THERE will be plenty of interest at Bunbury Speedway on New Year's Day when the South West venue hosts three American drivers, including high-profile professional, Harli White.
The 23-year-old racer from Oklahoma, is looking forward to her second trip to Australia, but her first on this side of the country, competing in the four-night USA v WA Sprintcar Speedweek that kicks off at the Perth Motorplex on December 26.
She will then race at Collie Speedway on December 27 before returning to the Motorplex on December 29 and then be at Bunbury on January 1.
But this is not the only time WA race fans will get to see White in action.
She will also compete at the Motorplex on January 12, be back at Bunbury on January 19 and Esperance Speedway over the Australia Day long weekend.
And then White will return for the Krikke Boys Shootout, at Bunbury on the March long weekend.
“I’m really excited, I have never been to that part of Australia before, but I have heard good things about it so I am excited to see some different tracks and a different part of the country,” White said.
From that first tour ‘Down Under’ White said the racing side of things was similar to what she was used to back home.
“There is a different format and things like that, but the Australian competition is just tough,” she said.
“Coming in from the US, you don’t know the names of any of the drivers and who is good, so it was like every time I went out, these guys were all fast.”
And while she will be playing tourist when not at the race track, make no mistake, this girl is a racer and wants to put on a good show.
“As a racer you always want to win, that’s your first goal,” White said.
White said having a local crew chief would also be a major advantage.
“This is going to help me tremendously - last time (in Australia) I used my own crew chief from the US and we had no idea,” she said.
“We have never been to these tracks and they were quite different and we had no idea of what to expect.”
She had already admitted to Googling information on the tracks and will be watching as many videos as she can in the mean time to get a handle on the local competition.
Racing in Australia over the American winter will also help White with her preparation and keep her race fit before her new season starts in Florida in February.
“It helps when you can be in a car every weekend and going to Australia is the only option to do that in winter, so when February rolls around I will be jumping in my own car and be ready to go.
“I think it’s a good advantage to have.”
