand motorsports I’ll watch

[@denisegore1884]

I went to the August and December 1988 meetings. At one of them, Peter Brock had his first race in a Ford after his split from Holden. The events were so well supported with the Bridgestone Precision commodore team doing an impressive display and the RAAF doing an acrobatic display over the Thunderdome. It must be brought back. Remember Craig Lowndes horrific roll on the fence at Calder Park?

[@vjollila96]

i want iracing to scan this track with special event: thunderdome 500 with the -87 nascar cars we got

[@twooccystraps6458]

I used to love going to the Thunderdome, watching the Auscars, Nascars and HQs.

[@garthbosworth8090]

It's actually been cleaned up and in use again. My uncle had his nascar there recently

[@andrewharris4268]

My young daughter loved going to Calder with me. But we did experience a couple of very dodgy late evening journeys home on the train!

[@spectre776]

I used to love this place. Just down the road from home, It was a great day out.

[@Knackersjewels]

I'll be there in a few months for Saloon cars, never been before, very excited to see it all, even though I'm told the circuit is terrible to drive on

[@jimknowlton342]

Neil Bonnet was on an absolute roll when he went down there and ran that race. He had been winning everything. What a guy he was. Dave Marcis also loved the trip. Racing is about the drivers, the characters, the trials and tribulations. If it's too perfect, too sanitary, and too full of technical rules it won't make it.

[@momo_the_great6969]

This video only has 9 dislikes which shows this is a great video about Calder Park. Subbed

[@q8463]

We went to the opening race. Worked for BMW on Friday after work we took about 5 BM’s , a company credit card and drove straight down, stayed till after the race on Sunday and drove straight back and started work Monday morning.

[@sinoperture]

Never heard fun and oval racing in the same sentence before!

[@GruntyGame]

Consider Speedway Sprintcars. Those are fun.

[@VectikDzn]

I’ve driven on the track before, the dome itself is abandoned and in rough shape, however the drag and drift area is still very much alive, I live about 5 minutes away from it and all you ever hear is cars hammering it

[@268wrighty]

We've got one of these in the UK as well, called Rockingham. A very similar story to it as your Thunderdome. Originally a high interest in NASCAR that petered out then had British Touring Car Races that drew no interest and tried sports car races and weekend race days. Now a much forgotten circuit.

[@gregmcpherson5671]

I went to a couple of races. Was fun. You could get down close to the fence and feel the speed. I'd love to see a few races on it again.

[@justanaverageguy1351]

I worked nearby, in Keilor Downs, around this time period and I could often hear the cars as they were doing laps. To be able to hear that from kilometers away, I can't imagine how loud it must've been inside!

[@life1042]

They sold ear plugs at the track and you had to buy them. You are right it was too loud. Went to first few races as a kid. Tried tissue in ears but it didnt work well enough. Have to buy the foam ear plus. Concession stands must have made a fortune.

[@Smisky]

I think The whole of Calder Park recently has looked incredible, the grass and everything has been maintained, the walls have been repainted as well. I think the grandstands in the thunderdome is letting down the rest of the looks. With a little lovin and volunteer work I bet it would look good as new 👌. I’m going to be drifting there pretty soon so cant wait!

[@bendigo1961]

Old Bob used to drive down to the Calder Park BP from his house, unfortunately he chose to drive the wrong way down a one way road to achieve this. I had to come to a complete stop to avoid being hit by his Mercedes one day. He gave me a wave and continued on his merry way. A legend of Australian Motor Racing, loved the Chev Monza I saw him race.

[@Punkologist]

I went to a race there once, it was great. I miss the Thunderdome. Bring it back!

[@feelincrispy7053]

I walked around it a couple years ago and the grass and roots have caused so many cracks to open up that it would be hard and costly to repair it as opposed to just ripping the whole thing up

[@Low760]

Great video. I've gone on a drive around calder in 99', in a Tickford nl Fairlane, missed out to go in the vt clubby. Still did 200kmh around the track. It's a shame it's the way it is. Needs a cleatus figure to fix it. Heathcote went ok, but I've heard there's bill issues now with it. Another factor, the prize money petered off reducing incentive for racers.

