It's 1985 and 'King of the Mountain' Peter Brock was chasing a fourth straight Bathurst 1000 title.
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From 11th on the grid, he had weaved his way through the field into second, only for his engine to give out three laps from the end.
Off the track, a 20-year-old Wayne Penrose is fighting for his life.
Before the big race, Penrose was asleep in one of the camping areas at Mt Panorama when an out-on-control hooning driver runs over him. A fractured skull and weeks in hospital follow.
"The spinning wheel of the car hit me, I could have been killed," Penrose said.
"He ran me over on the Saturday night, I got smashed up pretty bad.
"I was split from the hairline and had nine stitches, I've got plastic teeth and my skull was cracked.
"It scared me back then, but it's made me appreciate life a lot more now."
Rather than being scarred for life, Penrose has made motor racing his enduring passion.
On Sunday, he'll race at the Huntley Hill Climb on Avondale Road, the final round of a NSW Championship series which he's already wrapped up.
He's also in a tight pointscore battle with Mazda RX7 driver James Pearson for the state 'tin top' crown, an award which excludes open-wheeler categories.
In November, he'll race at Bathurst in the Australian titles.
Penrose also has the Huntley Hill Climb, the steepest track on the circuit, lap record in 22.78 - one of several he holds - beating the likes of racing royalty like Colin Bond and Brock, who used to compete in the race back in the 1970s.
His fiancee Jill Boothman and son Dean also drive, while his VW workshop technician is among those competing on Sunday.
From a near-death experience, Penrose is now having the time of his life.
Penrose owns one of the more controversial racing machines in Australian motorsport. It's a Volkswagon shell with a turbo-charged, fuel-injected, 530 horsepower engine.
Oh, and a part-Formula 2 chassis too, so he drives it from the centre of the car.
Penrose bought the car in 2010 as an incomplete project, working with the original owner and CAMS (Confederation of Australian Motor Sport) to ensure the dream was realised.
"I saw it featured in the Australian VW magazine back in the 1990s and never imagined I'd own it one day," he said.
"It was specially built in a Formula 2 workshop to accommodate the base of an open-wheeler race car, but making sure it complied with the rules.
"It was in parts, so we've built it up along the way and it was never meant to be this good. It's a four-cylinder matching it with V8 Chevys, it's good fun to race."
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