When NASCAR raced in Australia it was a historic moment in Motorsport. Being the first nascar sanctioned event outside of North America caught the attention of the world and the Calder Park Thunderdome was the perfect venue for the series to race at. The Thunderdome was built thanks to Bob Jane, an Australian Businessman and racing driver with to goal of making oval racing popular in Australia. The track enjoyed a few years of success, but what caused the Thunderdome to become abandoned, and now sit as a relic of NASCAR’s past? Enjoy!
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Super cars is so full of it's own importance it is on a decline.
Bob Jane was a mover and a shaker. Hope his track sees a new style of racing that changes the negativity o Supercars as we know it
We also have a half bank oval and drag strip here in Adelaide (AIR) that was used for auscar and atcc, also owned by Bob Jane. Now it just rots. Shame as i drove formula fords round there as a lad. Now we have to drive half way to Melbourne for the Bend for drags ir a decent track. (Mallala is also rotting away)
Please, it's Nas (rhymes with gas) car. Not Nazcar!!
The whole idea of oval racing is pretty stupid, unless its the melbourne cup. It's mostly uninteresting to Australians and NZ (Kiwis). SVG is only doing for the benefit of his career (money). I think we have another 2 or 3 "Supercar" drivers who envy him. They will probably head over the US if they get half a chance.
Boring racing
It was doomed because stupid Bob Jane wanted to make it clockwise for RHD cars. It was also too small and too narrow.
That's cause we got no NASCAR association 😂. Or cars. Our government thought it was to dangerous to be Australian spot. Drink driving is still the number one driving spot here in Australia ohh and D.U.I N.R fail to stop for police . 😂😂😂😂
Went to many a race meeting at the Thunderdome. Saw great racing. it was a sad day when racing there stopped. One of the most memerable meetings was when they had truck racing there. That was a blast, with the meeting being cut short after a truck hit the wall on a banking after blowing a tyre and punching a big hole in the wall.
I lived in StAlbans, about 15 minutes pushbike ride away at the time, when the Thundedome was first finished. My mates and I used to ride everywhere. We rode the the Thunderdome and managed to ride our pushbikes around the dome about a week before the first ever meeting there. There was no security, so we just rode it through the tunnel. To say the banking is steep is an understatement! I rode my mountain bike up the banking that day, but it was a struggle. Even drove our cars around the dome a few years later when we went to watch a club track day on the main circuit, and found we could just drive through the tunnel & onto the dome. We were the first that day to work this out, and not long after, other cars started doing hot laps on the dome until we got asked to leave. lol.
Even rode a motorbike around the dome a few years later when I did a defensive rider course with H.A.R.T. (Honda Australia Rider Training) at the dome.
Had many a great time at the Thunderdome in years gone past. I hope this icon of Australian motorsport is fixed up & bought back too life one day, but sadly I don't see happening any time soon.
Bring back Aussie stock cars and invite over seas runners
Ah the good ol Australia not a sign of shade insight lol
I can explain this without watching the clip… As an Ozzie we prefer racing that involves more than turn left…
its not abandoned its still owned by the jane family stop talking shit they have the right to do what ever they like with it as its theirs
Got the GT's doing one of the best races on the planet with their new Bathurst 12 Hour. Then Formula rolls into town for open-wheel street racing. We need NASCAR to finish off like a bomb with a 500. It'd be Australia's Holy Trinity of international racing events. What I'd give to watch some insane oval racing AND have a world-class race where ticket prices are justified because I can see the entire track for once.
Very interesting video. Can you please make videos on other old Australian tracks like Oran Park? 😊
Cos turning left for 3 hours is boring AF
If SVG does all good over there it will be back.
Cleetus probably buy it
What a shame. I drove an auscar here (350hp) in 1991 or 92. It was $500 per day for one week, and the best driver would be given a 1 year sponsorship.
I had an instructor in the passenger seat with me. He got quite upset when the back wheels started to move sideways a little on the burm at 120 mph. I only stayed for that one day but certainly enjoyed the experience.
They also featured the NASCARs and Auscar racing events for a much longer duration at the Gold Coast Indycar festival intially sponsors by Daiko then NEC and then Miller. The reason it was so well received is because it's brutal street racing circuit with many turns both left and right with lots of close combat racing between drivers happening all throughout the entire grid. The Americans loved the Surfers Paradise circuit and they brought millions upon millions of dollars in revenue into Australia. You advertise a 4 day racing event with both Indy car and NASCAR combined….. You are going to be fully booked out with Americans for the entire week!
It just showed night and day difference in just spending comparison between Indy vs V8 supercars events. Sorry but the V8 super cars became a flop because there was hardly any off track entertainment? In 1988 the entire Gold coast turned into a party and it was cranking non-stop into the final hours of the last day and then into huge sponsored afterpartys. Friday night drag racing always brought people. V8 supercars canned that event and lost lots of support and event numbers just from that poor decision.
It's still a good event but if you never saw 1988 Indycar (which featured possibly more NASCAR than Indy car?)
Anyway it's a fail for oval tracks for anything other than dirt track speedway?
You pretty much have to have crazy borked suspension and tires to race effectively for an oval track but then couldn't use the car for anything much else making circuit choice incompatible with racing ideology? But NASCAR isn't using stock cars anyway they are using uniform space frame with a fibreglass shell that somewhat mimics the road going vehicle it represents merely by the logo decal stickers?
So changing an entire race series just so you can keep going around in circles kind of seems retarded?
Turning left on a banked oval is only interesting to the types who sniff paint and drive commodores. Americans like it because it's a novelty since their cars going around a slight bend above walking speed usually rolls them over and turn into a BBQ, even going straight is a challenge for american "muscle" so they created slot car racing without the slots, just use weight and camber to make the cars drive themselves 😀
Cose its the most boring racing ever
Never got along with Bob. Mega arrogant. Put his hand up in my face once. Stopped racing there back in 2003.
We need to get Cleetus to buy it 😂
No footage of HQ's(demolition derby) and the actual main attraction, the Little Legends. Kinda disappointed.
Maybe Cleetus wants to add an Australian venue, to his growing empire.
W vid keep doing more Aus n New Zealand motorsports I’ll watch
There is also unused/abandoned oval track at/in Welkom, FreeState, South Africa.
The land that Calder Park sits on is probably worth somewhere between 600-1000 million dollars. I see the future and is town houses…
Thunderdome, as a wink to Mad Max 3?
same was tried in the UK and it also fell flat on its face there is only 1 place for nascar and thats America its boring i would rather watch paint dry
Awesome opportunity Australia
There’s an abandoned NASCAR oval in the UK too. It’s Rockingham circuit in Corby . Didn’t work in UK either 😂
Guess Australians weren’t impressed with driving real fast and turning to the left sometimes.
Absolute awesome never missed a race when lived in Melbourne should be brought back to life great video and why not run touring cars around it
Entry will be $60 a coke is $16 and a soggy bucket of chips will be $15 gotta leave the premises for a smoke and you'll be arrested if you have a beer …..events in Australia feel like cattle pens designed to control you and force you into spending money you don't want too spend ….that's my opinion on why everything fun dies so fast in this country