Hooning – A term primarily used in Australia and New Zealand to describe driving a vehicle in a reckless or dangerous manner, generally to provoke a reaction from onlookers.
Peterborough native Jeremy Kelly is on track, both literally and figuratively, as he elevates his passions for both auto racing and filmmaking to a whole new level.
On Friday, April 27th at 9:30 p.m., Velocity (part of the Discovery specialty cable channel network) will air Hoonin’ All Day, Kelly’s 22-minute film detailing how he and three friends brought a four-cylinder car with 400,000 kilometres on its odometer back to life and then took it for a glorious spin on the track at Shannonville Motorsport Park.
“We had some hiccups along the way but we got it there,” says Kelly, who was joined in the adventure by Tyler Junkin, Nate Mitchell, and Andy McCann.
“It was destined for the scrapyard. We diverted that fate, picked up a trip permit, stuffed four grown men into it, put some performance parts and tools in the trunk, and road tripped it to Shannonville.”
Kelly notes “after a very slow run” they went to work on the car, installing a super charger and racing tires.
“We got to go out and light it up,” says Kelly, adding the same car later came within half a second of beating the lap time of a $100,000 Hellcat Challenger in a King of the Hill event at Peterborough Speedway before the car eventually met its scrapyard destiny.
“I was begging and pleading for Tyler to keep it but, truthfully, the car was so rotten,” says the Ennismore resident.
With an estimated reach of 70 million households in the United States, Velocity is airing Hoonin’ All Day as part of a 10-part pilot series titled Dispatch.
The same network, which airs automotive-related programming, has brought its viewers shows with catchy titles such as Kings Of Crash, All Girls Garage, and Fat And Furious.
Kelly notes hoonin’ is Australian slang for showing off with a car in a dangerous and reckless manner — something the 31 year old knows all about and practices as a competitive racer most actively at Peterborough Speedway, a 50-year-old 1/3 mile oval just west of the city off Mount Pleasant Road.
Besides anticipating the airing of Hoonin’ All Day, Kelly is gearing up for the start of another season of racing commencing May 19th.
“I dreamed of being a race car driver,” says Kelly. “My grandfather used to race at Peterborough Speedway and Bell City (in Selwyn) on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights back in 1969 and 1970.
“Getting into racing was kind of like a tribute to him. It’s like a family event for us. We don’t necessarily get together at the dinner table, but we get together every Saturday night at Peterborough Speedway and have some fun.”
If you subscribe to the widely held notion that winning is fun, Kelly has that covered. Last season, he emerged as champion of the Four-Fun division featuring four-cylinder cars, his familiar number 80 car racing to the top points total in the division — his second championship in just 3-1/2 seasons
As satisfying as that success has been, it’s clear that hanging with fellow car buffs Junkin, Mitchell, and McCann is every bit as fulfilling.
“I met the guys at different times but the one thing that keeps us grounded is we’re all obsessed with cars and motor sports,” says Kelly. “We’re all racing cars and working on cars, working on a shoestring budget to make everything work.”
“Nate is kind of like the goofy, joker, one-liner type of guy and he’s a crazy race car driver. I’ve never seen anybody drive so recklessly but make it work.
“Andy is like the king of projects. He’s got like 20 cars on the go and none of them are finished. He tears apart cars all day long at Kings Auto Wreckers and he’s super clever when it comes to making it work.
“Tyler is like the guru. He’s very technical and very matter of fact. If there’s one kind you need on your team to execute and get things done, this is the guy.”
“I’m way late to the game compared to these guys in terms of car mechanics and racing. I’ve had to try to prove myself.”
What Kelly did bring to the table, and clearly still does, is big-time talent when it comes to documenting on film whatever project he’s involved with.
Trained formally at Sheridan College, the St. Peter’s alumnus honed his craft over the years since, notable projects including a 2006 canoe-related documentary he worked on with Tony Buell and, a few years back, working with Rob Viscardis to produce Before We Arrive: The Story of The Weber Brothers.
Then there was 2012’s Highways To Fairways, a Bent Nose Media-produced 14-part TV series about two bad golfers scouring the world for unique golf courses. Kelly served as director of photography and lead editor for that production.
For all his skill, however, Kelly says the road to having Hoonin’ All Day aired on Velocity was paved with “sheer luck.”
After going to Michigan to try and get a job with a show called Roadkill — an automotive-themed show co-hosted by former Hot Rod Magazine editor-in-chief David Freiburger — Kelly discovered it’s “incredibly hard to get a creative job across the border.”
Undeterred, he opted to produce a similar show back home in Canada, involving a few friends and even fewer dollars.
“We virtually had no budget … we just winged it,” says Kelly. “In total we produced four pilot episodes for release on YouTube and started shopping the show to sponsors and anybody I could talk to in the media and car world.”
“As soon as we had our first episode done, the one that’s going to air on Velocity, I took that and flew down to Georgia to meet with Roadkill co-host Mike Finnegan at the Caffeine and Octane Car Show. “I said ‘Here’s our show, it’s totally RoadKill-inspired’, all while hoping that would lead to something.”
VIDEO: Hoonin’ All Day Episode 1: Blackstock Derby
It did, in the form of 10 episodes developed for Velocity’s on-demand platform. It was there things sat until word came that Velocity was going to air an episode of the show for its national audience.
With the April 27th airing date nearing, Kelly is pumped.
“It’s the most thrilling thing, the most gratifying experience, to be part of … when you don’t know if it’s the best thing to be spending your money and time on, but your gut tells you to go for it,” he says.
“When it starts to pan out and things start happening and people notice what you’re doing, it so fulfilling. I can’t describe how excited we all are. Creatively, it was a lot of fun to just wing it and not really pre-plan too much.
“Things happened naturally and unfolded in front of the camera. You take those moments and build from them. We had a bit of template but it wasn’t scripted that much. The guys are natural comedians.”
And in Alfred Hitchcock-like fashion, the filmmaker also appears in Hoonin’ All Day, having used what he terms “a bit of camera magic” to make that happen.
“We’re going to get together at my parents’ house to watch it. There’s a big TV in the basement, so we’re going to check it out and have a couple of celebratory beers.”
