These are the hugely popular 'winged wonders' of speedway. The combination of a high-powered V8 engine and massive wing ensures these cars are the fastest vehicles on four wheels on the speedway track.

Sprintcars never fail to get fans' hearts thumping and adrenaline rushing as they flip, roll and race tyre-to-tyre around our clay track at speeds often in excess of 160 kph. The downforce exerted by the wings is the only thing stopping these cars from flying!

Super Saloons are wide-tyred, fibreglass-clad 'Big Bangers' that provide spectacular wheel to wheel action - they are crowd favourites at the track, especially when these monsters race in large numbers. 

They look like classic American muscle cars, but hidden under their light fibreglass bodies  Super Saloons have sophisticated and highly complex tubular space frame chassis.  Most of these are designed and built in New Zealand - in fact Cromwell is home of the legendary Hypermac chassis. Other components are all imported from American specialist manufacturers. 

The full race V8 motors are mostly fuelled by methanol.  They put down around 700 to 820 horsepower on the Central Motor Speedway clay, so Super Saloon drivers need to be very quick-thinking. Throughout each race, drivers have to constantly adjust the car's set-up in response to the track's ever-changing conditions. These adjustments help explain why you might see a driver leading the field, then drop back towards the tail end, then charge back up through the field.

The driver who makes the best adjust decisions is often the winner!

Saloon cars are the fastest growing National class here in New Zealand. They are similar to Super Saloons, but have additional restrictions.

A Saloon body must resemble a road-going vehicle, which makes them recognisable for fans.

Saloons can be even more challenging to drive than Super Saloons, as there is no changing settings during a race. All settings must be made before the car goes out to race. So having a great pit crew can be the difference between winning and losing.

Production Saloon Cars is a good starting point for many drivers.  The cars are affordable as they are modified road-going or 'Production' vehicles under 4 litres.  There is no contact between cars allowed during the race.

A wide variety of makes and models are competitive in this class, both front and rear wheel drive, so there is something for everyone.

Drivers can race their Subarus, Mazdas, Hondas and Nissans that have reached the end of the road. Instead of going to the wreckers yard, they go speedway racing.  They are stripped out, fitted with a roll cage to very strict Speedway NZ specifications and raced enthusiastically!

We often get huge fields of production cars racing at Central Motor Speedway - they're great entertainment for fans and lots of fun to drive.

Six Shooters combine a Sprintcar chassis with a Holden V6 engine, and you might also hear them referred to as 'Wingless Sprintcars'.

With their 3.6 V6 motors, Holden Commodore VY's and VZ's were definitely not slow! So, it doesn't take much imagination to picture the speed and excitement created by dropping one of these V6's into the chassis of a Sprintcar, minus the downforce benefits of the front and overhead wings.

This class is relatively affordable open wheel racing for drivers who have reached the 16 year age limit of Youth Ministocks, or anyone with a need for speed who is keen to hit the dirt. 

Stock car racing has its roots in the Prohibition era in the United States, where bootleggers built unobtrusively high-performance vehicles designed to blend in, but with enough power to outrun the police.

Today, stock cars are a real spectacle out on the track. The Cromwell track is not a road, it's formed of clay, and the stock cars are squat and utilitarian, designed to withstand huge impacts! They are wrapped in bumper bars that would make a trucker proud. Given the aggressive driving and race tactics you'll witness, strength and durability is definitely a necessity. Contact isn’t just permitted in this grade — it’s encouraged.

Here at Central Motor Speedway, we have a big focus on supporting and mentoring youth. 

With their classic Stockcar look, the Youth Ministock class is a fun and affordable way for teenagers aged between 12 and 16 years to develop their driving skills and experience the thrill of racing on a clay track.

Powered by 1200cc Nissan and Toyota engines from the '70s and '80s, these hardy little race cars are built to provide maximum driver protection. On Cromwell's 500m track, teenage race drivers can race their cars at speeds of up to 70kph.

While many Ministock drivers step up to other classes, others go on to use what they have learned on the track to help make them better drivers on the open road. The Central Motor Speedway club is keen for this class to keep growing as it supports our future race champions, and we can organise opportunities for interested teens to 'have a go'.