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Nerve-racking ... our reporter Rianne Byrne takes a spin a sprint car. Picture: Mark Evans Source: The Daily Telegraph

My hands cling firmly to a thin metal bar. Letting go is simply not an option.

When the boss asked me if I wanted to go 120km/h around Sydney Speedway at Parramatta in a sprintcar, I couldn't even pretend to be brave as I hesitantly agreed.

I get anxious going too fast on a bicycle.

Yet here I am, pacing nervously as I wait for my moment of truth.

With a driver like Speedway Hall of Famer and 10-time Australian sprintcar champion Garry Rush, I'm in safe hands but that doesn't help the nerves.

I'm strapped in so tightly I can only just breathe and told: "You must hold on at all times." No need to worry about that: I'm gripping that little bar for dear life as we take corners at 120km/h.

My head jolts sideways as we build speed. The G-force pulls back my cheeks as I grit my teeth and my hands squeeze the bar even tighter.

Just as I'm getting the hang of it, we stop. Everyone thinks I've chickened out, but it's an engine problem. A few cords are plugged back in and we're good to go, now with engine failure in the back of my mind.

We're flying around the race track and I even manage to crack a smile. The fear evaporates as the excitement takes over.

It may have been a blast but there is no way I would race at such speeds with 20 other drivers on the track.

That's what NASCAR's $100 million man Tony Stewart will be doing on Sunday when he competes in the annual Valvoline Australian Sprintcar Grand Prix. Stewart will return to his roots against some of the world's best drivers.

"When I get spare time I want to find somewhere I can race," Stewart says. "These cars are a bit more physical in a shorter run than the NASCAR-type cars are so I just had to go to the gym to get prepared."

Stewart will race on Boxing Day and four other nights over the next month.

http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/video.aspx?videoid=64fbc5ea-3ff2-40f0-9c4c-cdef7d4f45b3

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http://www.foxsports.com.au/motor-sports/video

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http://ten.com.au/video-player.htm?movideo_p=40988

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The writer should have wrote a little about the specifications of a sprint car but other than that a good story. I liked his comment about holding onto the safety bar in front of him "letting go was not an option". They were giving rides in a 2 seater in Grand Forks,ND this summer during the WoO two-niter, think it was Blaney's 2 seater, even though Blaney wasn't here, but even though a hundred bucks was fair, still its $100. Really wanted to do it.

 Lawlessness and liberalism equals Hell.  NY City, 
Detroit, Seattle, Chicago, Minnepolis, etc. We saw it. 
Burning hundreds of buildings, a thousand assaults and 
dozens of murders. Getting worser and worser.

I had a ride in TMac's two seater at Knoxville several years ago, not long before he sold it. He had pretty much stopped using it, but donated several rides as a fundraiser for the Hall of Fame auction.

It's a real kick. I could not believe the G forces pulling my head to the right. That helmet only makes it worse! Lori told me at the end of the ride that the drivers all have stiff necks all summer. I couldn't squeeze my glasses into the helmet, so the fences were even more of a blur, but I would have sworn we would slide right into them!

If you ever can do it, it's worth the money if you can scrape it together.