Remembering Gene Cook

Motorsport legend Gene Cook has been farewelled by some of his most dedicated friends and fans.

Surrounded by images and memorabilia that recalled the heyday of speedway in Tasmania and Cook’s domination of dirt and tarmac tracks around the country, it was a fitting tribute to a man who was as ruthless behind the wheel as he was quiet and unassuming in the public eye. 

Cook, originally from Longford, passed away in Melbourne on November 6 after a long illness, aged 79.

“I just wanted to give everyone the chance to come together, check out the memorabilia I’ve been able to collect over the years, and to remember a talented driver who had a racing career that spanned four decades,” Rob said.

“Most of his cars were built and prepared in his garage here in Longford, with perhaps the most memorable being the turbocharged inline six Commodore which won the 1983 Tasmanian Grand National Championship, the Marlboro Grand Prix and the inaugural Australian Pavement Championship – beating all of the big V8s of the time.”

Cook is a member of both the Tasmanian Motorsport Hall of Fame and the Speedway Australia Hall of Fame and from an era when his popularity as a driver drew huge crowds to the local tracks at Carrick, Latrobe and Bridgewater.

Thousands of fans, many of them kids wanting to grow up and race cars like their heroes, donned their favourite race team T-shirts, endured the flying clay and dust and the inaudible screaming of commentators over the PA while the big cars roared around the oval in fierce competition.

One of those super fans was Scott Piper of Youngtown, who was only two or three years old when he started going to Carrick Speedway with his father.

“We’d sit on turn two watching all the old super sedan legends like Gene Cook, Ces Hendricks, Chas Kelly and Neville Harper – but Cook was my idol,” he said.

“I’m now a part of the volunteer sub-committee that manages Carrick Speedway so it’s been a long association and love of car racing.”

Scott has taken his obsession even further, developing an interest in restoring old speedway cars.

First there was a Torana built by Launceston’s John Lynch which he restored to running condition and then five years ago he picked up the chassis that was originally built by Cook for Darryl Jones before it was sold to Steve Howell in Hobart.

It was painstakingly rebuilt to replicate Cook’s iconic Commodore with a Holden turbo six motor, the chassis altered to emulate the original Howe chassis and the addition of a Frankland quick change four-speed gearbox and three link rear end.

“I was invited to bring it to the memorial so I’ve put in extra hours to have it presentable for display today - I was honoured to be asked,” he said.

Cook began circuit racing in 1962 at Longford in his teens, progressing from an FX Holden to a Ford Customline, Ford Anglia and Fiat 1500.

When the famous Longford circuit closed, Cook turned to speedway at nearby Carrick and excelled locally and on the mainland dirt tracks over the next 15 years, including a record three Australian Grand Nationals - Australia’s richest speedway race - at Sydney’s Liverpool Speedway.

In 1983 Cook was voted the country’s number one speedway sedan racer, and then upped the ante in touring cars and sports sedans, racing a Ford Falcon, a Chev-powered Torana and a Mazda RX-7.

He competed in the 1983 Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 with Johnnie Walker.

Cook moved into NASCAR racing when the Calder Park Thunderdome was built and from 1993 was based in Melbourne.

He survived life-threatening injuries in a NASCAR crash at Calder and later returned to the dirt-tracks before retiring from racing around 2000.

Gene Cook Racing Engines built components for stock cars until the Thunderdome’s demise but continued supplying midgets, sprintcars, super sedans and HQ Holdens for circuit racing.

Beyond his racing days he continued with his renowned Gene Cook Race Engines at Tullamarine.

Sporting highlights:

1962 first race season racing in an FX Holden, finished 2nd.

1964 won at Longford in a 1956 custom line 

1971 sports sedan racing in XC Falcon, came a close second to Peter Brock in the Australian 6 cyl championship at Calder park 

1972 Raced an L34 Torana in touring cars 

1983 Went road racing in an RX7 at Sandown and Bathurst 

1995-87 Raced his Grand National sedan to two Marlboro Grand Prix titles 

1988 Started NASCAR racing 

1998 Placed third at Thunderdome twice in the year