The 23-year-old makes his debut in a 410-cubic-inch sprintcar at the opening round of the Sprintcar Racing Association of Victoria series in Moama.

McCullagh, who has cut his teeth in the 360-cubic-inch engine sprintcar class for the last two seasons and has a host of karting experience to draw on.

But he revealed yesterday he was yet to drive his new Cool Chassis with an 830-horsepower KRE engine.

“It’s the first shakedown in the car. It’s a bit of a scary thought,” McCullagh said.

McCullagh said he had been so busy getting the car ready he had barely thought about his goals.

“We would like to try and make the A main,” he said.

“We have a good car. It’s a matter of me getting my head around it.”

While his engine will be about 50 horsepower down on the competition’s elite competitors, he will be able to get away with it at Moama, which is likely to serve up a slick track.

McCullagh still races karts but after a brief formula 500 stint, opted for 360 sprintcars.

He said a podium finish in the 360 Tyson Perez Memorial at Mount Gambier last season gave him the confidence and motivation to jump into 410s.

McCullagh, who has his own business selling and servicing karts, said he had been fortunate loyal sponsors Owenbuilt Homes and WestVic Sheds and Garages had upped their commitments, enabling him to join speedway’s elite class.

McCullagh is one of three first-time Warrnambool drivers tackling the SRA Series opener. 

Junior sedan star Dion Bellman and dual Victorian formula 500 champion Jye O’Keeffe are also making their 410 debuts. They are part of a big south-west contingent, which includes Warrnambool’s Jamie Veal, who is coming off three feature race wins in Sydney. His good mate Jack Lee, Adam King, Tim Van Ginneken and Daniel Newnham are also among the 37 nominations.

In other sprintcar news, Premier Speedway general manager David Mills is upbeat about the size of the American contingent for January’s Lucas Oil Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic after Brad Sweet confirmed his entry. Sweet is the fourth American to commit to the Classic, with 19 entries already received.

“It’s unheard of to have so many entries at the end of October,” Mills said.