Speedway Community
From Mod Mania
What is it about cars that appeals to an emotional side of us? These marvels of engineering and ingenuity were invented as an appliance, a horseless carriage to get us from A to B, but somewhere along the way they seemed to almost take on a life of their own. over the last 80 years cars have began to show an almost anthropomorphic quality, we seem to imbue their very appearance with personality. For example, my ten year old sister Sophie saw a car and pointed out to me that the car had "angry eyes" what she was reffering to was actually just a set of very angular headlights.
All over the globe you will find communities built around cars, from multi million dollar supercar racing, to your local vintage car sunday drive club. If you can think of a car, or a use for it. You can almost guarantee that there will be a community somewhere in the world dedicated to it. It is through these communities of people who are constantly re-imagining the Humble car for their own purposes be it competition, exploration, aesthetic modifications, or just mods for mods sake (Jet-engine powered VW beetle anyone?) that we are able to form more of a "bond" with these wonderful appliances.
Although, to be honest i'd need a few more essays than this one to even cover just a fraction of all the car based communities out there. So i'll take you for a closer look at a community that i believe is fairly indicitive of most competitive car communities, a grass-roots, working class speedway community that I am proud to say I have been involved with over the past four years. This community is known as the Super Rods, they are a open wheel dirt track speedway class that has its roots in the heavyweight hot rod class that ran Victoria-wide in the 1960's.
The on-season for this community spans from when racing commences around mid-november, to around late-may when the racing ceases. Race locations span victoria wide, sometimes even reaching further out to the likes of Murray Bridge and Moama.
The community has a very strong sense of history and tradition, especially with the father-son team of Gary and Shaun Toulmin, Gary has been involved in speedway racing since the mid 70's and Shaun built his first super rod at 14 and has been racing since he was 15 . The Super Rods are governed by the Victorian Speedway Council (VSC) which is run by speedway racers elected by their peers, they set up the rules and regulations for each class and have regular meetings with a group of representitives from the Super Rods. Each year they hold a specifications meeting where racers can bring forward new ideas in relation to the specifications and new ways to improve the competitveness, safety and accessibility of the class.
In order to find out what has made this class one of the most popular in Grass roots speedway in Victoria I interviewed Shaun briefly about what the Super Rod community means to him.
What makes you want to compete in speedway racing?
It's what I know, I mean it's in my blood, Dad (Gary) has pretty much lived and breathed speedway for the last 30 years, and i guess the bug automatically bit me too. What makes the Super Rods so appealing when compared to other classes of speedway car?
It's an afforable avenue into motorsport, its more centered around the car YOU build and your driving ability, instead of the one with the most money being the fastest. Its not ruined by expense.
What qualities do you think make a good Super Rod competitor/community member?
All I think all you really need is to be a good clean driver, and to have a car that represents the class well.
So, image is important?
Yeah, when we're out there, we're representing a club, we dont spend hundreds of hours building and travel all that way to show up with cars that look like pieces of crap.
Do you get a sense of community when you are lined up in the pits with the other teams?
Yeah, it's a pretty close knit group of people, if another team is short of people and needs help with a push start or fixing something, another group will usually go over and help. At the end of the day we all have day jobs and we all want it to be as enjoyable as possible for drivers, crew and spectators. Title and Trophy Hunting are the main motivion, as with any sport, but there is definately a big focus on the community enjoyment aspect.
Do you believe that the cars are a reflection of the drivers/builders personality?
Of course, I have it tattooed on my arm, so, yeah its a pretty big part of me, and I put alot of myself into it. I know its the same with the other guys.
A lot of the ideals Shaun talks about here I can definately vouch for, I get a huge sense of belonging when I show up to the pits, in my "Toulmin Racing" crew shirt, all of the people I pass on the way to our pit site say hello to me in a strangely neighbourly fashion. Some of the people I pass are our biggest rivals, borderline enemies on the racetrack, yet they're happy to stop and have a chat to me about how uni's going or if i reckon the weather is going to hold out. After a while, a hierarchy becomes apparent, although its not the current champion drivers, the Crew chiefs or even the officials at the top of the food chain, it quickly becomes apparent that there is a massive amount of repspect for the senior/retired drivers, who are often seen walking around the pits, often getting approached and asked for their opinion on a certain car setup or part replacement, some of them even mentor/coach beginner drivers, it seems difficult for anyone to stay away from Super Rods.
Another interesting point I covered with Shaun is the image/identity. Most of the bigger teams have their own crew shirts/uniforms. But it goes a fair bit deeper than that, it seems that speedway has some kind of overarching culture of one-upmanship in terms of how "tough" a car looks.
Airbrushed skulls? Check.
Holographic Spiderwebs? Check.
Spitfire fighter plane inspired bonnet scoops? Check.
Many cars have their own names and slogans plastered across them, sometimes not even racing related "Start ya Bastard!" and "Justice for All' are my personal favourites, "Lucky Charms" adorn the cockpits, Some drivers have their cars, racing numbers and even titles and achievements tattooed on themselves. The "Dirt Track Cowboy" image seems to come across as a way of life to these guys, more than just a song.
Another reason the super rods have such a unique image is due to the fact that the building specs are based around a max/min rather than a set spec (e.g any body style in the small/micro car class, weight can be between 860/1200kgs), in order for people to build a car that suits them, and therefore allows them to take more pride in it, rather than having a cookie-cutter car of a different color/number like so many other classes of car.
This is a great community due to the fact that everyone is so down to earth, willing to help each other out, and let outsiders into the community for the greater good of the sport. It allows for self expression with the rules being set so that your choice of car build is just as-if not more important than the amount of money you throw at it. I havent come across a single know-it-all or someone who didnt want to listen to someone elses opinion, which in itself is amazing.
No wonder the classes number have nearly doubled in the last few years.
No wonder those retired guys can't walk away.
Shaun Toulmin
http://www.openobject.org/modmania/index.php?title=File:ShaunToulmin.jpg&oldid=14203#file