[@Curly-um3td]

i love going to calder park every friday they hold a small event and its lots of fun sometimes it drifting sometimes its a track day sometimes its drag racing always a great time

[@FAAAARK]

Nice video mate, but the only O in cAlder are the countless thousands of tyres buried under the banks.....

[@rocarr180]

V8 Supercars are missing a massive opportunity to attract us face fans

[@amaccama3267]

I went to some of these meetings. They were great value. I've also raced on the national circuit. It's a great little track. I have a Lotus 7 type car which is well suited to it.

[@lappin6482]

so sad to see it abandoned now, bring back the glory days

[@Falkirion]

Live in Diggers Rest and go past every day for work. I can remember going their on a school excursion though its fuzzy now. They drove us round in a bus on the apron of the oval and the lower slope of the banking. Glorious track, if iRacing would get out here and scan it, take a little liberty with smoothing out the surface it would reach a massive audience

[@sentimentalbloke185]

$54m AUD in 1987 (when Thunderdome was opened) is equivalent to $156m today, with the current exchange rate that's USD$102m.

[@ADF_Cable]

I remember the gunners concert! Epic!

[@cp4512]

There’s an abandoned NASCAR oval in the UK too. It’s Rockingham circuit in Corby . Didn’t work in UK either 😂

[@Dexter037S4]

NASCAR never raced at Rockingham, only the I4 Trucks and ASCAR I believe, which were essentially Super Late Models. It's been bulldozed.

[@cp4512]

@@Dexter037S4 you’re right, only ASCAR raced there a couple of times. It hasn’t been bulldozed and I think it’s now owned and used by Cinch for car preparation and some testing/reviewing of cars.

[@FIA-F1]

Man i love nascar

[@MKMTA]

I still remember going to this track & watching these races. Later in life was part of the HQ racing there too. It was an awesome time. You didn't realise how steep the track was till you slipped on your butt trying to walk on it 🤣

[@MyUrbanExplorationOnline]

Considering that Sandown is going to close. I would love to see the Thunderdome to be brought up to standards for all concern to allow the Sandown 500 enduro to move and become the Thunderdome 500. Also as part of raving on Ovals in the Supercars, and to act as a build up to the Thunderdome 500. Build as part of the showground/sports park, smaller half miles ovals in Canberra, greater Newcastle/Hunter region, and up in Townsvile. In that the smaller half ovals wont have enduros, but more 2X250km rounds in the Supercars. I have always felt that the whole oval thing is the only thing that is missing with Australian Motorsports outside of Sprint Cars.

[@vaughneaston733]

It's a cool fantasy, but our cars are not built for ovals but the other course could take Sandown's spot. Or we just make the cars more like NASCAR so the cars don't break or destroy the tyres when the drivers want to go hard!

[@Dexter037S4]

@@vaughneaston733 NASCAR will buyout SC more than likely.

[@vaughneaston733]

@@Dexter037S4 You know I do see that happening.

[@MitchellOrd]

80's Australia was something else

[@Db_SpaceFace]

Indycar did an inspection/fact finding mission on what was required to get Calder Park Thunderdome up to scratch in 2012. Sadly the Aussie promoters looking at doing the work in partnership with Indycar decided it was going to cost way too much. Hopefully somebody revisits the idea in the future.

[@benpullicino9921]

The land that Calder Park sits on is probably worth somewhere between 600-1000 million dollars. I see the future and is town houses...

[@timhinchcliffe5372]

Yeah, they need to house all of Australia's wonderful new migrants looking for handouts.

[@RubyRitchie]

Is that factoring in the clean up bill of the nasty toxic shit & millions of tyres buried beneath the Thunderdome ?Conservative estimates exceed $100 million and thats not including the actual demolition costs........

