MOUNT Gambier speedway identity Bill Barrows was recognised by his peers last Saturday, inducted into the Speedway Australia Hall of Fame for his tireless efforts in the sport.
Barrows was awarded the honour at an industry gala night held at the Adelaide Convention Centre.
On the night Mount Gambier sprintcar driver, two-time World Series Sprintcars champion Steven Lines was also honoured as the Sporstperson of the Year.
Barrows started competing in 1968 in hot rods, then changed to super modifieds in 1973, which were the forerunners of sprintcars.
He continued to race until he retired in the 1990s.
Barrows was instrumental in many changes to the sport.
He helped create what has become one of the most exciting series in the country – World Series Sprintcars – with the assistance of John Hughes.
Barrows was also president of various bodies, including the Sprintcar Control Council of Australia and the Borderline Speedway on several occasions.
He was also recognised last year as the Volunteer of the Year.
“My involvement with speedway as far as racing and administration over the last 50 years has almost come to an end,” Barrows said.
“I am still involved and someone somewhere thinks I am worthy of recognition.
“I think each year they induct five people to the Hall of Fame.
“You have to be nominated and I understand a body looks at those nominations.
“They thought I was a worthy inductee this year.”
Barrows said he was pleased to receive the honour, while somewhat surprised to be nominated.
“The girl rang me and told me about it and I said ‘where did all that come from?’,” he said.
“It did not exist when I got involved in speedway, but Speedway Australia administers speedway and they are trying to recognise some of the people involved.
“I do appreciate it.”
Barrows still recalls the first speedway car he drove for Edgar McDonald.
“The first meeting the controlling body came to Mount Gambier and condemned my race car,” he said.
“There was too much wire holding it together.
“I later upgraded and made my own cars, started to improve and moved to sprintcars.”
In his time in sprintcars Barrows has seen the technology advance to the points where drivers can buy all they need to be competitive, rather than have to create it themselves.
“There is always development and there is always someone trying to make something better,” he said.
“Today if you have a pocket full of money you can walk into a shop and buy the top race car.
“Back in the old days you made a race car, or you bought a sprintcar and worked out how to make it better.
“We used to sit around the shed and dream up some way we could alter the car to make it better.
“We were fabricating or altering cars, but that does not happen now.
“Now 80-90pc of the cars are capable of winning the feature race, but the driver or crew is not.”
Barrows said the original idea for the WSS came about not to attract American drivers to the country, but to create a competitive, exciting competition.
“A group of us got together and World Series Sprintcars started,” he said.
“It is still going today, some 20-odd years later.
“The American thing just happened along with it.
“Americans have been coming to race in Australia for as long as I can remember.
“Years ago they were brought out by promoters as a draw card for their track, but today they come out to drive for car owners and do the World Series.
“When I finished racing I brought out two Americans to run the World Series as a car owner and enjoyed it.”
Other achievements along the way are too numerous to list, but Barrows is well known in the Limestone Coast for his tireless efforts to keep the Borderline Speedway up and running.
He is regarded as one of the best track creators around and spends many frustrated hours trying to beat the weather to create the perfect racing surface.
His time at the helm of the Mount Gambier club has been fruitful on and off over the years.
Barrows clearly has a passion for what he does and that shows through on race night.
“I am pleased with the Borderline Speedway and most people I know are passionate about it,” he said.
“Some people do not realise how lucky they are to have the speedway and have it preserved.
“A lot of competitors do not go to the speedway between meetings so the club is very fortunate we have people there regularly and totally voluntary.”
But overall the honours rewarded to Barrows comes from having an impact on a sport he has loved for a long time.
“I have done what I can for the industry because I wanted to,” he said.
“I have thrown some ideas out there as well, but whatever I have done is because I have enjoyed it.”
