MATT Egel is typical of South Australian Sprintcar drivers right now.
The Adelaide hard charger is looking beyond Christmas to the last weekend in January where he will contest the 2017/2018 Australian Sprintcar Championship at Borderline Speedway in Mount Gambier.
And he is very excited.
“Christmas is nice, but I’d rather have an Australian title trophy under my tree than a pair of socks and jocks,” the 32-year-old from Penfield in Adelaide said.
“Everyone dreams of winning a National title when you race these cars and to do it in your home state is better again.”
For the first time since 1995 the SCCA Australian Sprintcar Championship comes to the picturesque Borderline venue, some 23 years since spectacular third generation racer Garry Brazier scored the sport’s glittering prize there.
It was Brazier’s second win, having also won at Warrnambool in Victoria the previous year and he would go on to win another four, becoming one of Australian Sprintcar racing’s all-time greats.
For Egel, the January 25-27 event represents his best chance yet to score a National title podium or win, driving for an iconic team owned by a pair of South Australian brothers who have been around the sport almost twice as long as he has been alive.
Darryl and Mike Downing are living legends of Speedway in this state, with Darryl in particular recently celebrating an incredible 50 years in the sport.
“Darryl and Mike are definitely legends, what Darryl has done as a driver in Sedans and Sprintcars and what they have both done as car owners,” Egel said.
“They have had some of Australia and America’s best drive their cars.
“I’m very grateful they chose me to keep driving it.”
Egel has been racing Sprintcars for 10 years and in that time his best result in an Australian title was fourth in 2011 at the Northline Speedway in Darwin.
From a Mount Gambier perspective, he has had a variety of success.
“I have won the Tyson Perez Memorial event twice there, but that’s in a 360ci category,” he said.
“In open competition, my best result was third once in a World Series Sprintcars Speedweek round.
“It’s definitely a place that I need to do better at.”
The Truck and Trailer operator carts bitumen by day but will hope to cart a giant sized trophy out of Mount Gambier on January 27.
“Someone has to win it, it might as well be me,” he said.
Egel is under no illusion though with the sport’s heavyweights in attendance over the three nights who ever does become Australian champion will have well and truly earned the right to it.
Back-to-back national champion Kerry Madsen will go into the event as pre-race favourite, but with another seven weeks of hectic racing across Australia leading into the end of January, it is anyone’s guess who will be the number one.
Promoters have developed the hashtag #gambierproud to garner community and local racer industry support for this enormous event coming to the region.
Egel may not be from Mount Gambier but the proud South Australian would regard success as a home state victory none the less.
