Australian Speedcar Grand Prix
The Australian Speedcar Grand Prix is Australia’s annual dirt-track race for Speedcars. It began in 1938 at the Sydney Sports Ground, won by Les Dillon, who sadly died in a crash at the venue two months later. After a long break, the race returned in 1947 and, for most of its history, was held at the Sydney Showground, which hosted 33 AGPs until it closed in 1996. The Showground era saw champions such as Ray Revell (the first winner in 1947) and Garry Rush (the last in 1996), along with other stars like Bob “Two-Gun” Tattersall, Andy McGavin, Lenny Brock and Steve Kinser.
From 1975 to 1984 the Grand Prix was run on an asphalt track at Liverpool City Raceway. AJ Foyt won there in 1975 and 1976 in a VW-powered car, and Ron “Sleepy” Tripp won the last asphalt races in 1983 and 1984. Eleven races were held at Liverpool, with winners including Garry Rush, Barry Graham, Stan Lawrence, Ron Hutchinson and Kinser, among others.
The event returned to the Sydney Showground in 1990, then moved around the country in the following years, including Wangaratta and Heathcote in 1994–1995. The 1996 Showground race marked another end of an era. The next few years saw the AGP at Parramatta City Raceway and Newcastle Motordrome, with Troy Jenkins winning twice and Steven Graham once. In 2000 the Grand Prix was held at Claremont Speedway in Perth—the only time it was held outside the East Coast at that point—with Michael Figliomeni winning.
From 2001 the AGP spent several years at Avalon Raceway near Geelong, with winners such as Darren Jenkins, Dene McAllan, Ian Lewis and Keith Giles (who won twice at Avalon). Mark Brown would go on to win several times, starting at Avalon and then winning again at Nowra Speedway. New Zealand’s Michael Pickens became the only NZ driver to win the AGP, taking the title at Avalon in 2005.
In the 2010s the race continued at tracks around Australia, including Valvoline Raceway in Sydney, Nowra, Gunnedah and Lismore. Matt Smith won at Valvoline in 2011 and again in 2019 at Lismore, Anthony Chaffey won at Nowra in 2016, Nathan Smee won at Valvoline in 2017, and Reid Mackay won at Gunnedah in 2018. In 2020 Carson Macedo of the United States won at Valvoline during Speedweek, giving him a third Speedcar victory in that campaign. In 2024 Kaidon Brown won the AGP, adding to his family’s success—his father Mark Brown had multiple AGP wins in earlier years.
A note: Frank “Satan” Brewer was billed as being from the USA to boost crowds, and the year 1978 saw two AGP races, one on January 1 and another on December 30.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 16:51 (CET).