 |
| Daniel Fuller’s 1996 Kenworth T601 and Aaron Fuller’s 1994 Kenworth T600. Inset: Daniel (left) and Aaron (right). Image: Aaron and Daniel Fuller |
It’s been a long time since Sydney Dragway in Eastern Creek has had trucks take to the track. But now, thanks to twins Aaron and Daniel Fuller, trucks of all makes and models are being invited to head down the racetrack.
“The last time an event like this was held at Sydney Dragway was 10 years ago and that was a one-off event, as opposed to a street-meet that we’re going to be hosting,” said Aaron.
These third generation truckies revealed they grew up around trucks – and drag racing. Their father was an owner operator and both grandfathers were also truckies.
“Our dad and our uncle used to race at the old Castlereagh International Dragway in western Sydney in the 1970s and 1980s. That track closed in 1984,” explained Aaron.
“And at the first drag track at Eastern Creek, they were involved in drag racing – so Daniel and I were born into it. When the new racetrack opened next door, my uncle was an official. He still races too.
“I’m a mechanic by trade and I did my time in a workshop working on race cars.
“My dad, both grandads and my uncle were all truck drivers and have owned their own trucks. As they say, the apple never falls far from the tree.
“Now that we’re in trucks, we can understand why our parents and grandparents all did it.”
Both Aaron and Daniel decided to take the plunge and go out on their own in 2023, purchasing older Kenworths that originally belonged to the same fleet.
Daniel bought his own prime mover, a 1996 Kenworth T601, in January 2023, and Aaron did the same in December that year, with the purchase of 1994 Kenworth T600.
“When I bought the truck, my wife was eight months pregnant with our second child,” said Aaron. “I thought if I don’t do this now, it’ll be at least another three or four years before I do. I followed my gut and jumped off the cliff and thankfully it’s worked out.
“When you’re working for yourself, you have to do what you have to do to make it work, there’s no other alternative.”
Talking about their preference for the older rigs, Daniel added, “These are the sort of trucks we grew up with and what we were around every day – but it’s also the reliability more than anything. Touch wood, mine hasn’t cost major money since I bought it, it’s mainly just maintenance and general up-keep – and I can do a lot of it myself which keeps the operating costs down.”
Aaron agreed, “My truck has been going phenomenally – I just put diesel in and change the oil every 10,000km. It is an older truck so things do break, but they’re easy to replace. I can fix whatever needs to be fixed myself.
“These old trucks are simple, easy to work on and just keep going so they’re very owner operator friendly. With the newer trucks, if something goes wrong, you need to take it to the dealer and could be left without a truck for a week. If our trucks are out of action, we’re out of action.”
Putting on their own truck drag race is something the brothers had been talking about for some time. Then last week it all came to a head when Aaron decided to email Sydney Dragway, to get the wheels in motion.
“I was lying in bed with my four-year-old son and we were watching truck racing videos,” said Aaron.
“So that’s when I drafted up an email to Sydney Dragway outlining what we wanted to do and I asked if we could make it happen. I had a response by the next morning.
“As it turns out, a lot of other people want to see this too. Since announcing the event, I’ve had over 20 phone calls from people saying how’d you get this to happen, we’ve been wanting this to happen for years. I guess the timing was just right.”
Aaron continued, “Daniel and I had seen all the truck racing they do in America and Canada on YouTube, Facebook and TikTok and had often spoken about how good it would be to do it here. But being owner operators ourselves, we understand why it doesn’t happen, because it costs a lot of money to be part of.”
Daniel added, “We’ve thrown the idea of this around for a while after seeing what goes on in the States. Now it’s time to stop talking about it and do it!”
The Truck Drag and Truck Meet will be held at Sydney Dragway on Wednesday June 25.
Gates will open from 4.30pm and racing will begin from 6pm, with scheduling and truck race times to be confirmed.
Both Aaron and Daniel plan to take to the track in their T601 and T600, along with at least two Australian Super Trucks which have confirmed they will attend.
“We’ll do this one and if it all works out, we’ll propose a date to the racetrack to do another event. We’re hoping we can turn it into its own event and hold it on a weekend going forward,” said Aaron.
“We’d like to eventually do this once a month but even four times a year would be unreal. It would be great if we could also eventually look to do events in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane,” added Aaron.
“That will give us a chance to stop driving trucks for a little bit and have some fun! As long as the interest is there, it can keep evolving.”
For tickets and more information, click here.