BROADCAST
TABLOID TV shows like A Current Affair have long been the sworn enemy of the car scene. All it takes is a slow news week and they’ll be regurgitating the same sensationalist hoon narrative cut with years-old Youtube footage, whipping the mindless Karens who consume it into a frenzy. For the most part it’s trumped-up gutter journalism, and all it does is create a greater divide between car enthusiasts and the broader community.
That’s why it was such a pleasant surprise to come across a segment ACA ran recently on Ben Neal of Benny’s Custom Works. Benny is a Youtube personality, Street Machine Drag Challenge and Hot Rod Drag Week competitor, pilot of a bottom eight-second
BEN USED HIS SKILLS AS A MECHANIC TO REPAIR AND SERVICE 11 VEHICLES BEFORE PASSING THEM ON TO PEOPLE WHO HAD LOST THEIR CARS IN THE FIRES
Barra-powered Toyota Cresta, and a top fella to boot.
Like most people, Benny was deeply moved by the devastation caused by the bushfires that ravaged much of NSW at the start of 2020. He found himself wondering what he could do to help, and decided to leverage his social media presence to call for members of the public to donate vehicles. He then used his skills as a mechanic to repair and service the vehicles – ensuring they were safe and roadworthy – before passing them on to people who had lost their cars in the fires.
In total there were 11 vehicles donated to bushfire victims in their time of need, and that’s no small thing. When you’re faced with the prospect of piecing your life back together having lost everything, one of the most important things you’ll need is reliable transport, and I’m sure it made the world of difference to all 11 families.
So hats off to Benny for such a selfless and meaningful gesture, and to A Current Affair for giving him a well-deserved pat on the back – and in doing so acknowledging that us car guys and girls are more than just the menace to society we’re often depicted as.
Time is running out to cast your vote for the 2020 running of Valvoline Street Machine Of
The Year! It’s a bumper crop of nominees, with something to appeal to just about everyone; scope them out from page 46 of this issue. Your vote will help determine the winner of the richest accolade in Aussie street machining, but it also gives you a chance to win an allexpenses-paid VIP trip to Street Machine Summernats 34. Get your vote in post-haste, and you might find yourself kicking off 2021 by partying with us in Canberra! Cheers,
Broads