Drag News Magazine Issue 45

// ISSUE 45

// Khain Mackey’s Powerful Premier McClure Family’s Barra Torana Graeme Horner’s Turbocharged Commodore Greg Durack’s Quick Kawasaki The Quarter Mile Drag Racing Experience Perth Motorplex Snapshots //

// CONTENTS

Drag News Magazine Issue 45 Print Date: February 5, 2020 Editor: Luke Nieuwhof (luke@dragnews.com.au) Advertising: Rob Sparkes (advertising@dragnews.com.au) Subscriptions: Grant Stephens (grant@dragnews.com.au)

REDEFINING RADIAL: Jarrod Wood’s stunning new Corvette has set a new standard for looks and power.

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EXTREME EXPERIENCE: You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars to experience the thrill of drag racing, just talk with Kyle Putland!

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THE BARRARANA: Merging two Aussie classics might be controversial, but it’s also fast!

PURPLE PAVEMENT EATER: Khain Mackey has taken his Premier from a daily driver to a seven second monster.

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DRAGGIN’ FOR DARRYL: Graeme Horner took no shortcuts when paying tribute to his brother.

PLUS: Boost Bike (54), Championship Update (58), Perth Motorplex Snapshots (60).

FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHERS: Joe Maday (NSW) - maday@mail2joseph.com Dave Reid (Qld) - sales@dragphotos.com.au Hayley Turns (Vic) - haylzjeep@gmail.com John Bosher (NSW) - johnbosher@hotmail.com Jay Treasure (WA) - jattyt@hotmail.com Craig Radcliffe (NT) - crazyhouse0830@bigpond.com

WANT TO SEND US CONTENT? Send an email to press@dragnews.com.au.

LEGAL: All content is copyright to Drag News Australia Pty Ltd and may not be reproduced in any form without express written permission. Views expressed in this magazine by interviewees do not represent those of Drag News Australia Pty Ltd.

// EDITORIAL

As we go to press, the second season of Formula One’s documentary mini series Drive to Survive is about to air on Netflix.

Since Liberty Media’s takeover of Formula One, the sport has been far more open with its product, expanding further into social media and building its fanbase in less traditional spaces. Drive to Survive was a perfect example of framing the product in a way that non-racing fans can find entertaining and engaging.

If you haven’t seen the show, it spends a lot of time behind the scenes with drivers and team principals following the politics and drama of Formula One. It’s addictive viewing because the racing is just a backdrop to stories about the people involved.

The Netflix show helped offset poor TV ratings, which have been a thorn in the side for Formula One. While the money for broadcast rights goes along way to funding the sport, the drop in eyeballs watching individual races does affect metrics for sponsors.

I’ve now heard several anecdotes about people becoming fans of Formula One because of Drive to Survive. These aren’t people who I expected to be into motorsport; two of them were young women.

It has been some time since anyone has changed the game for drag racing broadcasts. The tired model of showing each pair run down the track is still pretty much the standard. Even the big budget productions of the NHRA still struggle to bring the personalities of the drivers to the forefront.

Streaming media has significantly modified how people consume video entertainment. Where free-to-air TV was once the be-all and end-all, people now have myriad options such as Netflix, YouTube, Stan and Disney+. More media than ever before is available, but it is also harder than ever to try and reach a significant portion of the population, because the ratings pie has been cut up into ever smaller and smaller pieces as more options arrive.

The sport of drag racing has many live streaming options now, but these tend to be on individual platforms such as NHRA.tv, 400 Thunder on Ovo or SpeedVideo. This is great for drag racing fans but a poor way to make new fans. It is unlikely a casual viewer is going to outlay any money to check out a sport they don’t currently have a personal investment in.

It would be great to see one of the major series follow a similar path to Formula One’s Drive to Survive and deliver the personalities of the sport in new and exciting ways. But then I also wonder, is drag racing ready for that? Formula One is assuredly a business whereas drag racing, even at the highest levels of the NHRA, is still a hobby for most.

The team owners and drivers would have to be prepared to reveal who they are, warts and all – and I don’t know if they would be up for it.

It is unlikely a casual viewer is going to outlay any money to check out a sport they don’t currently have a personal investment in.

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- Luke Nieuwhof

STAND WITH THE DRAG RACING INDUSTRY Drag News Magazine is rebooting its business listings. Rather than one page with all the listings, we will be running small ads throughout the magazine, sized like this one.

