One year ago, Australian sprint car superstar James McFadden could not have dreamt up a better 2021 on and off the dirt.

Just one month after welcoming his first child into the world, McFadden flew half way across the globe to the United States of America to take his already impressive speedway career to the top.

The bold sacrifice well and truly paid off as the Alice Springs born driver stunned the ultra-competitive World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and took out the prestigious Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award.

The driver known as “J-Mac” steered his Kasey Khane Racing #9 to two wins and seventh place in the championship standings despite missing the first six races.

The success continued when McFadden returned home as he jumped into his yellow #17 car and stunned the Australian speedway scene with his new stars and stripes.

Victory at Mount Gambier’s Borderline Speedway last Tuesday night was the 10th of 11 victories he scored either side of the Pacific Ocean to complete a golden year.

Despite leading every single lap of the race at the “Bullring” McFadden said it was anything, but a walk in the park.

“It is never easy,” he said.

“I just had a really good car and found a nice rhythm and line, just trying to hit my marks the best I can.

“I knew guys like Carson (Macedo) would throw a lot at me, so I had to just be patient and hit my marks right.”

Despite various incidents from the race creating opportunities for runner-up Macedo, McFadden had an answer for everything that was thrown his way.

Whenever racing went green, the #17 stormed away from the pack to rebuild a strong lead and McFadden said his ability to perfect each restart and cut through lapped traffic were the keys to his all the way win.

“I felt like we got through lapped traffic really good, so every time we got a caution I was not that happy,” he said.

“I knew after they saw me they would try and run that line and block a little bit, so the cautions sucked and they have a tendency to bring more and disrupt the race.

“I was just happy we were able to get clean restarts and get a few good laps in so we were okay.”

Despite storming home to three wins in five days to round out 2021, McFadden said there is “no secret” to the speed of his rocket ship on the “really good” track surface at Borderline.

“We just worked hard all night,” he said.

“We had a reasonably fast package out of the trailer and just made a few little tweaks that made the car react better.

“There is no secret to sprint car racing, it is just hard work and good people, and we have that.

“It is my job to get it done and get the car as good as possible so we can be as quick as we can.

“It has been great to be back home and even race in Mount Gambier in front of my in laws.”

McFadden admitted he has become a lot “smarter” on the track following his stellar stint in the states.

The 32-year-old arrived in the USA as just the fourth Australian to complete an entire World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series season alongside Brooke Tatnell, Kerry Madsen and Ian Madsen and instantly made an impression.

McFadden scored six top-10 results in his first seven races before recording wins at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway and Washington’s Skagit Speedway.

Despite taking to “the greatest show on dirt” like a duck to water, McFadden admitted it was a daunting step with everything in America on and off the track so much bigger.

“It is just brutal over there,” he said.

“There are 15 other guys lined up behind you trying to get in your car and drive it.

“All the drivers have raced 100 races a year for more than a decade, so they are really hard to keep up with and you learn a lot.

“You have to be a sponge in this sport and I tried to learn as much as I could without getting confused.

“Mentally trying to do 90 races in a year and keep your head high after a couple of bad results is tough.

“But the opportunity was a dream come true and one I am going to treasure for a long time.”

McFadden filled in for injured NASCAR Cup Series veteran of 529 races Kasey Khane and was only supposed to drive 10 times, but went on to complete the season.

Even after the unexpected success, McFadden said he was not surprised by how well he stood up to everything America threw at him.

“I have always had confidence in my ability and what I do in a race car,” he said.

“It is different over there, the grind of doing so many races can get your confidence down and at times I felt I was not good enough.

“But then you have another race and you think you are good again.

“Living on the road bouncing from motorhomes to hotels is full on and can drain you, so it was fine balance between having family life and trying to be a professional racing driver.”

After a breakthrough rookie campaign, McFadden has already booked another flight to the USA and will race for the famous Roth Motorsports team.

Roth owns the record for the most World of Outlaws race winners and the Australian hopes to be the 15th name on that list.

McFadden also brings his 2021 crew chief and some crew members from KKR to his new home and has set the bar high for the new season which starts at Volusia Speedway Park next month.

“I think I had my learning year and need to step up in 2022,” he said.

“I need to contend for wins and championships otherwise you struggle to keep your job.

“We have got be successful, but I learned a lot from my rookie season.

“I think there are 93 races, so it will be busy, but I feel in a good head space, so hopefully we can hit the ground running.”