By Daniel Powell
In what was a welcomed sight to everyone; James McFadden made his long awaited return to the track over the weekend at Brisbane International Speedway via the Wingless Sprint class.
After being sidelined with an ongoing shoulder injury since February; the former Australian Sprintcar Champion took to the wheel of the Todd Wanless owned Wingless Sprint. Despite four months out of the driver’s seat, he performed strongly.
“It was great to get back out on the track and this was a good opportunity to test out the shoulder,” said McFadden, who admitted that testing out his shoulder via the Wingless Sprint class was a better option than jumping straight back into his regular Sprintcar ride. “The shoulder had been healing quite well during my time on the sidelines and that gave me the confidence to test it out by getting back behind the wheel.”
McFadden ended the night with a fourth place finish in the Wingless Sprint feature race, but although his shoulder handled the pressures of racing, post-race the shoulder injury flared up.
“The injury felt good while out there racing, but once the adrenalin died down the pain came back,” he explained. “I’m going to be going back to the doctor to try and work out the direct problem and hopefully be able to overcome it as quickly as possible.”
Looking ahead, McFadden aims to hit the track next month for the opening round of the Winter Sprintcar Series at Brisbane International Speedway on Saturday night, July 23 aboard the WA # 25 Totally Workwear supported Cool.
The 2011/12 season plans proper for McFadden are to once again run the WA # 25 Scott Milling owned car and he will front a two car team with Taylor Milling. Taylor is the son of Scott Milling and his previous racing experience comes via Wingless Sprints.
“We’re planning to pick and choose our race meetings next season and there are no set plans at this stage,” McFadden said, who confirmed that he won’t be a contracted World Series Sprintcar (WSS) Championship driver. “In the next few months we’ll be announcing our season plans once everything is set in place. It’s going to be exciting to have Taylor join the team and I’m looking forward to helping him learn the ropes while out on the road.”
McFadden would like to thank his car owner Scott Milling, parents Dave (crew chief) and Tania, along with his valued sponsors Totally Workwear, Western Diamond Drillers, KRE Race Engines, OMP, Racer Industries and Cool Chassis for all their ongoing support.
To find out more about James McFadden visit his official website: www.jamesmcfadden.com.au