The Upper Hunter will have a local lad to cheer on at the Supercars Newcastle 500 next month, with Singleton's Ryan Gilroy making his debut in the Super3 category.
A late starter in motorsport, it has taken about six years for Gilroy to progress from racing go-karts to a V8 Supercar.
"I was a little bit older when I started. I was about 14 or 15. Normally most kids start around 10 or earlier," he said.
"It was very similar to go-karting, but you've just got to apply it to a car, which is a lot bigger and a lot heavier.
"A lot more things can go wrong a lot quicker, so you've just got to have your wits about you."
The 21-year-old is stepping up and making his Super3 debut after finishing 14th in the Toyota 86 series last year.
He believes growing up in Singleton with his Ford-obsessed dad meant he was "destined" for a career in motorsport.
"Here in Singleton, being such a rich mining community, people kind of band together around cars," he said.
"That kind of car culture was around me from a very young age."
Despite coming from a Ford family, Gilroy is lining up for Holden.
"It's definitely something I didn't expect to do in my career," he said.
"To put the red lion [logo on] is a bit different. But a fast race car's a fast race car, so I'm not complaining."
Gilroy is training for two to three hours almost daily to get ready for Newcastle 500, which is being held for the first time since the COVID pandemic started.
"I remember Nigel Mansell, the famous formula one driver back in the 80s, saying that when you've got the home crowd behind you, it's worth an extra two-tenths of a second," he said.
"It's going to be so cool rolling out on the track knowing that it's your home race and you're racing in a V8 Supercar.
"The memory will stay with me for the rest of my life."
He hopes it will be the start of a long career in motorsport.
"I think we're at a point now where we've just gotta keep moving forward with it," he said.
"It's been my goal since I was a little kid to go race in the main game in V8 Supercars and race with the big boys.
"Hopefully [I can] do what the greats did, like Peter Brock and Craig Lowndes, and go and win Bathurst."
