Australian champion for World Series Sprintcars

JAMES McFadden is a confirmed starter for the 2010/11 World Series Sprintcars championship that will kick off in Brisbane in November and conclude at the Perth Motorplex in February.

Hot on the heels of the 21-year-old claiming the Australian Sprintcar Championship in Darwin last weekend WSS officials have confirmed he is one of the 12 contracted drivers for the new national series.

And that is good news for WSS fans who will get to see their national champion in action in the 19-night shootout.

While the dust has settled from the Darwin event McFadden admitted it still hadn’t sunk in that he was the new national number one.

“It has been a dream of mine since I was a young fella, but to actually pull it off is unbelievable…when I look at some of the names on the trophy it is pretty cool,” McFadden said.

His father Dave and car owner Scott Milling were the first two people he saw straight after the emotional win.

“The old man was pretty proud at the time, he was stoked and it was good to give something back to Scott who has put so much faith in me.”

The WA25 team were on the pace all weekend, hovering around the top five and the gutsy young driver knew he was a good chance.

“I have raced against these guys all season and beaten them so I knew we were in with a shot.”

It was a good result for the McFadden/Milling combination that formed about a year ago with the intent of contesting all the major races around the country including World Series.

It saw the experienced WA driver take a back seat and become a team owner for a young guy who grew up in Alice Springs but moved to Queensland in a bid to make a name for himself in sprintcar racing.

“Scotty was at the stage in his career where he wasn’t going to go racing as much but still wanted to be involved in the sport,” McFadden said.

“He has put his faith in a young fella, giving me the opportunity and it has been awesome.”

But the team’s first efforts together were nothing special, marred by a few DNFs.

Fortunately the new partnership started to turn the corner about the time they reached Mackay in Queensland, seeing them set quick time and win the first night.

And by the time World Series Sprintcars was up and running so too was the new combination, that saw them on the podium in an early round.

The new hired gun said it was understandable that things took a while to click.

“We had changed cars, were running different motors and had a different crew and it all takes a while to gel and for everyone to get used to it.

“I think we proved that from the Classic onwards we had the speed.”

In summing up their last WSS campaign McFadden said it was all about consistency.

“I think we did alright, we just lacked the consistency, we were quick but not all the time.

“We had some really good races when we timed good and started up the front but due to some bad errors we slipped back.”

And he said there were other nights when they started down the back of the pack and gradually moved their way forward.

“But given the fields now we can’t do that much anymore.

“We need to pick it up pre-racing and pre-feature race time.”

As the celebrations from the national title win start to die down the team will look to next season which will fire up around September.

The Cool chassis and KRE powerplants will be prepared for the next big summer of racing and of course there’s a new paint scheme to be introduced that will proudly signify this is our new national champion.

Now that McFadden is the new national champion he will probably have an added spring in his step for the next WSS campaign.

“I am going to come in with a bit more confidence and I think we will give the series a good shot.”

His main rivals?

“You have got the 12 contracted drivers and everyone doing WSS is a contender to win.”

“We have so many good cars out there that whoever makes the A Main these days will have a chance of winning the show.”

“It will be hard to overlook Brooke (Tatnell), Robbie (Farr) and Max (Dumesny), we will have Americans Jason Johnson and Tyler Walker coming over, then you have got all the extras during Speedweek.”

But make no mistake, now that he has an Australian title under his belt James McFadden wants more – and that includes victory in World Series Sprintcars.

Keep an eye out on the new #A1 when he rocks up at the World Series Sprintcars Grand Final at the Perth Motorplex in February 2011.

Of course your next question is "Who are the other contracted drivers for next instalment of World Series Sprintcars?"

To find out keep an eye on motorplex.com.au

2011 WORLD SERIES SPRINTCARS GRAND FINAL IS WHERE? RIGHT HERE AT THE PERTH MOTORPLEX - FEBRUARY 2011