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McFadden is one of the biggest stars in the capacity 40-strong field that will take to the makeshift dirt track inside the VAILO Adelaide 500 precinct on Thursday and Friday nights.
The NAPA-backed initiative has seen an inner city cricket oval turned into a 342-metre-long temporary speedway which features little in the way banking but is a relatively spacious 17 metres in width.
Drivers are set to get their first proper look at the track tonight in a Sprintcar practice session ahead of the first show tomorrow night.
The makeshift nature of the track has prompted questions as to whether it will produce good racing, particularly given money is coming via a prize purse rather than appearance fees, which means it isn’t an exhibition by any measure.
However, Hodges Motorsport driver McFadden is urging the industry to embrace the unknowns of the new track and keep an open mind about the spectacle that it should produce.
“The track is going to be what it is,” he said. “We don’t know – that’s the great thing about it.
“It’s the questionable thing. Is it going to be great? Is it going to be tough? Is it going to be hard? Is it going to be slick and dusty?
“No one knows, and I think that’s a fun thing.
“The thing I keep trying to tell people is I’ve been to the best race tracks in the world with the greatest facilities in the world and had the worst race track I’ve ever raced on.
“There’s no doubt that trying to build a track in three days is hard – Warrnambool has just got its surface right after two and a half years.
“All I want people in this sport is to go in [to Adelaide] with an open mind and have it as an entertainment mind instead of a race mind.
“I think it is going to be one of the coolest weekends we’ve had in Sprintcar racing in this country, for sure.”
McFadden recently relocated back to his native Australia after a stint living and race full-time in the USA.
He’s set to compete in the WA Sprintcar series this season, however says this Adelaide event is the perfect homecoming and reminiscent of Boxy Day shows at the now-defunct Speedway City.
“It’s huge for the sport, a big feather in the cap for Sprintcar racing and the event,” McFadden said.
“Adelaide and South Australia was one of the best places we would go to race for Boxing Day at Speedway City and to not have that there now is sad – that’s why I love everything about what the team is doing this weekend.
“I’m excited to be a part of it and get after it.”
