Sweeny, a 15-year-old from Surf Beach, originally finished fifth in the race, but racing penalties made sure he finished with a spot on the podium.

There were 23 entrants in total for the KA3 Junior division, with drivers coming from all round the state.

Sweeny narrowly missed out on pole position for the main race, and was leading the final early in the race before some engine problems. He recorded a fastest-lap time of 49.907 seconds, and a top speed of 74.803 kilometres-per-hour on the 1.04-kilometre track.

The result sees Bailey in second place on the season standings, only a point behind leader Thomas Hayman. The final round in Lithgow will determine the championship winner, with the champion receiving a prestige plate for their kart.

If Bailey manages to finish in a top-five position, he will be invited to the Race of Stars on the Gold Coast in October.

Sweeny described the race as ‘amazing’.

“It’s the biggest achievement of my career so far,” he said.

Bailey’s next race is in Emerald, Queensland for the Australian Titles, where Bailey will join his new Shamick Racing Team for the first time.

Sweeny said racing karts is a dream come true.

“Watching the V8s when I was younger, I decided I wanted to be a driver,” he said.

“Hopefully next year I can start moving into cars, in some kind of class.”

Sweeny’s journey is even more impressive considering there aren’t many racing-quality tracks on the South Coast.

“Canberra’s probably my closest one, but we race all around Australia,” he said.

The Sweeny family are currently on the look out for more sponsors to help fund his competitions. He gets plenty of exposure around Australia, and travels almost every weekend for races.

You can follow Bailey’s progress on his Facebook page, Bailey Sweeny Racing.