	{"id":104780,"date":"2025-02-13T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-13T02:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/?p=104780"},"modified":"2025-02-12T18:11:03","modified_gmt":"2025-02-12T07:11:03","slug":"family-first-for-champion-driver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/sport\/family-first-for-champion-driver\/","title":{"rendered":"Family first for champion driver"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>SPEEDCAR driver Kaidon Brown hopes to build on his father&#8217;s legacy while forging his own path as a champion on the track.<\/p>\n<p>Brown returns to the Lismore showground to compete in the Australian Speedcar Grand Prix tomorrow, Saturday, February 15.<\/p>\n<p>All eyes will be on the Sydney driver after he won the event for the first time last year, while his father Mark is the record holder with six wins.<\/p>\n<p>The 24-year-old had recent podium finishes in international events at New Zealand and has just competed in Western Australia.<\/p>\n<p>He will compete for a prize pool of $15,000, with the prestigious race being held for the 72nd time.<\/p>\n<p>Brown is already part of an exclusive club, having won the AGP and National Speedcar Championship.<\/p>\n<p>The race is known as the Melbourne Cup for speedcar drivers in what is one of the most hotly contested fields in the sport.<\/p>\n<p>Kaidon was watching in the grandstand when his father broke the record while claiming his last title in 2015.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I grew up watching dad and would love to get to that level,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30038\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30038\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-30038 \" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2025\/02\/DSC_8139_65145.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"399\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30038\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kaidon Brown on his way to winning at Lismore last year. Photo: DANIEL KEOGH PHOTOGRAPHY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I know it won&#8217;t come easy and it will take years of hard work, but that is the goal.<\/p>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\"><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s exciting to be back in Lismore; we cashed in with a win last year and I&#8217;m confident we can do it again.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The crowd were amazing that night, the showground atmosphere adds to the race and it&#8217;s a different kind of track.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You drive right up close to the fence, the curvature of it makes it a blast for drivers.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Lismore Speedway promoters Mick and Kim Sauer have worked hard to keep the prestigious race as a feature event for the local track.<\/p>\n<p>The history dates back to 1938 and remains popular as a main attraction.<\/p>\n<p>It will be the fourth time Brown has raced at Lismore and he expects plenty of competition from Scott Farmer and Harry Stewart.<\/p>\n<p>Farmer has competed internationally, while Stewart finished second in the Sprintcar Lil Aussie Open at Lismore last month.<\/p>\n<p>Wingless sprints, AMCA nationals, RSA sedans and junior sedans are also scheduled to race on the night.<\/p>\n<p>Gates open at 4pm with tickets available at <a href=\"http:\/\/lismorespeedway.com.au\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lismorespeedway.com.au<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SPEEDCAR driver Kaidon Brown hopes to build on his father&#8217;s legacy while forging his own path as a champion on the track. Brown returns to the Lismore showground to compete in the Australian Speedcar Grand Prix tomorrow, Saturday, February 15. All eyes will be on the Sydney driver after he won the event for the [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/sport\/family-first-for-champion-driver\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":234,"featured_media":104781,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-104780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Family first for champion driver - Ballina Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Champion driver Kaidon Brown returns to Lismore for the Australian Speedcar Grand Prix, aiming for another victory in the prestigious race.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/sport\/family-first-for-champion-driver\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Family first for champion driver - 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