Sign Up

Our Privacy Policy identifies how we handle personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act. Read it prior to submitting your information.

By clicking “Register” you agree to our Terms Of Use and Privacy Policy.

THE DAYS OF AUSSIE NASCAR RACING

NASCAR racing is uniquely American-born and bred, a stock car racing sanctioning body that administers all sorts of series, including the top-tier ‘Cup Series’ that features all of the big stars.

But do you remember that NASCAR racing also made its way ‘Down Under’ to Australia in the late 1980s and prospered into the next decade before running out of puff at the end of the 1990s?

Aussie motor racing legend Bob Jane started it all, investing big bucks in constructing his Calder Park ‘Thunderdome’ on the outskirts of Melbourne.

Built as a 1.83-kilometre tri-oval mini-replica of Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina, the Thunderdome took four years to build and eventually was opened in 1987, hosting a pair of touring car races on the unique 4.2-kilometre combined ‘link’ track that connected the road course to the oval.

The Thunderdome hosted the first-ever NASCAR race outside North America in February 1988.

That race saw Cup stars Neil Bonnett and Bobby Allison lead home a mixed field of American visitors and Aussie stars, two of which – Dick Johnson and Allan Grice – were eliminated in a multi-car wreck during the race.

NASCAR in Australia grew during the 90s and expanded to take in the flat short oval at Adelaide International Raceway and road course races at the Gold Coast Indy event, Oran Park and Eastern Creek.

The addition of high-powered light towers at the Thunderdome allowed for the first NASCAR race at night in Australia in 1994, opening up the possibilities for the future of race scheduling beyond simple day time fixtures.

Bob Jane sunk huge amounts of money into building the Thunderdome and running stock car racing in Australia, however by the late 90s it was unable to draw live TV coverage and crowds began to shrink, particularly in the face of the huge boom enjoyed by V8 Supercars since the formation of AVESCO in 1997.

The most successful driver in the history of NASCAR in Australia is undoubtedly Kim Jane, who won the championship four times in a row, the 1996/97, 1997/98, 1998/99 and 1999/2000 crowns.

Jane’s John Sidney Racing-run Chevrolet Monte Carlo carried Repco backing in his championship-winning years, right through to the end of NASCAR racing in Australia in early 2000.

The Calder Park Thunderdome’s last NASCAR event was in December 1999 and, fittingly, its last race – a 60 lap final a week before Christmas that year – was won by Jane’s Repco-backed Monte Carlo.

Jane is one of an exclusive club of Aussie NASCAR Champions, one that also includes the late Robin Best, George Elliott, Max Dumesny, Barry Graham, Brad Jones and Jim Richards.

Only two more NASCAR events were held in Australia after that last Thunderdome meeting – at Barbagallo in Western Australia in February 2000 and at the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park a month later (where Kim Jane won all three races), before Jane Snr pulled his backing of the series and brought to an end all forms of stock car racing at the Thunderdome.

The Calder Park Thunderdome today remains largely idle, though sits in need of a huge amount of work to return it to its former glory.

Trackside seats are missing, the road surface requires a repave and overgrown weeds prompt thoughts of what used to be, one of the most bold and exciting periods of Aussie motorsport history.