Webb Chat

As he winds back his show-judging commitments, the legendary Owen Webb gives us a peek behind the curtain at the world of automotive judging.

- Craig Parker

AFTER 27 years at the centre of Australia’s show scene, judging supremo Owen Webb OAM recently announced he’s winding back his car show commitments – which includes standing down as chief steward at the Street Machine Summernats and Meguiar’s MotorEx. During his phenomenal career, few have matched the passion, drive and ability to motivate and inspire car builders as the man they call Webby.

With this ending of an era, we asked Owen to reflect on how the sport has evolved over the years and for his take on his remarkable contribution to the world of automotive show judging.

How did this all come about?

As a panel beater and spray painter with my own restoration business, I built a few cars in the 80s and 90s that did well at shows, including Bruiser, my black XW ute, and my blue XY sedan Wild Thing. After Wild Thing’s success at Summernats 1, Chic Henry approached me about joining the judging team for Summernats 3. I said yes, thinking that I might do it for a year or so, before getting back to a few other cars that I still wanted to build.

How did you learn the art of judging?

I was fortunate enough to be paired with Carl Dolezal. He was a very experienced paint judge that had been doing it since day one. He taught me a lot. The other experienced judges like Bill Giles (chief steward at Summernats 1 to 11) and my good friend John Taverna were also very helpful. That’s just how it is; all the long-term members, like Tony Cairns, Brian Willis, John Hristias, Carina Bates, Clint DiGiovanni, Matt Gilkes and Mark Hayes have always helped everyone else.

What’s changed over the years?