Chris spins tales of a lifetime on the oval track

Some are hair-raising, others are hilarious and then, there are those which illustrate the soul of oval track racing. Now retired and building oval race cars to keep him out of mischief, Chris loves the American class of racing – the large engine and the instant power it generates feeds his love of the sport.

Winning races with lower-specced cars than those of the competitors, generate more thrills and of course, teaching the young up-and-coming racers a lesson now and then is not to be snubbed at either.

“I come from a ‘rolling stone’ family – we moved around a lot. My love of racing originated in Pretoria where we would walk many kilometres (barefoot) to the Mahem Race Track.

My cousins and I became the chips and Coke sellers just to gain entry to events. And then, dead tired, we would walk back home in the dark of night after each race event.”

In 1979, they moved to Nelspruit and in 1981, after completing his compulsory military training, he started working at a sawmill in Barberton. He married in 1984 and then worked in Pelindaba.

A stint with Iscor in Newcastle followed and this is where he again got involved with oval track racing, competing in a Chevair GL V6 in the American class.

A chance meeting with an old friend, George James, a gifted Ford XR3 body and four months to build and prepare the car, saw him racing in, what many would consider, probably the most competitive class in oval track racing – the 1660 class.

He eventually won the club championship in this class. His very hesitant wife – Anna – after a drive in the passenger seat, then also became involved. “We bought a Mazda 323 for me and Anna started racing the XR3. And just as a side note – Anna boasts a Best Driver of the Year title.

“I eventually decided to get back into the American class racing with an RX7 Mazda. It was referred to as a screamer because of the rotary’s high rev ability. It was brilliant. The set-up was unbelievable and eventually, in 2008, I won SA 2 in the nationals.

They were tough those days – there were many extremely large egos that would, if they lost the race, certainly were not going to lose the fight as well. But then – these are stories for another day.” In 2009, he won SA 1 but in the Escort.

Chris then decided to step down from racing and gave the car to George Nel, his son-in-law. The RX was eventually sold. “But yes – you know, if you have the itch, it is worse than a certain brand of spicy chicken.”

In 2017, with plenty of politics aside, Chris and Anna became the promoters of oval track racing in Mbombela. “We have made significant improvements and would love to still replace the track surface with clay. It is much more durable, generates just about no dust and requires a lot less watering,” he said.

“George then bought me a Sentra. I fitted it with a V6 and changed it from front-wheel to rear-wheel drive.” He is also working on a Fiesta that will be fitted with a surprise – a wicked Superboss and well, with 20 years of experience, doing most of the mechanical work himself and many tricks up his sleeve – this silver fox is ready to rock and roll again once lockdown regulations allow them to race.

In fact they can, but without spectator income, “it is just unaffordable for all involved”. “A successful oval track car requires, among others, a perfect gear ratio and flywheel set-up – a fearless and skillful driver,” concluded Chris.

So if you have these, it is time for you to join the oval track fraternity for some serious vroom-vroom fun.