When Zearfoss finally hit the track for the first time on Dec. 26 at Perth Motorplex, he showed he wasn’t just another “Yankee.” He showed he had Aussie grit, finishing third in his debut behind the likes of Callum Williamson and James McFadden.
The next night at Perth produced a second. Then another second followed at Quit Bunbury City Speedway. And then, Zearfoss let loose.
Zearfoss opened his thrusters and broke the sound barrier of screaming fans around the world, winning the final three races of Speedweek – first at Ellenbrook Speedway and then two nights at Perth.
His eye-widening performance resulted in being crowned the 2020-21 WA Sprint Car Speedweek champion.
“It’s very special,” Zearfoss said about the accomplishment. “I didn’t expect to go over and win the Speedweek championship. The competition in Australia is just as tough as it is over here (in the U.S.). It’s just like when you go to a racetrack and you race against the locals there. They have the advantage. They race there every week. You’re at a disadvantage. But we had really good equipment and the people that were involved, they gave me a good car every time.
“It was very special to win the points championship and to get three wins, too. That’s quite an accomplishment on my end. That just shows how good the team did and was able to be competitive right off the bat. You don’t go over there and expect to finish on the podium every night. That’s kind of unheard of anymore. Everything is so equal, and the drivers are so good today. It makes it difficult to perform like that.
“It was a good experience.”
Zearfoss’s joy was shared with Carren, who was given his first Speedweek championship, and with Aussies happy to see the No. 95 find success again.
“They (the Carren’s) were trying for a long time to win the Speedweek championship,” Zearfoss said. “To give them the championship and to do it with the No. 95, that made it really special. It was special to me, too.”
Now, back in the U.S., Zearfoss will try to manifest that success again in his own Brock Zearfoss Racing No. 3z car for the 91-race World of Outlaws tour, looking to claim the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award.
“Anytime you can run good, it just helps boost your confidence,” Zearfoss said. “And you hope to keep that flowing and keep it going into whatever you have next. It was good for me to get over there and start the year out right and run as good as we did to keep my confidence high. I can tell you that I’m ready to get going now, more than I ever was.
“To have the run that we did over there, my confidence is really high right now. When you have good runs like that, everyone involved, whether it’s the team, the driver, anybody, your sponsors. They’re all excited. It keeps the morale up for everybody. They all look forward to getting back to the race track and to do that.
“It was good for me as a driver and good for everybody on my team to have the good run we had in Australia to help boost us into our rookie season.”
The hassle and scrambling to make his Australian trip happen resulted in more trophies than Zearfoss brought home. He gave himself more confidence, gave his team more confidence, gave his fans more confidence, earned new fans in the process and increased his stock as a top rookie contender.
But the most glamourous trophies were the ones he gave to Carren and the Krikke family.
Carren was close to putting his racing days behind him. Then, an unexpected partnership brought success and meaningful joy.