These ads are supremely affordable at just $300 for the year (eight issues), including a print subscription valued at $90. Or for $600 we will include your business logo in our email blasts, reaching over 4100 people.

Email advertising@dragnews.com.au to take up the offer and support your industry’s magazine.

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// SHUTTER SPEED ALL WHEEL DRIVE, ALL WHEELSTAND: Anthony Maatouk shows that wheelstands aren’t just for rear wheel drive vehicles as his Nissan Skyline climbs high at mid-track.

Canon EOS 1DX at 263mm, 1/1000sec, F5.6, ISO 2000 Photo by cacklingpipes.com.

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Photo by Luke Nieuwhof.

Sony A7III at 200mm, 1/2000sec, F6.3, ISO 800

EPIC: Bob Motz’s jet truck has to be seen to be believed. It’s drag racing exhibition violence at its finest.

// SHUTTER SPEED

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REDEFINING

RADIAL

Jarrod Wood’s Radial vs The World Corvette has raised the bar across every measure.

By Luke Nieuwhof.

Photos by Luke Nieuwhof.

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As the sun began to set over Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida, the golden light caught Jarrod Wood and his Radial vs The World Corvette. This car is damn enough close to performance as sculpture; an artwork of speed. Drag racing has a reputation for delivering vehicles that move as fast as they look, but if appearances are any indication then this Corvette is going to enter hyperspace.

Wood was first drawn into drag racing when he wanted to compete in Street Machine’s Drag Challenge event, the Australian version of Hot Rod’s Drag Week. He was a car guy already, but Drag Challenge opened his eyes to the addictive nature of the drag strip.

It didn’t take long for Wood to make an impression, as he built a Holden HQ one tonner specifically for the 2016 event. Running a 600 cubic inch big block Chev and a pair of Pro Mod-spec 88mm turbochargers, Wood made the quickest pass in the event’s history at the time, a 7.71 at 184mph – all while driving some 1500 kilometres over five days.

“I hadn’t really been involved with drag racing before that,” he said.

“Me and Andy at Specialised Power Porting built the car and Dandy Engines put together the big block for it. We had only a couple of days to get it sorted, yet we ended up running 7.71 on the last day of Drag Challenge and set the record.

“I’d had cars, but never drag cars. After running Drag Challenge I just wanted to go faster.”

It was the burgeoning radial drag racing scene that drew Wood’s attention. The growth of this wild genre of drag racing has been hard to miss over the past decade, having perhaps the greatest impact on doorslammer racing since the advent of Pro Mod. “Radial racing is pure excitement because you don’t know what is going to happen,” Wood said. “There’s no wheelie bars, there’s big power, it’s so good.”

The ute had delivered faithfully at Drag Challenge, but had too much weight for radial racing, where getting the car moving at a dead hook is the priority.

“The HQ was way too heavy, it was like 4380 pounds in total,” Wood explained.

Wood went in search of a more evolved race car in 2017 and found Kevin Mullins’ Ford Mustang for sale. The car was a former world record holder, having set fire to the radial record books in 2014 when Mullins dropped a 4.11/193mph pass at Lights Out V – when the record was still a 4.19.

Wood tested the car in the USA before shipping it back to Australia where the race was on for the first three second pass on radial tyres down under. At the time, the heavy hitters of the class were all chasing the mark, including Perry Bullivant, Matthew Grubisa and Daniel Pharris in Kyle Hopf’s Camaro.

With some more development from both Wood and Mullins’ TKM Performance, the Mustang tore up the record books once again when it delivered the first three second pass in Australian radial tyre history with a 3.99/196mph at the Kenda Radial Riot in September 2018.

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Victoria’s Jarrod Wood has taken the best equipment from across the globe to build one of the most stunning Radial vs The World cars anywhere.

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“That was pretty cool to do,” Wood said. “Kevin was there which made it even more special. It was a bit different in the car because you don’t get to see the start line but from what I was told everyone was jumping around and going nuts, so it was pretty good to be the first.”

With one more item checked off his list, Wood was quickly off to the USA to compete in the 2018 running of No Mercy, where he drove Bill Schurr’s mad Hemi-powered Jeep in the X275 class. He followed up in March of 2019 when he shipped the Mustang back to the USA to take part in the unique Sweet 16 event. Run by Duck X Productions, the same promoter of the No Mercy and Lights Out meets, Sweet 16 is one of drag racing’s few equivalents of a pay-per-view show with spectator tickets limited to an expensive few and the race broadcast online.

