Dad's pride in special Chahda milestone

An elusive victory for son Matt would be the “most special moment” for father Amin on what is a special weekend for the Chahda family.

Matt, 29, becomes the fifth driver to record 50 Super2 round starts at this weekend’s Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint.

Chahda joins all-time starts leader Aaron McGill (76 rounds) Geoff Emery (58), Marcus Zukanovic and Andrew Jones (57 each).

The privateer racer will carry the #50 this weekend on his ZB Commodore in the place of his regular #18.

The Albury driver’s Super2 journey began in 2015, with Amin an accomplished racer of his own.

Notably, Amin won the AMRC-run V8 Touring Car Challenge in the mid-2000s, and also raced AUSCARs.

Matt’s journey has accelerated in recent years, and the addition of engineer Brian Cottee and a former Brad Jones Racing Commodore is already paying dividends.

Chahda applies the #50 to his Commodore

Chahda finished third in Race 2 in Newcastle last month, having recorded a number of strong results in 2022.

“It’s a tough game, and it’s getting tougher every year,” Amin told Supercars.com.

“This is one of the toughest fields ever, and we’re right up there at the front.

“In Newy on Sunday, we were four-hundredths from pole — if he didn’t lock-up, we’re on pole.

“It’s a big testament to Brian, he's the brains — he’s brought us forward leaps and bounds.”

Prior to 2023, the Chahdas had leased out cars and were restricted with what they could do.

This year, with Cottee in his corner, Matt is already in discussions to fight for the title — a point the driver himself reiterated last week.

“We owned our cars early days, then we started leasing… we tried to do what we could,” Amin explained.

The Chahda/Robotham Bathurst wildcard

“The Falcon was hard, it wasn’t our car — we were leasing it, and we were fighting a lot.

"This car’s ours, we can do anything we want. We can change things, make it better, make Matt comfortable.

"That’s been a big help too, and we’re reaping the rewards."

While a breakthrough win remains the ultimate goal, Amin couldn’t move past his son’s remarkable wildcard effort in last year’s Repco Bathurst 1000.

Chahda junior and Jaylyn Robotham carried a Caltex-backed Walkinshaw Andretti United Commodore to 18th — and on the lead lap — in what was a chaotic race.

That weekend, the drivers earned the ultimate praise from veteran engineer Wally Storey — and Amin still couldn’t shake the feeling.

“I still sit back and think, ‘Wow’, we did it’. I still get stopped and people congratulate us on it,” Amin said of Bathurst.

“I walked out on pit road at 5:00 o’clock in the morning of race day, and I couldn’t move — I had goosebumps.

'We’re a family team, and we’re a proud family'

“I wanted to soak it all up, then all of a sudden, ‘Shit, it’s all over’.

“It was such a proud day for all of us, and the boys did an incredible job."

Come Friday, and Chahda will roll out of pit lane for Practice 1 in what is his ninth season in Super2.

For Amin, the motivation to keep racing is buoyed by a common goal with his son: “The win would mean everything to us.

“The way we’ve run it — we’re a family team, and we’re a proud family.

“For us to get a win, I don’t know how I’d take it — it would be the most special moment."

Dunlop Series drivers will take to CARCO.com.au Raceway on Friday for two practice sessions.

Tickets for this weekend’s Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint are on sale on Supercars.com and Ticketek.com.