McFadden goes back to back in King’s Challenge

Bumper crowd head to Borderline

A huge crowd, frenetic racing and a pseudo hometown victory made for a successful King’s Challenge at the Borderline Speedway on Australia Day.

James McFadden, who is married to a Mount Gambier local, took the chequered flag, defying a strong challenge from rising star Jock Goodyer, to make it back to back King’s Challenge titles.

A regular visitor to the sprintcar circuit on both sides of the border over he summer break, the US based driver is driving for the newly formed Hodges Motorsport – a team with its sights set firmly on taking the weekend’s Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic at Warrnambool – with high profile honours including Jack Riewoldt, Scott Mclaughlin, Gerard Whateley and the brains of the operation –Tim Hodges.

Organisers admit they were somewhat caught on the hop with the size of the Australia Day crowd at the Borderline but in the end, president Cary Jennings (below) said everyone rolled up their sleeves to ensure a successful event.

“The crowd was massive – I can’t remember it being that big since maybe when we hosted the Australian Titles for sprintcars,” Jennings said. “The atmosphere was amazing. The carpark was full and so was the paddock we borrowed as another carpark across the road. We expected about 3000 and we had over 5000 people there.”

And while that is huge for the local Borderline Speedway coffers, it is also a boon for Mount Gambier businesses.

“They had to fuel up with petrol, had to stay somewhere and spend some money in Mount Gambier, especially at the hospitality venues,” Jennings said. “We give them a good program, and a great night’s racing and they go home satisfied.”

Avalon organisers were also caught off guard with the size of their crowd as well as part of the