New Zealand Speedway rookie of the year Daryl Ainsley was behind the scenes rather than behind the wheel at this week's speedway meeting on his home track.
The Cromwell saloon-car driver was one of the race officials at the Central Speedway's Christmas championship on Thursday and admitted it was hard being a spectator for a change.
His car, a new V8 hypermac chassis 05 Mustang, was in Wellington where he will compete in the New Zealand Saloon Championships on January 21.
Ainsley, a ''40-ish'' shearing contractor, is off to a flying start as a speedway driver.
After just six months' racing, he was named the national rookie of the year. His next goal is to gain a national title.
The keen sportsman has traded competing in multisport and cycling events for circuits of a different track.
''Racing is a real passion. I've always loved the speedway, even when I was younger, and competing was always on my bucket list of things to do. And now I'm doing it.''
He mentioned his interest to speedway stalwart Tony Buchanan, of Cromwell, and within a week, Buchanan came up with a car for him to race.
His first race meeting was in November last year and he loves the sport with a passion.
''What do I like about the speedway? The adrenalin ... and the people. There's a lot of good people in speedway and the camaraderie is amazing.
Everyone's generous with their advice and I've made friends who will be friends for life.''
His successes in his first season included a third place in the DHL Interislander Saloon Series out of 32 drivers and he was the top-placed South Island driver in that series.
He was fourth at a meeting in Rotorua before returning to Cromwell this week, and was also second out of 25 drivers at Baypark Speedway in Tauranga.
Ainsley says six months of racing fits in nicely around his day job as a shearing contractor.
''The shearing work slows down during the speedway season, so it all works out well. Speedway is where my heart is right now; it's six months of bliss and excitement.''
His aim is to reach his potential as a driver and gain a national title along the way, moving eventually into super saloons.
Good drivers have an even temperament, determination and are prepared to take calculated risks, he says.
