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Farmer raced with Kiwi team Seamount Racing at the Sydney Speedway.
Scotty Farmer attended school in Warkworth.
Warkworth’s Scotty Farmer has made his way to the USA following his signing to racing team Maxwell Industries for the midget circuit.
Farmer’s journey started at the Whangateau track where both his parents raced. His father also raced a Mazda RX 7 A-Grade Saloon at Waikaraka Park.
“We were always going to races as kids and hanging out in the pits. Dad knew a lot of people.”
Farmer started an apprenticeship at MS Engineering as a fitter and turner before moving to Brisbane in 2008.
He saved up money while continuing to work on his apprenticeship and bought a Formula 500 miniature sprint car in 2011 which kick-started his racing career.
He then decided it was time to follow his childhood dreams of buying a midget. The 400 horsepower race cars weigh 450kg, including the driver, and have a big following in the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
Farmer was soon selected to race with the Australian test team to compete against American midget drivers at Boxing Day races at Western Springs and Tauranga.
“This was racing against top NASCAR drivers in midgets,” Farmer says.
Farmer proved to be among the top performers, despite tagging a wall in one of his races and flipping his vehicle.
He then set his sights on racing in the US and stayed up until 3am in Australia one night to cold call various racing teams.
“I got a lot of “no” answers or else they wanted me to pay them too much money to start racing,” he says.
Finally, he was given a chance by Steve Watt at Maxwell Industries in California.
“I crashed on the first night racing with them, despite this it started a great relationship.”
Farmer travelled to the US in the Australian off-season for three years before realising he wanted to move there full time to further his career.
In March, he was granted a US visa, and has found a job building race cars so he can earn while he races.
Covid-19 has put a dent in his American racing dreams as tournaments have been suspended, although friendly racing continues.
Last month, Farmer won his first heat race at the United States Auto Club (USAC) West Coast Championship.
His goal is to win the West Coast competition in his rookie year and get into the national series, where the prize money would enable him to race full time.
This week, he is travelling to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, to race with Steve Watt in his custom-built speed demon bike, which has a top speed of 753 km/h.
“I am a long way from home, but it has been a fun ride so far,” Farmer says.
