World Series Sprintcars is a

dirt track racing Dirt track racing is a form of motorsport held on clay or dirt surfaced oval race tracks often used for thoroughbred horse racing. Dirt track racing started in the United States before World War I and became widespread during the 1920s and 1930s ...

series held in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

for

Sprintcars Sprint cars are high-powered open-wheel race cars, designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Sprint car racing is popular primarily in the United States and Canada, as well as in Australia, New ...

. It is the richest and best known Speedway series in Australia.

History

The series was conceived by

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

based sedan driver and promoter John Hughes in 1986 as an Australian version of the famous

World of Outlaws The World of Outlaws (often abbreviated WoO) is an American motorsports sanctioning body. The body sanctions two major national touring series. It is best known for sanctioning the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws Late ...

(WoO) series run in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

since 1978. The WSS is separate from the single meeting

Australian Sprintcar Championship The Australian Sprintcar Championship is a dirt track racing championship held each year to determine the Australian national champion for winged sprint car racing. The single championship meeting runs in either late January or early February and ...

and is currently run over 12 rounds during the Australian Speedway season. The championship is open to drivers of any nationality, and is usually held from December until February. As it is held during the North American off-season, many visiting stars from North America will make visits, some even racing the majority of races before the North American season begins. The first ever World Series Sprintcars (WSS) meeting was held in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

at the now defunct

Claremont Speedway The Claremont Speedway was a racing circuit in the grounds of the Claremont Showground in the suburb of Claremont in Western Australia's capital city of Perth. The speedway held its first meeting on 14 May 1927, and its final meeting on 31 Ma ...

on 1 December 1987. Originally each meeting was held on a single night, though for the past number of years each meeting is run over two nights, with Time Trials, heat races and a Preliminary B then A main on the first night with more heats, three qualifying Top eight shootout races (a three-round knockout—first round 5th-8th take another round of time trials, with the top two advancing, second round elimination race features 3rd and 4th facing the two advancing from the first round, again with the top two advancing, and the run for the pole featuring the two fastest facing the two that advanced in the second round); the format is different from the Dash format used by the Outlaws where the 8-10 fastest participating in a short race to determine the pole), the C Main, B Main and then the A Main (final) in a format similar to most sprintcar races.

Speedway City Speedway City (known as Speedway Park from 1979 to 2001 and Speedway City from 1997 to 2016) is a Dirt track racing venue located 26 km north of Adelaide in Virginia, South Australia, adjacent to the Adelaide International Raceway. Histo ...

in Adelaide has held the most WSS rounds with over 55. The Archerfield Speedway in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

is second on the list with 50 rounds hosted. Like the Australian Sprintcar Championship, the WSS has been dominated by drivers from

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. Of the 26 series held since 1987, 16 drivers from NSW have won.

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

driver Max Dumesny with seven series titles, foreign driver Darryn Pitman (

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, United States) with one win, 2011–12 champion James McFadden from

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

(born in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

), and 2013–14 champion Steven Lines from

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

are the only non-NSW drivers to win the title. Although Dumesny is originally from Victoria, he has been based in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

since the mid-1990s. Darryn Pitman's win in 2002/03 is the only title by a foreign driver and the only time anyone other than an Australian has won the series title (the North American

season-opening meet in Barberville, Florida, USA will sometimes conflict with the final race of this series). Sydney driver Brooke Tatnell has won a record eight series since first contesting races in the inaugural series run in 1987. Brooke is also part of the only father and son combination to ever win the series with his father, former national Speedcar and Sprintcar champion George Tatnell, winning the first two series run in 1987/88 and 1988/89. George Tatnell also finished second in 1989/90, the year Dumesny won his first series. Visiting American drivers who have been or are regular competitors in World Series Sprintcars include Jack Hewitt, Danny Smith, Joey Saldana, Darryn Pitman, Donny Schatz, Jason Johnson and Shane Stewart. Others who have competed in select races while touring Australia include Sprintcar racings "King" Steve Kinser, his younger brother Randy Kinser and Tim Green. The 2013–14 World Series Sprintcars is sponsored by

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

based hydraulic hose and lubricant company Enzed. The series started on 26 December 2013 at

in Adelaide, and finished with the Grand Final on 22 February 2014 at the

Perth Motorplex Perth Motorplex is a motorsport venue located at Kwinana Beach, Western Australia. It caters mainly for drag racing and speedway, although other events are held there regularly. Over 275,000 patrons attend the venue each year to many varied events ...

. Steven Lines from Mount Gambier in South Australia won his first ever World Series Sprintcars championship. The 2014-15 World Series Sprintcars is set to start at Speedway City on 24 December 2014, with the 13th and final round on 21 February 2015 at the Perth Motorplex.

Winners since 1987

Total championships

2022-23 schedule

Rules and regulations

The Australian Speedway Rules and Regulations book is full of rules that Sprintcar drivers, teams, owners, vehicles and venues must abide by. There are eight sections of rules and regulations (not including the forms and guidelines) in the book, and they are listed below: - Part 1, Administrative and general requirements. - Part 2, Pre Race requirements. - Part 3, Technical. - Part 4, Race procedures. - Part 5, Officials and their duties. - Part 6, Drugs and alcohol. - Part 7, Behavior, fines, penalties and protests. - Part 8, Judicial procedures. For the more specific details of the rules and regulations, the full book can be found and downloaded here

References

{{Reflist

External links

World Series Sprintcars Honour RollOfficial WSS website
*http://www.speedwayaustralia.net.au/ *