Brent Vosbergen
As a sport, Dirt Late Model racing is riding a wave of popularity in Australia. Riding the crest of that wave is 32-year-old third generation racer Brent Vosbergen. And now, the resident of Perth, Western Australia is here in the United States for a few weeks to take on the best America has to offer in this form of motorsports by competing in several major events.
Vosbergen does not come to this country without racing credentials. Recently, he won the Australian Late Model championship at Sungold Stadium Premier Speedway which is one of the biggest dirt racing events in that part of the world. What’s more, the driver who will be making his competitive debut in the United States this summer has previously been named ‘Driver of the Year’ at the Perth Motorplex.
Vosbergen’s father, Craig, has raced in this country on numerous occasions with Brent serving as a crew member. Craig won a Schaeffer’s Oil Southern Nationals feature event at the Crossville Speedway back in 2016. Grandfather Bert was also an accomplished racer in Australia. However, strict restrictions regarding travel because of the Covid pandemic have kept the Vosbergens in their home country since 2020.
With those travel limitations eased, it’s Brent’s his turn to take the driver’s seat here in the U.S. He was in attendance on Monday evening at the Valvoline Iron-Man Late Model Series-sanctioned Scott Sexton Memorial at 411 Motor Speedway where he took time to speak with InsideDirtRacing.com.
“It’s picked up a lot,” Vosbergen explained when asked about the state of racing in his country. “Dirt Late Models are the things in Australia that are pretty good. It’s pretty healthy and it’s good to see but it’s nothing like here. You come over here and it’s up another level. I’m looking forward to getting out there in a few weeks time and giving it a crack. It’s my first time here racing. I’m normally here helping my father so it’s all going to be different but we’re going to have some fun and see how we go.”
Vosbergen’s racing exploits will begin this weekend at the Volunteer Speedway and will expand from there. He will be driving a car prepared out of the shops owned by Double Down Motorsports boss Roger Sellers and currently used by the Papich Racing team for Earl Pearson Jr.
“We’re going to go to Bulls Gap this weekend for the Southern All-Stars race just to shake everything down and get some laps in a new car that I’ve never been in so I’ll do that,” he explained. “From there, it’s straight off to Eldora the next weekend then we’ll come back and do the Lucas race at Smoky Mountain Speedway to support Roger there. He’s looked after us, him and Casey(Moses, Sellers’ daughter), with a car and a motor and stuff so to say a little thanks to him we’ll go to his track and look after him. Then it will be off to Lernerville for the Firecracker 100 then Muskingum then we’ll head back home.”
Vosbergen attributes his success back home to several factors. At the same time, he understands the challenge of racing against such keen competition.
“I’m not sure to be honest,” he stated when asked about his success ‘Down Under’. “I’ve obviously been helping dad for years and know these cars inside and out so I think that’s helped me a lot. If the car’s not perfect, you know how to drive it around a little bit to get around the problems. I’ve got a good bunch of guys behind me at home to help me succeed like I have. When I look back at all the races I’ve won back home then you come here, you expect nothing like that. I will be happy to make an A-Main and get in there and do some laps and have a good time.”
The car to be driven by Brent Vosbergen
The driver hopes to not only enjoy his time here but to also have this trip serve as a measuring stick.
“It’s a bit of a vacation for us to get away from Australia because it’s freezing cold there in the winter then we come back over here and it’s nice and warm. I’m looking forward to getting out there and seeing what we can do and have fun with our friends like Roger and Casey. We’ve got a lot of good people over here who support us and thanks to those guys because we couldn’t do it without them.”
Aside from the competition, there are other challenges Vosbergen looks forward to taking on during his time here over the next several weeks.
“It’s a lot slicker and we don’t have any banking back home,” he pointed out. “That’s probably going to be the hardest thing to adapt to is the banking. You can drive it off in there and the banking is going to hold you. And obviously all of that setup stuff changes as soon as you hit the banking and everything is thrown out the window. It’s a big learning curve and I’m looking forward to the challenge. Hopefully we can make a few A-Mains and make some laps with the Lucas boys and go home happy.”
Please consider also reading:
Respond to this post on Twitter by following @RichardAllenIDR and @MichaelRMoats or by liking the InsideDirtRacing.com Facebook page.
Also, NASCAR and pavement racing fans can check out InsideCircleTrack.com
