April 15 2020
Our question answering guest in the second edition of ‘Q&A with’ is Zac O’Hara.
Zac drives the #27 Awesome Automotive sponsored Chevy Monte Carlo and he is also the man who runs Stock Cars Australia so we are very pleased to have him answering our questions and we hope you the reader learn more about his life, his car and Stock Cars Australia.
How did you get your start in Motorsport?
Forever I have been around Dad. This meant hot rods, street cars and race cars were always around. Growing up in and around Dads cars and workshop, cars of all sorts were always an interest. My first ever ‘Race car experience’ other than hire Karts, was driving a Legend car around the Marulan circuit in 2014.
How did you get interested in stock car racing?
I’ve always been a NASCAR fan. Even my Matchbox cars as a young kid were stock cars 😂😂 This eventually grew into diecast collectable cars and finally the real thing.
What is the story behind purchasing the #27?
After showing up at the very first SCA meeting at Wakefield park I was hooked.
I watched the Oz Trucks, GTA cars and NASCAR battle and it sounded unreal! This got me into ‘helping’ some of the drivers (cleaning tyres and sweeping sheds 😂😂) pre-asphalt in the Wakefield pit area.
I eventually met Rusty French and his crew. I told him I loved cup cars and one thing led to another. No regrets at all. He sold me a great car with a bit of history to match. Nice fella to deal with 👍
Tell us some details of what the car has got for those curious about some of the technical details.
The car I have is a 1996 Chevy Monte Carlo that was driven by Max Dumesny in the early stages and then by Kim Jane with both of them driving for John Sidney Racing in the Australian NASCAR championship.
Rusty French was the next owner who then raced the car on many circuit tracks.
It’s basically the cup car of the era. 600HP 358ci Chevy with a Jerico gearbox. We have changed quite a bit since we bought the car.
What is O’Hara vs O’Hara like?
Out for blood haha. Gentleman’s racing. Fast with no panel damage.
What was your favourite weekend of racing?
6. My favourite weekends racing in SCA was Eastern Creek toward the end of last year. A big field with new faces. I had a great battle with Graham Booth (#75 NASCAR) in the last race of the weekend. I was only thousands of second ahead across the line. Just luck I think.
Favourite on-track battle in SCA?
I’ve had some great battles for position (at the wrong end of the field😂) its hard to pick the best one. Graham and I were so close at Sydney. That was awesome. Trevor Crisp and I have had a few close laps together. I always end up having a great dice with Robert Marchese in the #84 OzTruck. I love it.
How do you prepare for a race weekend from home to track to home.
Race preparation. No different to any other race car. Few weekends and the odd late night. Trading a few hours between mates to get all cars on track
What makes Stock Cars Australia special to you?
What makes SCA special to me is the ‘family ‘ atmosphere in the pit sheds. Competitors on track. Friends in the pit shed. I went to the very first SCA meeting and haven’t missed one since.
I’m glad to have the privilege of making new friends in SCA and I love running the category. Looking forward to many years ahead and I thank everyone involved for making my ‘Aussie NASCAR dream ‘ come true.
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