Passionate sprintcar driver has 'blast' ending 15-year race hiatus

The 38-year-old had a "blast" ending a 15-year-hiatus from racing when she contested round two of the wingless sprints SA Series at Mount Gambier's Borderline Speedway on December 9.

Driving a wingless sprintcar owned by Allansford driver Tim Van Ginneken, White's night ended early when she rode a wheel of another competitor, sustained front-end damage and hit a wall during the second heat.

Still, she relished being back in the driver's seat.

"We had a ball and it was a heap of fun and it was obviously a bit of a bucket list," she said.

"After 15 years I didn't think I'd be doing this again.

"It was a like riding a bike I reckon, it really is. Even just the smells and the feeling, you're tucked so tight into those containment seats and your belts and your helmet."

White, a distinguished 360 sprintcar driver who raced the Easter trail, Knoxville Nationals in the USA (2007) and the Australian titles when she was younger, competed in the wingless sprints event at Portland's Southern 500 Speedway on Saturday, December 16.

She will race at Premier Speedway on January 1 and 2 as well.

Then she'll tackle the Wingless Sprint Summer Slam from January 5-7.

White, who has two children with husband and Premier Speedway race-caller Gavin, said she'd missed racing but hadn't been "itchy" to return until the past few years.

She identified work, children and costs as reasons for the extended break.

"We weren't a big-budget team," she said.

"Mum and Dad got me involved in it. They were just wage earners. We were all just going to work 9-5 so we could go racing on Saturday night. And I think when you get to that next level you really need some more significant backing than what mum-and-dad operations can achieve.

"We thought we'd take a year off and I moved down to Warrnambool in 2008 and just never got back into it.

"I was happy to have a bit of a break because it is such a draining sport.

"Next thing you're married and you've got two kids, it's not something you can just easily do on the weekends.

"We've always been involved, we're there every weekend with Gav. Never miss a race meeting, still a huge part of our lives but to be back behind the wheel now is certainly something I didn't think I'd be doing 15 years down the track."

White said she was grateful to Van Ginneken for affording her the opportunity to compete again.

The veteran sprintcar driver is taking a break from racing after a roller-coaster battle with cancer which he was given the all-clear for in August.

"It blows your mind that somebody like Tim would have the generosity and the willingness to say 'do you want to jump in and have a skid'," White said.

White isn't setting any unrealistic goals for her future races instead aiming to "just have a bit of fun".

She said she was reminded what the sport was all about.

"Everybody's just so keen and helpful, I think that's the great thing about the speedway community down here is that everybody really loves it," she said.

"They genuinely just want to see people have fun on track. Tim, he's just an absolute legend of the sport and he just says 'as long as you take your helmet off and you're smiling I don't care about the result'.

"What we lacked in results we sure made up for in fun."