As Novocastrians were asked the question whether Supercars should stay on Newcastle's calendar, hundreds of race fans answered with an emphatic yes on the weekend.
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Young fans jumped at the opportunity to meet some of their heroes as drivers returned to the city for the first time since 2019 at a Supercars community day in Civic Park.
Erebus Motorsport's Will Brown was excited to show off his Camaro which will be unleashed in the Supercars' new era from March 10-12.
"Getting down here three weeks' out from the event to see everything coming together, and spend some time with the fans at things like today just helps to build a bit more anticipation ahead of our first race here in three years," he said.
"It's great that so many families came out today, I got beaten by a couple of the local kids at the footy passing competition, but it was a lot of fun and can't wait to see those guys again in race week.
"We want to put on a show when we come back to race here in March, for the fans from right around that are coming to check out the new Gen3 cars in action for the first time."
The event coincided with City of Newcastle launching a survey which chief executive Jeremy Bath said would help shape councillors' views ahead of any decision on a potential offer to host the high-octane event for five more years.
"Should Destination NSW and Supercars decide they want to extend the Newcastle 500 for another five years, our elected council will need to decide if we agree to again be the host city," Mr Bath said.
