Herne to make US Late Model debut 

Nathan Herne’s first season in the US is about to get a big injection of horsepower as he gets ready to make his American dirt track debut in the Late Model series in Missouri.

The Lismore born racer is pencilled in to make his debut at the Moberly Motorsport Park in Missouri on September 3 for the Millard Family Racing team, whilst he may also compete over the two nights prior at the Lucas Oil Speedway in states south-west.

Herne has been racing in the American TA2 Trans Am series this season in the #29 Cube3 Mustang, recently taking another podium on the streets of Nashville.

It’s been an up-and-down season for the two-time Aussie Trans Am champ in his first full-time US gig, and his desire to get some more seat time and explore some wider options has led him to the American dirt.

Herne will make his US dirt track debut for the Millard Family Racing team in Missouri. Image: Millard Family Racing FB

The “Lismore Bullet” will suit up for the Missouri based Millard Family Racing team, and after having experienced both Sprintcars and Late Model racing in Australia, Herne is excited to make his US debut in the powerful +900hp machinery.

“It’s exciting, when I first came to America I set myself the goal of doing some dirt track racing,” Herne told AUTO ACTION.

“The biggest thing I’ve struggled with this year in TA2 is that we’ve not been able to do test days throughout the year, and it’s the first time in a long time where I haven’t had the opportunity to stay race fit.

“Even in the offseason in Australia I did some dirt track stuff, and I was able to race S5000 alongside my Trans Am racing also.

Herne took his second American TA2 podium of the year in Nashville in the #29 Cube3 Mustang.

“The dirt track scene in America is huge and they race multiple times a week, so to crack into that market will hopefully open a few doors, so fingers crossed it all goes well.”

As Herne points out, they do things a bit differently in America, and his first registered event will be the 3rd Annual Wiener Nationals. 

The prize money is $10,000 USD for the win, and the event also has a hotdog eating contest and a pace car that’s essentially a huge wiener dog on wheels, which Herne describes as, “pretty cool, but a bit of a different one.”

The Oscar Mayer Wiener Dog pace car in question.

Speaking of doing things differently in the states, Herne’s opportunity came about whilst eating at an Italian restaurant with his TA2 Cube3 sponsors.

“It was a bit funky how it all came about really, we were sitting there eating when the Italian chef came out to speak with us, and when the conversation turned to racing, he said he knew a bloke who owned a race car.

“So we ended up face-timing Reid Millard, the owner, and I ended up getting a drive to go along with my dinner…it was a pretty interesting way to go about it,” Herne quipped.

“Reid is a really nice guy, and he’s now introduced me to some interesting people in the world of Speedway, and also, Scott Bloomqvist (Late Model Hall of Famer) is going to be in Missouri as well, so it’s going to be an interesting experience.”

Herne will take on the 4/10 mile (0.6km) oval at the Moberly Motorsport Park on September 3.

Racing on dirt is something that runs in the family for Herne, with his dad having been an experienced dirt tracker.

“Just really keen to get into now, and it also means a lot for my family. My dad raced dirt his whole life but never got the chance to go and do it in America, so to be the first of the Herne family to get that opportunity is pretty cool.”

As for the car itself, Herne will be in the #14 Millard Car, which is going to have plenty of juice available under his right foot on the high banked 0.6km oval track.

“They’ve just strapped a new engine in it and it ran 950 on the dyno..so it’s got a lot of power,” Herne said with a vaguely nervous laugh.

“It’s going to be a lot to hang on to, and I’m sure once I’m off and the clay slickens out I’ll be wishing I had less horsepower under my right foot, but it’ll be great. 

The #14 Millard Family Racing Late Model car that Herne will steer

“It’s a 23 degree banked track, which is way steeper than what we have in Australia, and the car will be hitting 160 k/ph before you tip it into Turn 1.

“There’s 50 plus cars at both events, so if I make it to the A Main I’ll be pretty happy. I don’t know if that’s going to happen, but we’ll give it a crack and see.”

To keep up to date with Nathan Herne’s American journey, stay tuned into AUTO ACTION for all the latest in motorpsort news.

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