31/01/2025
One of our stalwarts of our great sport!
WELL DONE Kay!!
KAY AT HOME IN THE “SURFAIR”
Not everyone is born into a speedway family, yet Kay Nash would now say that she is part of the wider speedway family across Australia.
Reflecting on nearly 30 years as race secretary for Surfair Motorsports Club’s Moruya Speedway, Kay has fond memories and decades of stories inspired by the uniquely shaped 400m track, that sits nestled behind the racecourse and airstrip just a kilometre from the ocean on the New South Wales south coast.
Born in 1957 and raised on a dairy farm in Dorrigo near Coffs Harbour as the youngest of ten children, Kay’s family left behind the farm, the family bakehouse and their beloved horses when she was 14 to relocate to Rockdale in South Sydney to be closer to medical treatment for her older brother Kevin.
Attending Penshurst Girls High School, it wasn’t long before Kay met Harold, and despite having no motorsports background other than her dad competing in Gymkhana, the couple loved going to Oran Park raceway to watch the racing.
Harold and Kay’s relationship experienced a break in the late 1970’s, but not long after the birth of Kay’s daughter Kaylene, the couple were reunited.
Harold had started a lounge manufacturing business that would eventually take the couple to Moruya in their early 20’s, and along with a number of odd jobs, Kay started a food van that would service the local speedway bike events.
“We loved going to the speedway with the food van, and eventually they asked me to run the speedway canteen, and then I started doing the race secretary role. I’ve been doing that for probably 30 years now!”
Meanwhile, she’d talked Harold into getting involved with maintenance and driving the grader for track preparation, solidifying the couple as stalwarts of the venue.
Sadly, after 37 years of marriage, Harold passed away just four years ago, and is now honoured every April with an annual memorial meeting in addition to the Michael Rosevear memorial race for Production Sedans to honour one of the club’s former treasurers.
“We had some great times over the year, and I still love running the pit box and greeting all the drivers and teams. I’ve made a lot of lifelong friends from that role” she says, combining the race secretary role with the club secretary position for around 20 years, while finding some time to do some commentary as well!
“We’ve had some really good presidents here like Barry Johnson, Rick Meyer and Brad Stevens, just to name a few, all of which put in lots of hard work to keep the club going and improving.”
“We run about seven or eight events per season, and we will add a new section of catch fence this winter, which will really improve the safety.”
Despite her daughter and grandchildren not really taking an interest in speedway, Kay believes there may be an opportunity for the next generation to get involved with the sport.
“My great-grandchildren really love the speedway, so maybe there’s a chance they will take over from me as they grow up” she laughs.
Kay is just one example of the amazing volunteers who pour their life into their speedway club. While people come and go, it’s the people like Kay who are committed for decades that become the glue of the club, “Keeping the Wheels Turning” for generations of speedway racers, families and fans.
Thankyou Kay and Harold… we’re so thankful for the legacy you’ve created!
Speedway Sedans NSW is the controlling body for Speedway Sedan racing in NSW. Covering 6 nationally registered classes.
