Our Trip & Two Day Race Experience at Benaraby Raceway


By Terri Sander

August 22, 2010

This is a short summary of our trip and two day race experience August 2010 at Benaraby Raceway.

It commences Friday the 20th around 6am; we’re all packed and leaving from our hometown of Ipswich heading up north in Queensland. The trip will be about 570 kilometres and should take roughly seven to seven and a half hours maybe longer depending on how many pit stops we make along the way.

There’s a fair bit of dead wildlife off to the side of the highway these being kangaroos, rabbits, an echidna, a snake and some unidentifiable road kill that could be rats or the like.

We arrive in Benaraby at 2.15pm and check in at the Big 4 caravan park situated near the Boyne River. Warren and I erect our tent, freshen up then have a bite to eat and relax for a while before heading off to the track for the 6pm Test’n’Tune start. On the way the wildlife shows it’s splendour with a kangaroo hopping across the road in front of us near the track and my how it blends into the surroundings.

Our friends Debbie Mackay and Steven Brown (known to many as Fonz) also make the journey and join us at the track. This is the 5th time racing here and once again we are greeted with friendly, smiling faces.

I have 7 passes on the night with a best elapsed time over the ¼ mile of 11.302@119.68mph. The Rover on one pass lets loose and gives me the wildest ride of my life. I’m wrestling with the car, that now has a mind of its own and viscously throwing itself from side to side down the track. I took back control and was so proud of myself for being able to handle this situation that could have easily ended up destroying the Rover.

Debbie and Fonz also stay at the caravan park and having time up our sleeve, on Saturday, Deb and I decide to wander down to the river. Here we spot a warning sign about recent crocodile sightings. Throughout north and central Queensland, signs are placed at access points to rivers, creeks, lagoons, swamps and beaches where crocs might live.



After seeing this Deb's a bit uneasy and wants to make a hasty retreat! Most likely a wise decision!

Racing for Saturday is cancelled due to issues with lane one and the decision is made by the officials to run a club test day. The best ET this day is 11.269@120.32mph and I only have three runs after discovering we may have problems with the gearbox.

Overall it's still a great weekend away. We met up with people and racers that we normally only see a couple of times a year and we confirmed our overnight stay when we once again make the trip to Mackay to compete at the Sunstate Nationals.

An added bonus was seeing and chatting with another female racer this being Kellie Tate in her L.J.Torana with its magnificent new paint scheme. We remember sighting this Torana 3 years ago at Palmyra Dragway as she was pitted beside us and at that time the car was maroon in colour. It’s had quite a transformation since then and sports a skeleton on the rear guards and silver in colour with a touch of pink in the design. Kellie told me she wanted to give the car a bit of a girly look.

I also loved catching up with my Facebook friends and thank you so very much to everyone at the track for making us feel so welcome.

Until next time!

It’s the thrill and excitement that keeps us going and the fast, paced action that heads us in the direction of the drag racing tracks.

Mama's Toy Racing
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