''I'm very fortunate,'' he said. ''I've got a son who doesn't want to go out drinking or to drive fast on the road. There is no comparison [in terms of risk] between what he is doing and travelling down the highway in an old Commodore with a drunken mate at the wheel.

''Michael is in a very good place; he's doing well in a sport that he loves; he is highly motivated to do the right thing.''

Fortune is already smiling on the carpentry apprentice from Bywong who had a dream debut in what still ranks as one of Australia's more affordable forms of motor sport in 2013. He is now being fast-tracked for success by Speedway's governing body.

That news was broken with a recent post on his Facebook account. ''I have (just) been accepted into the 2014 Speedway Australia rising stars program,'' he wrote. ''I would like to thank everyone who helped get me accepted and who has made me and my team welcome in the sport.''

Already a nine-season motorsports veteran, thanks to Canberra's go-kart scene, Michael has no desire to go hooning about the countryside.

His daily driver, an 1990s Pulsar with the little 1.6-litre four is even less likely to get pulses racing than the equivalent model Toyota Corolla. ''No [road] car could match the thrill of my speedway car on the track,'' he said.

Mr Stewart, an automotive engineer who specialises in classic rebuilds and performance engines, says the green machine with 51 on the front goes more like a superbike than a car.

It has a Fontana engine, a General Motors-inspired three-litre four with a similar head design to that used in the old Holden red motor.

The difference is these engines are alloy, hand-built and capable of spinning out to more than 9000rpm. Maximum output is just under 300kw at 8500rpm and 508 Nm at 6500rpm.

The broad powerband is essential given there are no gears: the only driver inputs are the brakes and the steering wheel and the cars have to be rolled to start them.

When ignition does occur the action is explosive. With an all-up weight of about 350 kilograms (50kg less than a Honda Goldwing motorcycle) 0 to 100km/h takes ''about five seconds''. While top speed varies depending on what diff ratios are fitted, this car regularly hits 165km/h on the 400-metre-long ''straight'' of the Parramatta speedway circuit.

''There are no words to describe it,'' the young apprentice said. ''The acceleration is unbelievable and the speed is awesome.''

Mr Stewart said while the sport had its share of thrills and spills he and Michael's other support team members (mum, two grandfathers and a sister who is in training as team photographer) don't worry too much about the safety side.

''It is actually a safer environment in many ways than road driving,'' he said. ''All of the cars are going in the same direction and you've got a pretty good idea of what the other driver is going to do. After all, they are trying to do the same thing you are.''