The opening round for the 2009/2010 ANDRA Drag Racing Series was a corker at the Kwinana Motorplex. Over 250 entries, including 13 Pro Stockers. There was a heap of other stuff there as well, so here's a few pics to get you warmed up for the new season.
And to finish off, an absolute ripper. Mark Jackson's FX has a two-barrel, six cylinder, nitrous-fed engine that he shifts through a four-speeed. Up, up and away!
Sydney-siders might remember this tough little Capri from the old Eastern Creek days. The owner has recently given the car a serious birthday and we'll feature the beast in our next issue, on sale 17 June.
Gotta love Jason and Glen Bearham's HQ. Weighing in at a hefty 3700lb, the budget-built beast pulled a new PB of 9.73 @ 141 mph at the Tin Tops. The powerplant is a 350 Chev, assisted by a pair of turbos, plus water/methanol injection and Martini unleaded race fuel. Neato! Photo: Fred Dwyer
Owner: Jamie Farmer
Car: '97 Mustang
Engine: 500ci Chev
Turbos: Garret GT429R
Power: 1300hp
Weight: 3500lbs
Rubber: Mickey Thompson radials
ET: 8.6 @ 139mph
Congrats to Mark Hayes, who took out the Street Machine Streetcar Superstars event at WSID yesterday. The event aimed to find Australia's fastest streetcar, with entrants having to undertake a cruise from the track to St Marys and then race on DOT-approved tyres. Mark found some tough opposition from Rob Godfrey and John Habbib, but won out with a best of 8.3-seconds. WIth his stereo pumping in between round, Mark drove his car up to the line for each race and generally looked every inch the amazing street car it is. Well done mate!
Photos: Simon Davidson
Queensland Pro Street racer Angela Dow took the covers off her revamped LX hatch at Summernats 22. Despite the fact that this car is destined to run 7s, the build quality is stunning. Angie's dad - George - built the engine and did a ton of fabrication work. The rocker covers alone were made from billet and took three months! The hatch won Top Competition at the Tuff Street awards.
Robert Pace's stunning LX Torana hatch, as seen in our July 2008 issue.
The Castrol Edge Tin Top Titles are on this weekend and things are lookings very exciting. For starters, both Top Doorslammer and Pro Stock are running 16 car fields for the first time. This has to be one of the best changes in Group 1 drag racing and should make for some very entertaining action for the fans. The Street Machine Pro Street class will be back for the second year, with all the Pro Street and Mod Street classes running together in one heads-up bracket. So get along and support the bad boys!
Photo: Peter Bateman
Mark Arblaster pulling the fronts in his famous Val. With a Procharged, intercooled and EFI big block, WAR440 has made over 1000hp at the treads on pump fuel, but getting all that to the ground via leaf springs has been a challenge to say the least! Mark recently ran a new PB at WSID of 8.47 @ 164mph, with a best-ever 60 foot time of 1.34. Arby has a new project on the way that is gonna turn some heads, so watch out Mopar fans.
Tug in the Park at Stanwell Tops is one of our favourite little rod runs. Great location, chilled vibe and you'll never know what will turn up! Matt Basanovic's Capri startled everyone by driving in through the gates at Tug. We are guessing he had a trailer around the corner, but jeez did she sound tough! The matt-black exterior belies the serious dollars invested in this car - check out the carbon fibre interior if you ever get a chance. A week after Tug, Matt claimed the Pro Street Unblown record with a scorching 7.58-second pass at 177mph at WSID!Can't imagine the Trick and Mansweto boys will take that lying down though...
