{"id":3617,"date":"2025-11-11T20:29:37","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T20:29:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/?p=3617"},"modified":"2025-11-11T20:29:37","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T20:29:37","slug":"racing-without-borders-the-journey-of-shane-wynd-and-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/?p=3617","title":{"rendered":"Racing Without Borders: The Journey of Shane Wynd and Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australia\u2019s Shane Wynd has crossed the Nullarbor more than fifty times \u2014 but his latest journey has taken him far beyond the Australian outback. From Healesville, Echuca Victoria, to Bristol, Tennessee, Wynd has proven that drag racing is more than a national passion \u2014 it\u2019s a global language shared by racers everywhere.<\/p>\n

For many, the idea of flying across the world to go drag racing sounds like a dream. But for Shane, it\u2019s actually the most logical<\/em> option. \u201cIt\u2019s cheaper for me to fly to the States and race than it is to race here at home,\u201d he says \u2014 a statement that perfectly captures both the love and the challenge of being a racer in Australia.\"\"<\/p>\n

The photo above is taken on the Nullarbor Plains. No trees or houses. The drive there includes a road the is straight for 100 miles<\/h4>\n

The Harsh Reality of Racing Down Under<\/p>\n

While the United States has hundreds of drag strips \u2014 some states with nearly a dozen \u2014 Australia has just 13<\/strong>. Stretch that across a continent roughly the size of the U.S., and you begin to see the problem.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

For racers like Shane, travel distances can exceed 40 hours<\/strong> just to get to a national-level event. Willowbank Raceway, the country\u2019s largest and most well-known track, sits 23 hours away<\/strong> from Shane\u2019s home in Echuca Victoria. \u201cTravel alone can cost $5,000,\u201d he explains. \u201cThen you pay a $550 entry fee to race for a $1,000 purse. It just doesn\u2019t make financial sense anymore.\u201d This has led Shane to fly 26 hours to the United States to pick up an RV, car, and trailer he keeps at GET M Performance. He can do more racing in 4 weeks in the USA than in Australia in a year.<\/p>\n

The math has forced many race cars to sit idle in garages across the country \u2014 not from lack of passion, but from pure economics. Add in rising fuel prices, the spread of too many classes dividing the same number of racers, and you have a community that\u2019s fighting to keep the sport alive.<\/p>\n

And yet, that\u2019s exactly what Shane and others like him continue to do.
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

Above is Perth Motorplex in Western Australia. Next to the beach at sea level and the world’s most remote track. Roughly 26 hours to the next closest track. The track is owned by the government<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A Journey Across Oceans<\/p>\n

Wynd\u2019s racing journey took a major turn about 12\u201314 years ago \u2014 after shoulder surgery left him grounded for months. \u201cI couldn\u2019t do anything,\u201d he recalls, \u201cso I decided to fly to the States and see some racing.\u201d His plan was simple: visit Pomona and Las Vegas, soak it all in, and come home inspired.<\/p>\n

Instead, he came home changed.<\/em><\/p>\n

While walking the pits, Shane struck up a conversation with the Lamb family \u2014 legends in sportsman drag racing. \u201cJustin\u2019s mom Carol is Australian,\u201d he says. \u201cWe hit it off right away. Chris Lamb even asked if I wanted to drive in Pomona \u2014 said he could make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though his shoulder kept him sidelined that time, two years later Shane returned to the U.S. \u2014 and raced in Las Vegas. That moment, he says, is when he truly understood the global brotherhood of drag racing. \u201cRacers are racers. Doesn\u2019t matter where you\u2019re from \u2014 we all speak the same language.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Sydney dragway above. Perth and Sydney are 41 hours apart!<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The Spring Fling Story<\/p>\n

A few years later, Shane boarded a plane to the U.S. again \u2014 this time for the famed Spring Fling<\/strong> in Bristol, Tennessee. He arrived with nothing but a tent and a dream to camp out and watch.<\/p>\n

Within hours of talking to Jared Pennington<\/strong>, that dream became something more. \u201cNext thing I knew, I was doing an interview and had a car to drive,\u201d Shane laughs. \u201cIt still doesn\u2019t seem real.\u201d<\/p>\n

That car belonged to Van Greer<\/strong>, son of legendary racer Shirl Greer, who has spent years honoring his father\u2019s legacy through his \u201cTension\u201d tribute cars. \u201cVan just said, \u2018You\u2019re driving.\u2019 That\u2019s drag racing. That\u2019s the kind of people this sport attracts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Racing Spirit That Knows No Borders<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Since then, Shane has raced in multiple states across America \u2014 from Tennessee to Nevada \u2014 finding friends and tracks that feel like home along the way. Meanwhile, back in Australia, he last raced five weeks ago \u2014 and won\u2019t race again for two months. The difference in opportunity is stark.<\/p>\n

Yet he\u2019s not bitter. Just passionate. \u201cWe\u2019ve got incredible racers in Australia,\u201d he says, \u201cbut the cost, distance, and class structure make it tough. If I could get a visa sponsor, I\u2019d move to the States tomorrow \u2014 just to race.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a sentiment that resonates deeply. In a world where we often take for granted the ability to race nearly any weekend we want, Shane\u2019s story is a reminder of how fortunate American racers are \u2014 and how strong the passion must be for those who do it against all odds.<\/p>\n

A Global Community<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Wynd\u2019s story ties together what this ongoing DragCoverage series is all about \u2014 uniting racers across continents. From Bahrain to Ireland, from the UK to Australia, the message is the same: the love of racing knows no borders.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shan wants to thank all of the amazing friends he has met because of racing. Wants to thank GET M Performance for all they do for him and his wife.<\/p>\n

Shane may live half a world away, but his journey \u2014 his grit, his friendships, his determination to race no matter what \u2014 feels right at home on any starting line.<\/p>\n

Because no matter the language, distance, or currency\u2026 the sound of a launch at full throttle is something we all understand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Australia\u2019s Shane Wynd has crossed the Nullarbor more than fifty times \u2014 but his latest journey has taken him far beyond the Australian outback. From Healesville, Echuca Victoria, to Bristol, Tennessee, Wynd has proven that drag racing is more than a national passion \u2014 it\u2019s a global language shared by racers everywhere. For many, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3630,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[59,63],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[55],"class_list":["post-3617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-international-racing-community"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AS1-600x400.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AS1-600x600.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Kline Whitley","author_link":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/author\/klinewhitley"},"authors":[{"term_id":55,"user_id":4,"is_guest":0,"slug":"klinewhitley","display_name":"Kline Whitley","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Me.png","url2x":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Me.png"},"first_name":"Kline","last_name":"Whitley","user_url":"http:\/\/www.DragCoverage.com","job_title":"","description":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3617"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fppma_author&post=3617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}