Frank "Satan" Brewer,
A New Zealander who made it to the very top in midget car racing and who
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was well respected throughout the speedway world. He drove at Waiwakaiho several
times.
BY DENNIS NEWLYN
(Editor, Speedway Racing News)
Frank, who passed away in Phoenix, Arizona on June 8, 2001 aged 94,
was a star of the dirt tracks in New Zealand, Australia and America. He had
grit, tenacity, an incredible skill and daring and a brand of magic track craft
that made him more than a magician of midget racing but a man that was cast in a
mould made exclusively for legends.
Frank Brewer was a living legend of midget racing at a time midget
racing was incredibly dangerous. Tough men driving open cockpit cars in an era
when midgets were not even equipped with a roll bar.
Life in the fast lane was a life of danger, but Frank had survived
World War II when he served with the US Air Force Air Transport command at
Homestead, Florida – where he rose to the status of sergeant – so midget racing
was merely a different kind of danger under the heading of “occupational
hazard.”
Frank was racing in America at the time of the Pearl Harbour attack
by the Japanese on December 7, 1941. Frank had earlier been rejected by the NZ
Army on medical grounds, so when war broke out he joined the American Air Force.
Many years later he admitted he was never phased by the potential dangers of
speedway racing and rarely gave it a thought, typifying that men of his era were
indeed a very special breed.
In fact his happy-go-lucky approach to life was a quality
trademark. A charismatic character who often said that his family life, married
to Margaret, that produced three daughters – Madaline, Maureen and Marilyn, was
governed by “The master” (Frank), the Mercury (his street/tow car) and the
midget (the fabulous V8/60).
When he arrived at the racetrack the effervescent ‘Satan’ as an
after-race meeting humorous topic of conversation played up his catch cry of
“here comes the Master with Margaret, Madaline, Maureen, Marilyn, the Mercury
and the midget” to the fullest. But on the racetrack he did a different kind of
talking . . .it was all-serious, where winning was the only statement of fact!
And winning was his credential for entry into the Hall of Fame!
His first major success came on April 9, 1949 when he took out the
30-lap “World Speedcar Championship” at the Brisbane Exhibition Ground. That
victory signalled an onslaught of title achievements over the next few years
that saw him take out three consecutive NSW Speedcar Championships (1951-’52,
’52-53, 53-’54 seasons), the Australian Championship (Sydney Showground, April
15, 1950), an Australasian Championship (at Sydney’s Windsor Speedway (April 25,
1950), the Australian Quarter-Mile Championship (Brisbane Exhibition Ground,
(May 16, 1953), the Queensland Speedcar Championship (Brisbane Exhibition
Ground, May 8, 1954), the Australian Quarter-Mile Title (Brisbane Ekka, May 22,
1954) and the “World Speedcar Championship (Brisbane Ekka, May 29, 1954).
In his native homeland of New Zealand (he was born in
Christchurch) he won three National Championships. Frank Brewer is fondly
remembered for theV8/60 cars he brought to Australia – the most famous being the
blue and white V8/60 number 99. Brewer bought the car from well-known
Californian midget owner Leonard Faas in 1947 and brought it to Australia soon
after. South Australian great Harry Neale later drove the car. After his
untimely death at Perth’s Claremont speedway in the late ‘fifties, high profile
Sydney speedcar owner Ted Dark bought the car in 1961 and the era of the
ex-Brewer car as the Berco Holden began.
The Berco was driven by some of the biggest Sydney names in
Australian speedcar history – Johnny Peers, Andy McGavin, Johnny Stewart, Len
Brock, Lew Marshall, Howard Revell, Ray Oram). He brought two Eddie Meyer V8/60
cars to Australia on the occasions he raced Down Under. One of the cars
(numbered 48) was raced by multi Australian Champion Andy McGavin.
His distinguished American career in the forties saw him race with
the California-based United Racing Association at tracks that included the
famous Gilmore Stadium, Los Angeles, Culver City, Fresno and the Rose Bowl and
Balboa.
Among the many American highlights were his victory in 1940 and ’42
150-lap San Diego GP and the 1946-47 seasons Western States Championship. While
racing in America he was selected to captain a team of 20 midget drivers who
visited England in an attempt to introduce speedcar racing in the Old Dart.
While in England the Americans raced on three tracks in London, however a lack
of promotional flare on the part of the British press saw the tour struggle to
gain recognition.
Living in Los Angeles for many years, Frank Brewer was a star of
the West Coast midget scene. During the war years he became an American citizen,
settled in Australia and resided in the outer South-Western suburb of
Campbelltown before later returning to America. While in Australia he maintained
a close involvement with the sport through his photography that saw his work
often published in Australian speedway publications. He often visited Australia
and up until his health deteriorated a few years ago, he was a regular visitor
to Parramatta.
Typifying the status he held in world midget racing, a massive attendance farewelled Frank on his final lap, with an emotional service at St Johns Anglican Church, Camden. He is buried beside his wife of 50-plus years, Margaret, at Camden General Cemetery, Sydney.