86-year-old great-grandmother loves to 'thrash her ute' doing burnouts

Lorraine "Nan" Tuckett, 86, has been competing in burnout competitions both as a driver and passenger for the past eight years. The great-grandmother found her passion for the sport following the death of her husband. Nan Tuckett will continue to compete in more burnout competitions. Link copiedShareShare articleWhen most great-grandmothers talk about burnout they are not usually referring to flooring the accelerator and smoking up the back tyres of a ute. But Lorraine "Nan" Tuckett is not your usual 86-year-old. When her husband died eight years ago the Leeton local started looking for a new love and ended up on the burnout circuit. "I just love thrashing the ute until the tyres blow and that sounds really good with the rubber and the smoke. Nan took home a memento from this year's Birthday Bash. (Contributed: Girt Moonbriah ) Supported by her grandson Guy, the rest of her family and the Leeton community, she has has been taking to the track in her cherished ute Nan's Dream. She is now the star of a burnout competition held at Leeton's Brobenah Speedway in June each year, known as Nan's Birthday Bash. Friends and family from around the country travel down to celebrate her day with burnouts, fireworks and a bonfire. Nan could easily go through several sets of tyres in one burnout session. (Contributed: Guy Tuckett) "When you start off in the competition, you've got to get the tyres heated up," she said. "The more smoke, the more numbers you get to win. "I beat Guy [her grandson] twice anyway, so I'm very proud of that." Her Holden VY S pack ute is not far off what the name implies. "I just love the smoke, the sound, the noise," Ms Tuckett said. "That's why I'm a bit deaf now, but it doesn't matter — it was worth it." Since her 80th birthday, Nan has been going to burnout competitions across the country and making plenty of new friends along the way. Nan burns some rubber on the Brobenah speedway in Leeton at the weekend's Birthday Bash. (Contributed: Twistd media ) 'I know I'm the very, very oldest," she said. "[There are] some 60 or 70-year-olds, but the majority are younger blokes, but they're all accepting me into their mob. "They're just all love me being there, even me just being there to watch them too; they just love it." Nan and her grandson, Guy Tuckett, often get pit-stop support from her great-grandson, Nash, when doing burnouts. (Contributed: Stephanie Coombes) Nan's grandson, Guy Tuckett, is also part of the competitive burnout scene. He hit upon the idea of getting his grandmother involved after walking in on her knitting not long after her husband's death. "I said, no, Nan, you can't be doing that — we need to go do some burnouts," Mr Tuckett said. "She needs to be out and about because she's an ex-rice farmer, she'd drive an old Bedford truck for 35 years — the knitting just didn't suit her character." Looking at her progress since, he knows he made the right choice. "It's incredible. I reckon she's gained 10 years of her life," Mr Tuckett said. "[At] the start, it was like she was a bit shy, but now it's just been pedal to the floor and nothing but. "That's how good she is now; she would be confident just to get in the car and go by herself — and her coordination is incredible as well." Nan said she was not planning on slowing down anytime soon. "I don't know how long it will go for, I just hope a bit longer — I just love it." Nan waves her flag as she rides alongside her grandson, Guy Tuckett. (Contributed: Twistd media ) Copy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)PromotionTop StoriesClass action claims women were raped and stalked at remote Fortescue minesTopic:Sexual Offences

86-year-old great-grandmother loves to 'thrash her ute' doing burnouts

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