DRIVING THE AUSSIE DRIVER SEARCH JUGGERNAUT

Aussie Driver Search is all about finding the next stars of Australian motorsport. But before any of that can happen, there’s an essential steerer who makes it all possible. Meet Luke Crum, a.k.a Crummy.

Luke grew up around motorsport. As a child, he travelled from race track to race track following his dad’s and older brother's involvement in Motocross and Enduros. Then, when he was old enough, he became a mechanic working on road cars from Monday to Friday before switching to motorbikes and race cars on the weekend.

Now, he drives the Aussie Driver Search transporter to the track and works on the team’s growing fleet of race cars that fuel the aspirations of local talent when he gets there. Not only that, but Luke also races in the Australian Pulsar Series. How he fits all of this in, we’ll never know, but Luke was kind enough to chat with us about the Aussie Driver Search transporter and the operation’s rapid growth over the past three years.

Trucks at Tracks: Luke, you’re an essential cog in the fast-growing Aussie Driver Search machine. How did you become involved?

Luke Crum: “So, the founder of Aussie Driver Search, Kyle Austin, was a friend of mine. We grew up in the same area. He came to me as he was looking for a car when he first started Pulsar Driver Search. I happened to have the latest Nissan Pulsar that I bought for my fiancé at the time. I leased it to him and he said he needed a mechanic and a hand. I was there to help him out and from there, I have watched it grow into what it is today.”

TaT: How did truck driving come into it?

LC: “I got my MR licence when I was in the Blue Mountains working with the Fire Brigade up there. Then, I spent a bit of time out at Walgett, NSW on a cotton farm and went for my HC (Heavy Combination) licence straight away when I first moved there and progressed from there."

TaT: Had you done much truck driving before Aussie Driver Search?

LC: "The owner of the farm I worked at also had a bulk fuel business. I was driving tankers all around north-west New South Wales and south-west Queensland. I was also doing a lot of fleet work for him like carting bulldozers, front-end loaders, farm machinery and equipment.

“With the massive expansion of Aussie Driver Search this year with a fleet of 15 of our own cars, Kyle came to me and said it was going to cost him a fortune in transport and wanted his own truck and trailer. I’ve got a brother in Western Australia who drives road trains for Linfox in the mines, so he and I got together, sourced the Freightliner Argosy in New South Wales and found a trailer in Adelaide which can carry up to six cars.

“That way, Kyle only has to hire one other truck. His partner's mum and dad have a flat-bed which can cart a couple of cars. Kyle knew that I had a truck license, so I didn’t have much of a choice really! Luckily, I quite like driving trucks!"

TaT: Do you know much about the history of the truck and trailer?

LC: “Well, the trailer started life as a Peki fridge trailer and then a guy called Graham in Adelaide got it built by a local company into the race transporter that it is now. Its main purpose was carting Porsche Cup cars, so that’s why it’s a good fit for us. If you can fit six Porsches in there, it can carry our fleet.

“In terms of the truck, we bought it off the family that started Lusty Trailers. They are now called Transtech. It used to cart brand-new tippers all around the country, so she’s pretty well-equipped inside with shelving, a microwave, a little oven, a kettle and a TV.”

TaT: What sort of comments do you receive out on the road?

LC: “It got wrapped earlier in the year by Ryal Harris’ (four-time ute champion) business, Rad Visual. After that, it started receiving a range of comments. People want to know who we are and what’s in the truck. A lot of the truck drivers on the road have lots of questions about the trailers and how we go about transporting the cars. Everyone is always very interested in it and a lot of that is because of the stand-out design.”

TaT: When you’re out on the road, do you get a lot of motorists auditioning for an Aussie Driver Search drive?

LC: “Yeah, I do get a fair bit of that. A lot of people come up beside me and then shoot off into the distance. That’s not really what we’re about. Come to the track and show us what you can do!”

TaT: How many kilometers have you covered this year?

LC: “I have covered about 60,000 kilometers. As well as doing the Supercars support category rounds, I’m also taking the truck to our own events, We’ve got nine of them and then there’s the huge number of test days we do. We’ve also done corporate days with our V8 utes for Tailem Bend Motorsport Park. I’m getting around a lot!”

TaT: What’s your favourite track to travel to?

LC: “It’s probably Bathurst because it’s our local round, the atmosphere is unreal and everyone truly appreciates the truck. Another track that I quite like travelling to is Tailem Bend. It’s not a bad drive going across the hay plains. It’s always nice to go somewhere different.”

TaT: From such a varied fleet, what’s your favourite race car to load into the trailer?

LC: “It’s definitely the Audi R8! It sits at the bottom, right at the back. That’s the only place it fits because it’s so wide! Anyway, when you tilt the door down, people see the Supercar above it and then the Audi underneath it. The phones certainly come out and a big crowd gathers around. It’s very cool to have that in the back."

TaT: What’s the better part of the role; driving the truck or being a mechanic?

LC: “They’ve both got their really good bits. Obviously, it’s awesome to drive a truck around the country. I’ve been to Perth, Townsville, down to Victoria, all through Queensland and to Tailem Bend four or five times this year. You get to see a lot of the country and people are always pointing, looking and wanting to take photos of the transporter, even in the middle of the Nullarbor. There is a lot of interacting with people on the road.

“Of course, the mechanic role is pretty good as well. Since the beginning with Kyle, I’ve been working on everything from little Pulsars and Toyota 86s to a Kumho Series V8 Supercar and an Audi R8 GT3! It doesn't get any better than that!”

TaT: Where do you see Aussie Driver Search going over the next few years?

LC: “In the very first Pulsar Driver Search, Kyle was it. He was the judge and the instructor. It was all him. Myself and another mate, Aaron, were just there to help him out. Then, we got some professional drivers to come along and judge for us the next year including David Sieders and Luke King. The next year we got more professional drivers like Ryal Harris and Anton De Pasquale and gave away a fully-funded drive in the Toyota 86 series.

“This year, our fourth year, we went from owning three cars and leasing another three or four to owning 15 cars and having legends like Glenn Seton involved. Next year, we’ll have Jason Bright, Craig Baird and Jason Bargwanna just to name a few joining our team. It’s just going to get bigger I reckon!

“It only started in 2015 and in our fourth year, we’re already going to put somebody in the Dunlop Super2 Series in 2019. Who knows where we’ll be in another three to four years? F1? If we get any bigger, I might need a commercial pilot’s license and we’ll have to buy a plane to take everything around!”

Thanks again to Luke for chatting all things transporters. You can find Aussie Driver Search on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. If you fancy yourself as a (race) driver, check out their website. No word yet on any transporter driver search openings, but we’ll let you know if that changes.

Finally, if you spot Crummy and the Aussie Driver Search transporter out on the road next year, make sure you snap a picture and use #CRUMMYTRUCKIN wherever you post. We’ll make sure we share them!