Accepting an opportunity from the SWF Racing team to come on board as one of their team drivers over the Christmas-New Year period, Bailey Goodwin had never driven a Wingless Sprint, but that hasn’t stopped him from impressing all and sundry just three race meetings into his introduction.
Joining fellow SWF Racing team driver Zac Pacchiarotta, Goodwin has well and truly hit the ground running aboard the NSW # 40 State Wide Forklifts / Diamond Air Conditioning supported Maxim car and has continued to build on his performance throughout each race, as evident in his recent results.
Impressively qualifying for the feature race via the B main during his debut outing at Sydney’s Valvoline Raceway to place 12th, Goodwin then went on to crack into the top 10 during a feature race at Nowra Speedway, coming home in ninth, but it was during last Saturday night’s visit to Valvoline Raceway that saw him score an outstanding result.
While his efforts throughout qualifying had him sitting eighth in points heading into the 25-lap feature race, a top-eight inversion of the grid awarded him with pole position. Getting the jump at the drop of the green flag, Goodwin took over first place during the opening few laps, before slipping back to third place, but he wasn’t there for long.
Fighting back with seemingly more experience that he’s had in the class, Goodwin utilised the bottom of the track to make his way back into the lead by lap 10, where he was able to remain through to chequered flag.
“To come away with our first feature-race win in Wingless Sprints was such a great feeling for the whole team and also my family,” the 18-year-old racer expressed.
“The opportunity that the SWF Racing team has given me has been amazing and I’m just trying to do my best for them, so to be rewarded with a win was definitely more than we expected so early on.
“We’re not getting ahead of ourselves though for the rest of the season. We’re just going to keep doing what we’ve been doing and hopefully we can continue to run at the pointy-end of the field.”
Continuing the legacy of his dad Jason, who raced GP Midgets throughout the late 1980s and into the early 2000s, winning the 1998 NSW Title, Goodwin entered the sport via the Speedway Karts class, where he spent four years which were highlighted by victories in multiple NSW Titles and NSW Club Championships across both junior and senior categories during this period.
Making the move to Legend Cars in the 2016-17 season, Goodwin, who is based in the western Sydney suburb of St Clair in NSW, ran one full season in a car owned by good family friend Trevor Hawkins, before this season switching to Wingless Sprints. The opportunity provided to him by Hawkins is one that Goodwin and his family are very thankful for and one that has helped take his young speedway career to another level.
Goodwin is proudly supported by the following 2018-19 season sponsors: State Wide Forklifts, Diamond Air Conditioning, Arjan Motors, Killer Image, and MSP Shop Fittings.
He would also like to thank to his mum and dad (Jo and Jason), the entire Pacchiarotta family, Trevor Hawkins, Ian Brett, the Angel family, Ian Saville, Gary Calleja, Tim Evans, and Mark Saller and his family.
To find out more about Goodwin, LIKE him on Facebook by searching Bailey Goodwin Racing or SWF Racing.
