The Brothers Leagues Club Ipswich will showcase local drag racing legend Steve ‘The Pom’ Read’s Top Fuel Dragster at their Annual Mental Health Charity Football Round this weekend.
The ten thousand horsepower dragster that partook in The Gulf Western Oil Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway last month will be displayed in the club’s foyer for patrons and guests to see up close during the event.
The event aims to raise $1500 for THIS IS A CONVERSATION STARTER (TIACS), a professional mental health counselling service for blue-collar communities. Dan Allen and Ed Ross of the social impact workwear company TradeMutt are co-founders and directors of TIACS.
Brothers Leagues Club Event Coordinator Kailah Bell believes Steve Read’s attendance alongside his dragster and team will attract more attendees and further encourage mental health discussion.
“Brothers Leagues Club Ipswich is a proud sponsor of Steve Read and his dragster,” Ms Bell said.
“The Leagues Club approached me in the early stages of organising this massive day and thought it would be a fantastic idea to display the dragster to bring in more interest.
“It was more fitting as Steve Read is now in partnership with Black Dog Institute, another brilliant organisation doing work around mental health research and resources.
“The whole day is about raising much-needed funds for mental health and getting the word out that it is not weak to speak. People don’t need to feel alone, there are organisations out there to help and support everyone in times of need.”
Steve Read feels honoured to have his top fuel dragster as a centrepiece, adding that his racer and success result from the mental work that goes into all aspects of racing, not just the physical.
“I’m thrilled to have the dragster my team and I put so much work into on display for such an important cause,” Mr Read said.
“Discussing and supporting mental health has become a very personal thing, especially recently, and I feel my dragster has something to say about that.
“The mental gymnastics that go on behind the scenes and on race day isn’t usually obvious to spectators or spoken about much amongst crews.
“This dragster represents all the hard work and mental energy my crew and I put into keeping the wheels spinning and putting on a good show.
“Read McCarthy Racing has recently partnered with a renowned not-for-profit mental health organisation looking to expand their research into the racing community, making this event and its cause very relevant to us.
“I encourage everyone attending to come take a look – it’s not every day you get to see a top fuel dragster up close and still.”
The event will be held on Saturday 20th July starting at 2:15 pm, with the Matty Dennis Memorial Trophy Game between the Brothers Leagues Clubs’ and North Ipswich Tigers’ A-grade teams kicking off at 5:15 pm on the Blue Ribbon Motors field. Steve’s dragster will remain on display in the foyer until the end of the week.
