The big effort to get Casey Commodore on track
Dave Casey had “tears in his helmet” as he finished second in the Touring Car Masters Trophy Race at Sandown.
Casey is one of the debutants at the TCM Sandown finale, driving a brand new 782 Motors Holden VB Commodore in a stunning Peter Brock Holden Dealer Team livery.
While a starter motor issue kept him out of action in Saturday’s opening championship race, the V8 SuperUte Series driver turned heads on Friday.
A strong start saw Casey give the Commodore the honour of leading its very first racing lap.
Although he could not keep the rapid “Batmobile” of Tristan Teki behind, Casey was elated with a strong second place.
Not only was it such a great start, but what made it more special was the journey to get there.
Dave Casey in the Trophy Race. Image: Peter Norton
The car came together at the last minute, with Casey fearful the debut would never happen after a number of late setbacks.
“I nearly had tears in my helmet,” he told Auto Action.
This week we have had so many hurdles and the boys have been working all night and sleeping in swags in the workshop. It has been tough to get here for sure.
“Thursday morning we had a wiring gremlin in the car, and there were talks of calling it at one point.
“It was where the windscreen wiper fuel switch is. It was earthing out on the body, and we could not find it because it was so hidden.
“CAMS (Motorsport Australia) also notified us that we needed to make adjustments to the roll cage and they had to do some welding.
“Creative Sign Works were here until 2am on Thursday, wrapping it.
“We would take two steps forward and 20 steps back.
“It has been tough, so to get second in the race and first place in TCM Australia was very rewarding.
“It was not just a significant moment for me, but the whole team because they have put in so much effort.”
Casey only had 10 laps at Calder Park to prepare for the weekend, with the eighties VB Commodore a different beast to his Mitsubishi Triton in SuperUtes.
Dave Casey’s Commodore has all the elements of the old favourite HDT liveries. Image: Auto Action
While a starter motor issue held him back in the Trophy Race, Casey feels he has seen enough positive signs from the “test weekend” at Sandown to be hopeful of bigger things in 2026.
“It is a test weekend for us,” he said.
“We had a great run yesterday and got second in the Trophy Race which proved we are half competitive.
“It showed the car was on the pace.
“We will do a lot of testing in the off season and get this thing going. I think next year will be pretty cool.
“It is awesome and hoots along so well.
“It is a lot different to the utes, but the car is a great platform.
“Once we get it sorted it will be a rocket ship and a crowd pleaser.”