At the Pheasant Wood motorsport circuit in Marulan, New South Wales, Breeanna Till stepped out of her race car, her helmet in hand, and expressed her excitement about the thrill of racing. For Till, who lost her husband, Sergeant Brett Till, while he was serving in Afghanistan, racing has become a way to cope with intrusive thoughts and focus on the present.

"It's super cool, chasing that millimetre extra, and suddenly your world gets that little bit bigger and then everything else might seem a little bit smaller in comparison," she said.

Till, who was pregnant with her son Ziggy when her husband died in 2008, has embraced motorsport as a shared experience with her teenage son. She advocates for veterans, war widows, and their families, emphasizing the importance of engaging in activities together.

"The more you can dive into doing different things and new experiences, the better you feel," she added.

For Till, racing is not just a sport; it is a form of therapy. "It's just you and your car, and you're having your moment and you're in sync," she explained. "When I'm attuned to that, I'm not attuned to the washing load that I forgot to hang out before I left, or the to-do list that's constantly in my head."

Two years ago, veteran Tom Lauder invited Vinh Tran, a military vehicle enthusiast, to the Pheasant Wood Circuit. Tran, a survivor of the Vietnam War, has seen the positive impact of motorsport on veterans.

"He loves motorsport. I see how happy he is, and there's a lot of veterans who ride motorbikes; a sense of freedom is the therapy," Tran said.

Tran's organization, Military Vehicle, hosts the Veteran Family Track Day, which aims to support veterans and their families in three key ways.

"First, it acts as therapy to help veterans when they're driving," he said. "They find something in the back of their mind, this settles them down. It's a therapy — it's fast, but it's not about racing."

The second benefit is the driving school, where veterans can teach their children or grandchildren how to drive safely. "It means so much to them and they see, 'I can help my grandson again,'" Tran noted.

The third aspect of the event is fundraising, aimed at raising awareness and support for Vietnamese children affected by war, including those suffering from the effects of Agent Orange.

"Hopefully we can get sponsorship for our fundraising activity, sending money to help kids in Vietnam, so these three things are what we aim for here," Tran said.

Military Vehicle provides the cars used during the event. These vehicles are not racing cars but are affordable and easy to maintain.

"The veterans … they retire, they're sick, they stay home, they do nothing. And now we've got a permanent base they can come and work on a car," Tran explained.

Mark Winter, a former soldier, spends his time at the Military Vehicle headquarters repairing and respraying cars. He described his experience as a way to cope with his own struggles.

"PTSD is a terrible thing, but working on cars for others to enjoy driving, that's my happy place. Your mind feels safer because you have achieved something," Winter said.

The initiative not only provides a therapeutic outlet for veterans but also fosters a sense of community and purpose among participants.