[@RichendaWatts]

Biggest reason was houses being build nearby. All the residents complained about the noise and the traffic. This greatly reduced the operating ability of the circuit and the viability of what it once was. I loved my nights out there as a kid in the early 90s. Even attended the last race at the thunderdome. But the local residents bought/built nearby knowing the venue was there and still complained and petitioned to have it highly limited. Kinda like buying near an airport and expecting the airport to close because you moved there now.... its just a few that ruin it or everyone

[@timhinchcliffe5372]

Damn NIMBYs

[@troycassidy6177]

Same goes for Sandown

[@timhinchcliffe5372]

@@troycassidy6177 That's what NIMBYs do, they move into an area like that that has lower land prices because of the noise, and then complain about the noise to increase their land prices. Brisbane airport gets weekly noise complaints from people who moved into an area next to an airport that has been there for a century.

[@houstonrolls]

Indycar should return to Australia here!

[@PiDsPagePrototypes]

Given how bumpy it is, Indycars would be Indy-Planes at Calder Park.

[@southysmototonysouthwell1779]

We tested Bob Jane's Indy Car a few times with Jim Richards driving it. Wasn't very successful, the Indy Car didn't really seem to work well on the Thunderdome.

[@crionics99]

I feel kinda sad, but happy and fortunate at the same time that I'm old enough to remember going to the Auscar races in the 80s and 90s as a lad. What a blast. That, the Melbourne F1 GP, and the V8s started a lifelong love of fast cars for me. It'd be a shame to let the 'dome rot away for much longer when Nascar is looking to expand anyway.

[@JBRAI22]

Actually have been there with my dad and his mates who were driving around for a bit, it was a lot of fun to watch

[@martinn7871]

It recently got a repaint! She lives!

[@aussieknuckles]

Incredible documentary, and great footage find. I had no idea.

[@slidejobcentral]

Timing is definitely right to bring it back to life. Needs to be both the oval and also add a circuit to the inside as well so you can run it as a ROVAL for the Supercars. Stadium seating for a Supercar race where you can see the whole track would be a big selling point for fans. Hopefully some US track owners see the opportunity here and make an offer to buy and rebuild it.

[@michaelm1589]

This is interesting. I didn't know all this. It reminds me also of the popularity of basketball/NBL in the 90s and the popularity of the old NSL/Perth Glory in Perth in the late 90s to mid 00s. In both the later 2 cases I think the marketing power of the AFL contributed to those bubbles bursting

[@boltonky]

Not a big fan of Nascar myself but i can see places like this being used for all sorts of motorsport racing events and competitions just need to re-ignite that spark, and do always find it sad how often things just get left to waste away after such expense has been spent on them. Thanks for the story

[@T.J-and-Soul]

I remember passing that place a few times, never went there because it died out pretty quick.

[@W123KartSport]

Still love that that first race was run clockwise. Reverse to pretty much all other ovals.

[@willhurst]

They say the toilet flushes in reverse in Australia… is this confirmation?

[@fourbitplayer8934]

It's such a fun little fact, and it makes sense for safety reasons too, since the drivers are sat on the right side of the car, if they were going counter clockwise that would be a huge risk safety wise

[@kallsop2]

I remember this quite well, it was good to see NASCAR looking outside their comfort zone back inbthe late 80's. This was also about the time IIRC that CART was starting running races on the street circuit at Surfers Paradise. For me being a motorsports fan in general, since I was a kid in the late 60's early 70's, it introduced me to the V8 Supercar Series which I still follow somewhat today. I think the NASCAR/AUSCAR race was a great idea because it showcased drivers from both countries on an equal setting. Shame it didn't last just like I wish Marcos Ambrose had better success, just like I hope Shane van Gisbergen, I know he's a Kiwi and Ambrose is from Tasmania, has a successful career here in the States.