The passionate broadcaster, who described the classic as being like his own "Christmas", said it was one of the widest open fields in the history of the race with as many as "20 drivers" from Australia and America all with a reasonable chance of standing atop the podium on Sunday.

The last American to win the classic was back in 2015 when Kyle Hirst took the crown.

Aunger said there was a chance the streak could be broken but acknowledged there was a "brilliant" list of Australian competitors in the mix.

"It used to be when the Americans came to the classic, the Aussies were running for second," he told The Standard.

"It was expected they would just get the job done because they were professionals but the Australian sprintcar industry has lifted so much that Americans are now the outsiders.

"Don't get me wrong though, it doesn't matter where you're from, all things have to line-up on the night. You have to qualify, you have to get clear heats, you have to be good with your tyre choice, good in traffic, there's so many variables.

"You expect guys like Kerry Madsen, James McFadden and Jamie Veal to be up there, but then you've got guys like Jock Goodyer, who is a young gun. There's so many.

"When I look at the list of 100, I could easily pick 20 drivers who I could go,''yep I can see that happening'."

Aunger, who will call the iconic race alongside Gavin White and Tony Bokhoven from Knoxville Racing in Iowa, identified some names to keep an eye on.

"Brad Sweet is the best driver on the planet, it's whether he gels with his team and gets it all together on the night," he said. "He's been the number one ranked driver in the world for the past four years, so you can't say he's not the favourite anywhere he goes.

"We had Kyle Larson come here last year and struggle but that was a last minute thing, but to be honest there's six Aussies who are red-hot right now.

"Then you've got guys who just flat out know how to win big races who are good at the moment but not red-hot like Lachie McHugh and Jock Goodyer.

"Tyler Courtney, who packed up early (at Avalon), there's people like that to keep an eye on. Cory Eliason has been red-hot in Western Australia, there's just so many.

"Sheldon Haudenschild also has the potential to destroy everybody, same with Carson Marcedo in a world-class car.

"Another driver we haven't spoken about is Marcus Dumesny. He nearly won the classic a couple of years ago, he won the Australian title last year, nearly won it the year before, he's fast wherever he goes. His uncle Reg passed away this week so there's a lot of emotion attached. He's good enough to win this race.

"It's without a doubt the widest open classic in the history of the event. There's too many factors to consider that need to add up for you to win this race to pick a clear favourite, you can be dead unlucky and anything can happen even though you're the fastest driver on the planet."

He said local hopes Jamie Veal and James McFadden, who have both won classics in recent years, in particular were strong chances of making it to the podium and could never be discounted.

"Veal is capable of winning without notice, at any given time," Aunger said.

"James McFadden is one of the best six drivers on the planet and with all the local emotion behind him and the Tim Hodges concept, you would be an idiot to say either of those two couldn't win the classic."

Ian Madsen - who will feature on night two of the classic qualifiers on Saturday - took out the A-Main at Avalon Raceway on Wednesday night. McFadden and Veal finished second and third, while Tasmanian driver Tim Hutchins had a nasty crash into a wall but is preparing for Saturday night's qualifiers.

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