Speedway has been his sport of choice and his passion for 30 years and he is now Newcastle Street Stockers president.

The street stockers season launch will be held at Rutherford’s Bradford Hotel from 11am until 3pm this Sunday and cars will be on ­display to the public.

The six-round series takes in country race tracks around NSW between October and Easter next year.

Newcastle Street Stockers has 35 cars ready to race with ­members coming from Maitland and Newcastle and some from Sydney.

“When the speedway closed in Newcastle in 2002 we could have sat around and not continued with the sport,” Cassidy said.

“But it was the hard work of members including John and Maria Edmonds of Pelaw Main [past president and secretary] who kept it going.”

Point scores are kept during the race season and winners ­collect prizemoney.

“There are still some hard core people from the Newcastle speedway days and then there are the younger people coming in because it is a cheap form of racing. It is a highly addictive sport. Once you get into a car and hit the track it is the biggest buzz you will ever have.”

Holden and Ford are the most popular street stockers and the traditional rivalry still exists on the race track.

“I started racing 30 years ago after helping out my brother,” Cassidy said. “The adrenaline rush and the mate ship, that’s what it is all about.”

There are some dangers, as with any sport, but speedway driving is a lot safer than driving on a road.

“Safety is our top priority. Every car has to be checked before it can race,” Cassidy said.