While McCullagh was celebrating his win into the early hours of Monday morning, his older sister Nicole Payne was out on the road flying the flag for the family’s bread delivery business.

McCullagh had been rostered on for a delivery round on Monday but his father, Bryan, gave him the morning off as momentum grew for the Warrnambool driver at Premier Speedway.

Ms Payne and her two children watched Sunday night’s racing on live streaming but she was able to get to the celebrations, with friends with a sense of occasion taking up babysitting duties at around midnight so he could head out to Allansford.

Ms Payne stayed at the track until 1.30am and watched a replay of the race on returning home before heading off on the delivery round at 3am.

It was a sacrifice she was happy to make.

“It’s what you do isn’t?,”  Ms Payne said.

“This is huge, it’s really weird to think Corey has won such a big race, it’s a pretty good reward for his hard work.

“He’s always been so determined, ever since he started driving go-carts when he was younger.

“But he is also cool, calm and collected, nothing fazes him.

“What you see is what you get with Corey, we’re all pretty proud of him.”

Ms Payne’s husband, Jarrad, also played a big part in the famous win.

Jarrad is McCullagh’s pit crew chief, a role he has developed since those go-cart racing days.

“I started going out with Jarrad and that’s how him and Corey got to know each other and they have become great mates,” Ms Payne said.

“Jarrad started helping Corey with the go-carts and it has grown from there.”

Bryan McCullagh said Corey fell in love with speedway from an early age.

“I took him to the speedway when he was about seven and he was one of those kids that knew every colour and number on every car,” Mr McCullagh said.  

“He has always been a great learner, he is like a sponge, he takes every thing in.

“There is a real desire there to just get better, he is pretty focused on what he wants to achieve.”