The weekend marked the first time QR hosted Supercars in six years, during which time Quinn took over the venue and ploughed millions into a series of upgrades.
While a crowd figure is yet to be made official, the event appeared well supported by the public, with the spectator mounds packed despite rain showers on both Saturday and Sunday.
Quinn, who also co-owns the Triple Eight team that dominated the weekend, declared the event a success for the circuit and Supercars.
“When I bought the track, I had a lot to do. It’s almost like qualifying last and having to fight your way to the front,” said Quinn.
“But I’ve been helped by a great team of people that work here and are pretty much wedded to the place. Because I pay them each week they keep coming back.
“We always knew that if we presented a good product there’d be a chance to talk about the V8s coming back.
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“Me and [then Supercars COO] Tim Watsford had a chat last year, or whenever it was, and we sort of planted the seed, hoping to make it happen.
“Now it’s happened, it’s been so good. I haven’t met one grumpy person, which is unusual.
“Everyone has been so complimentary, all the drivers, all the teams, the Supercars guys have enjoyed the cooperation that we’ve offered and the knowledge we’ve offered for this venue.
“I would be flabbergasted if we didn’t see them next year.”
Queensland Raceway joined the calendar this year as part of an expansion to 13 events funded by Supercars owners RACE.
RACE wants to run 14 events next year and has already secured a deal to add Christchurch’s Ruapuna Raceway as part of a New Zealand double-header.
Ipswich is thought to be at risk of falling off the calendar again unless Supercars can find the funds to pay teams for an extra event.
Supercars CEO James Warburton hailed Quinn and his team for recent work on the venue, but hinted government backing may be a crucial factor in whether it returns permanently.
“It is important to get back to heartland and Supercars fans here. It’s something we consider as we move to put the calendar together,” he told the Supercars website.
“It’s not an event where we’ve had any funding support from government at all, through local council or government. That will certainly help cement its place on the calendar.”
The downside of the event’s popularity was lengthy delays getting in and out of the venue across the weekend.
Warburton said that issue will be part of a debrief he plans to have with Quinn following the event.
The circuit owner downplayed the problem, which is largely the result of a single access road.
“If there is something we can do we will,” he said before referencing the traffic gridlock that plagued the circuit’s inaugural Supercars event in 1999.
“The trouble is this place started off with a hell of a legacy of the car park and seven hours to get out and everything else.
“We have a few ideas for next year for parking to make it easier. [But] it comes with being busy. If you have a busy town centre, it’s hard to get a parking space.
“Sure, if you’ve got a greenfield and could build a brand-new facility, we’d have a different way of doing it. But we’ve inherited this venue, and we have to make the best of it.”
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