ESTABLISHED Australian driver James McFadden concedes he faces an "uphill battle" but remains hopeful of competing in America's famed World of Outlaws this year.
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McFadden is home in Warrnambool as he works with the immigration department amid the coronavirus pandemic in a bid to compete on the US circuit.
Racing has returned in some US states while others remain at a standstill.
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McFadden is booked to race for Kasey Kahne Racing - if he gets the all-clear to fly to the States.
"I should have been there a month ago but with the way everything is going at the moment, it's a pretty uncertain time about how to get there," he told The Standard.
"It's a bit of an unknown. I am working with immigration lawyers to figure out the best possible scenario.
"Best-case scenario I hope to get over there later in the year but it depends on what happens.
"If I can get there either July, August, September, I'd be pretty happy with that."
The two-time Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic champion and two-time Australian Sprintcar Championship winner races full-time. He said it would be a boost if he could jump back into a racing car soon.
"At this stage it looks like a bit of an uphill battle but we can keep trying and get all of our ducks in a line on this end so when there is a chance (we're ready)," he said.
"At some point I believe PGA golf is going to start ramping up and international people travel for that, so it's no different to what I am doing. (If we get immigration sorted) I don't see there being a big issue of me being able to get there, it's just the time it takes to get all that stuff in the right direction."
McFadden said racing re-started in some American states two weeks ago.
"Moving forward they're actually going to start racing quite a bit in the next month or so," he said.
"I think they're at the point there's fans going to the races this weekend.
"But every state is different. California and Pennsylvania aren't really doing much at all but a lot of other states are back to a point where all of their restaurants are open and everything is back to normal.
"We don't have a full grasp on what is happening. For me, the next month or two, I will be in Australia definitely and I think that will give us a bigger understanding."
Fellow Warrnambool driver Jamie Veal, who has raced in the US before, had no plans to travel there this year.
He said he was waiting to hear how the Australian season would pan out.
"Until the other sports and everything starts opening up and we see how it goes, we don't really know anything," Veal said.
"It's a tricky one. We were lucky we got through the majority of our season.
"I think I only missed four shows at the end of the year."
The former Classic champion said it could be hard if social gathering restrictions weren't eased to allow for fans come November.
"Some tracks won't be able to run without fans, some might try it," he said.
Veal said he would do "whatever works for everyone to survive".
"It's not worth racing without fans if the tracks are going to lose money so we've got to make it so it's fair for everyone," Veal said.
"The biggest thing is if they can't get enough money streaming it or putting it on the internet, you don't want to see tracks go broke over it."
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