The two-day event starts on Saturday with local and interstate teams competing for a place in the finals. 

The competition is the the penultimate round of the 2018-19 Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series.

Beat The Heat Victoria team member Mick Petrov will be racing as part of the Beat Western Australian team, and Shuttleworth will accompany him as crew member. 

Beat the Heat is a program founded by off-duty police, which gets young people involved in legal drag racing, car maintenance and other aspects of motorsport. 

Shuttleworth is an apprentice mechanic at Grampian Ford in Ararat, as well as an Ararat CFA member.

He has volunteered extensively with Beat the Heat Ararat, educating other young people, scrutineering, safety briefings, and displaying the race cars.

His efforts prompted Beat the Heat Victoria to approve his application for the role as crew member in Western Australia.

He completed four passenger rides at full speed on Thursday to get a feel for how the cars handle and get an idea of how to troubleshoot in a race environment. 

“I am really excited about this opportunity, and want to thank my bosses at Grampian Ford and the Beat the Heat community for supporting me in going," he said.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It's great to be able to work with cars and have a hobby in motorsport." 

The event is at the Perth Motorplex in Kwinana, which is a quarter-mile drag strip.

The Australian National Drag Racing Association governs the event, which hosts thousands of spectators who come to see Australia’s top racing competitors battle it out.

Petrov will be racing in Super Street class in Tango 3, which is a VE Commodore station wagon and part of the Beat The Heat WA fleet.

Tango 3 runs mid 11 second passes on the quarter mile, which is about 190 kilometres an hour.

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