ONE of Australian motor racing’s biggest names — Moffat — was just a face in the crowd at Sunday night’s Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic.
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V8 Supercars star James Moffat, a self-confessed sprintcar junkie, always pencils the Classic into his busy pre-season testing schedule.
On Saturday, the 29-year-old was at the Sale RAAF base testing his Nissan’s new aero kit and Sunday he was in the pits at Allansford’s Premier Speedway.
James, the son of one of Australia’s legendary motor racing identities, Allan, said he loved sprintcar racing — a passion not shared by his dad.
“If he knew I was here he would say ‘what are you doing wasting your time’,” he laughed.
Moffat, who got behind the wheel of a sprintcar in Perth eight years ago, isn’t planning on a career change — although he wouldn’t turn down a ride on the wild side.
“I would jump at the chance,” he said.
“I really wanted to see (American) Donny Schatz race.
“I saw him race at Parramatta once. I drove up to see him race when they were running the $50,000 to win event. I got there, saw him do two or three hot laps and then it rained and they called it off.”
Schatz had a night to forget on Sunday, suffering a heavy roll in the A main with nine laps to go.
Moffat attends at least half-a-dozen sprintcar shows a season from his Melbourne base.
“I missed the 2012 Classic when I was in Queensland with Dick Johnson Racing. When I first went to DJR, I literally drove from the Classic to Melbourne and flew to Queensland. Seeing the Classic was the last thing I did.”
Moffat, who claimed Nissan’s breakthrough win in its return to V8s at Winton last year, is optimistic of a better 2014. But he knows his second half of the season will be stronger with updated equipment in the pipeline.