Rising sprintcar star making a muddy splash on the track

VICTORIAN 410 sprintcar racing has a new rising star in the form of Bannockburn driver Jordan Rae.

The 24-year-old builder, who has been behind the wheel of the Ken and Benisa Hutchins-owned D7 car this season, capped off a successful year by placing fourth in the Victorian Sprintcar Title final at Warrnambool’s Premier Speedway on 15 March.

His drive in the 30-lap final – Rae started from fourth on the grid and ultimately held his position – allowed him to take out the Sprintcar Racing Association of Victoria (SRA) Distinct ICT Series championship.

The points-based series was run over six meetings at Geelong’s Avalon Speedway, Premier Speedway Warrnambool, Simpson Speedway near Bungador, and Borderline Speedway in Mount Gambier, with race results counting towards the final standings.

The Victorian title and SRA series result could be a sign of things to come for the young driver, who has racing in his blood through a long-time family involvement in motorsport.

His parents both raced bitumen go karts, and Rae and his some of his siblings did the same before they turned seven.

But when Rae turned 17 he bought a Formula 500 car and hit the speedways.

“That’s basically where it all started, and once you start it’s an adrenaline addiction and you can’t stop,” he said.

Rae got his first taste of sprintcar racing when he landed a drive in the Geelong-based, Domain Ramsay-owned car in 2022 – but things really picked up just before the start of the current season.

“I knew Ken Hutchins because I used to work with him and we talked a lot,” Rae said.

“He had an opportunity (for a driver) this year, so two weeks out from racing he gave me a call.

“I didn’t really have much on because I was going to have a year off, save money and do my own stuff. He asked did I want to drive his car, I said yes and that’s where it started.

“It all just came out of nowhere; it was a pretty good deal.”

The original plan for the Hutchins team, which is based in Gordon, was to compete at just six local meetings, but it ended up racing in 16 events.

Last weekend, Rae was back in a Formula 500 seat in the Victorian title at Simpson Speedway, racing against both older brother Brock and younger brother Indy.

A detached wing side panel put an end to Rae’s race with fewer than 10 laps remaining while he was placed in the top five, but the family achieved a positive result when Indy secured a third placing.

As for next season, Rae will be behind the wheel of his own newly-purchased 360LS sprintcar designated V9.

“If I’ve got some spare time and someone wants to help with some costs I might run some 410 shows, it depends how everything goes,” he said.