Free gift helps car buff battle with best

THEY say the best things in life are free and Summernatsbound burnout star Casey Tolcher is a testament to the fact.

Still pinching himself to be on his way to the nation’s premier street car event after winning the Burnout Championship at the recent Red Centre NATS event in Alice Springs, the Townsville car enthusiast has come a long way in his purpose-built VK Commodore, which he inherited as nothing more than a hollow body just a few short years ago.

“I’ve been doing it (burnout competitions) for about four to five years. I originally had a VN Commodore and it burnt down on the back of a truck from Cairns in 2015.

“A friend who’s now moved to Brisbane actually gave me the VK shell for free, it was very generous.

“There’s been a lot of late nights and a lot of hard work, but I’ve had a lot of help from the car community in Northern Queensland and it’s been overwhelming.

“I’d be nowhere without my sponsors.”

Looking ahead to Summernats, where he’ll take on the best of the best, Tolcher said it would be “quite daunting”.

But after his heroics in Alice Springs, where he was able to have the rare opportunity of also driving his car on the road, he said he would take it all in and just try to go out and have some fun.

“I picked my parents up from the airport and that was really cool, and I just went out to Red Centre NATS wanting to have fun, so this (qualifying for Summernats) is just the cherry on top,” Tolcher said.

“I’ll be competing on the top level with the top guys and top cars, so it’s unbelievable, it really is just a dream come true.

“It’s (Summernats) a huge event … it’s quite daunting, but as far as I’m concerned now, I’ve made it to top level.

“I still can’t believe it, but I’m just going down there to have fun and I don’t care what happens.”