WA sprintcar titles at Carnarvon attract speedway characters from across the state

With helmet marks still imprinted on her face and a race car with broken steering, Brooke Newson speaks in a surprisingly calm and collected manner for someone who just slammed into a wall at top speed.

«The titanium tie rod stud, which holds the car steering together, snapped causing the right wheel to fold in ... it was a soft crash, but it didn't feel very soft,» she laughed.

Newson is the only female competing at the WA sprintcar championships in Carnarvon this weekend and one of only two current female competitors in the sport in Western Australia.

«When you hear the engine chugging over and you flick that switch, for me I love it. It's the best feeling ever,» Newson said.

Initially, her sprintcar was feared a write-off but after an inspection at the pit and some fiddly and fast repairs by her team, she's off and racing again.

An insight into why this 31-year-old from Perth has a fierce reputation on the speedway track, despite only racing sprintcars for two years.

It's the first time the WA sprintcar title has been held at the Carnarvon Speedway for 24 years.

Thirty-two sprintcar drivers from across Western Australia trucked their toys and teams into Carnarvon for the event and $20,000 cash prize, which is renowned for attracting speedway characters from all over the State.

Speedway racing is very much a country affair, with 21 of the 24 speedway tracks in WA located in the regions from as far as Kununurra, out to Newman and down to Esperance.

And sprintcar racing is also very much a family affair.

Chevy Francis is a fourth-generation sprintcar racer and at only 14 years of age, he admits he's already hooked on the natural high of adrenaline.

«Once you get that taste for the accelerator, you just want to keep on it ... the