Daniel Wick is a two-sport national champion

At the 2023 Australian Senior Dirt Track Championship at Albury-Wodonga last month, the Gunnedah rider finally won a national title after a string of minor placings.

Daniel took out the MX Open final, and also finished third in the Pro 450 class.

"It was awesome," he said of being crowned national champion. "Once you achieve it, I guess, it's not really that hard."

Read also:

The moment was made even more special because his family was there to witness it including his mother and father, Narelle and Steve, as well as his partner Adele Klopf and their children Macey, 3, and Robbie, 2.

For the uninitiated, the Wicks family are acclaimed whipcrackers. Daniel has won 18 Australian whipcracking titles, meaning he's a rarity: an athlete who has won national championships in more than one sport.

Meanwhile, he won a ninth consecutive bullock-whip world championship this year.

At race meetings, Steve works alongside his son in the pits.

"Took the ol' man on the victory lap, so he loved it," Daniel said of the MX Open national title triumph, adding that he owed his folks "a hell of a lot".

"I guess it's that thing in life that you enjoy together, and you go away and make a family weekend of it," he said of racing.

The same applies to whipcracking, with Daniel keen to expose his children to both sports. Macey and Robbie have already started cracking a whip.

Being a father was "awesome", Daniel said, adding: "Something pretty cool to have in your life. Got to prioritise going away and doing stuff with them.

"Yeah, good to see them grow up and start riding push bikes and motorbikes themselves."

At Gunnedah's Balcary Park this weekend, Daniel has an excellent chance of winning another national championship. He's in second place heading into the final two rounds of the Aussie Flat Track Nationals - Australia's premier flat-track series.

Read more: Katie Sozou: Tamworth mum comes from a family of gun whipcrackers

Daniel is 48 points behind fellow New South Walshman Mick Kirkness in the premier Pro 450 class, with 450 points on offer across eight races this weekend.

"It should be good," Wicks said. "I'm feeling pretty confident, so we'll see what happens."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:

Bookmark northerndailyleader.com.au