Since its record pass in Australia, the Mustang had been lightened and equipped with a FuelTech FT600.

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There Wood clocked a 3.83/205mph, impressing in one of the oldest cars in the field. It was proving a reliable steed, but then a deal that was too good to refuse came up.

“Another one of Kevin’s good mates and customers had a new Corvette in the build, and he asked me if I wanted to buy it,” Wood said. “He realised it was going to be a bit too much work to run something like that, it’s not a holiday. I said to Kevin I was keen if he was keen.”

The C7 Corvette was a full tube chassis build right from the start, providing a modern base for the copious amounts of horsepower now possible. The Mustang wasn’t far off that either, but it still began its life in a factory.

“The Mustang started out as a street car. It had a lot of work and probably wasn’t even a three quarter car by the end, but it had the front chassis rails on it. It even had the tags still. If you want to be a frontrunner now

you need a tube chassis and you need it to be light.”

The Corvette was sent to TKM Performance as a bare roller and Wood and Mullins took care of the rest. As a boilermaker by trade, Wood was well skilled to take care of the remaining fabrication and then learned more from Mullins on the motor side of things as the car came together.

“We’ve built the two engines together. Kevin honed them and measured everything and then he showed me how to put them together. We got everything mounted and then sent the car off to paint at Hat Creek Customs just before No Mercy in 2019.”

Speaking of engines, the Australian influence would not only be felt in the driver’s seat, with Wood and Mullins choosing the Noonan 4.9 Hemi as their powerplant of choice, topped with two 98mm Precision turbos.

“The Noonan Hemi has been really good to work on, the way the heads come off in the car with the

manifold still on,” Wood said. “It is a great engine and we are just starting to figure it out now. It has been specced by Kevin with the camshaft and what not.

There’s a two-speed Turbo 400, we also have a threespeed, and a Neal Chance converter. It currently has a fabricated rear end but we are putting in one of Steve Ham’s billet rear ends, because it is nice kit and we want to try and support Australian people.”

The power figures being produced by the top Radial vs The World cars are reaching insane levels. Apart from rarely run Outlaw Pro Mod classes, they are likely the most powerful doorslammers in the world.

Wood’s Corvette made 3600 horsepower at 36psi on the dyno, and that was just to make sure everything worked.

“The old 4.8 Noonan Hemi made 5200hp on other cars, so we think this motor will be over 5000hp horsepower at its peak. We just have to work out how to get from A to B.”

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: The days of a motor like the Noonan 4.9 Hemi needing to be topped off with a supercharger for big power are long over. A roomy interior has been filled to the brim with carbon fibre and chrome moly steel. Wood has two transmission choices, with the two currently using a two-speed Turbo 400. A FuelTech dash displays all of the critical engine information and then some. The Noonan Hemi was specced by Kevin Mullins and is expected to produce over 5000 horsepower once developed.

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ABOVE: Kevin Mullins and Jarrod Wood have made for a solid team, bringing together a mutual addiction to radial drag racing from opposites sides of the world.

Wood described the Corvette as an accidental show car, thanks to the pristine billet of the Noonan motor combined with the RSM polished pipework. The whole car is decked out with titanium nuts and bolts thanks to Jarrod’s own WM Titanium Products business.

“The car is really light. We don’t have to be super light (the current weight limit for twin turbos in Radial vs The World is 2825 pounds) but we can move the weight where we need it.”

The whole car represents the rapid evolution of radial drag racing. This is a class where the world record dropped by over half a second in the space of five years, and that’s on the eighth mile. No other category has seen such incredible advances in pace.

“Everything has evolved,” Wood said. “The rear ends and the converters are probably the biggest part. It’s all a lot more reliable and so much development has gone into making radial cars fast. Turbo cars used to take forever to spool, but now in four or five seconds you are ready to leave. All the ECUs have come a long way and the track prep is a big thing as well. We are still trying to move a heavy weight forward fast, and that will always be the challenge.”

So far Wood has only had some brief opportunities to experience the potential of the Corvette. We caught him in Bradenton, Florida, where some niggling problems saw him decide to get the car back to TKM in North Carolina to better prepare for the upcoming Lights Out race.

“This car feels a lot better to drive, because it is a lot longer, lower and lighter.

Everything about it is newer technology. We’ve had good early numbers on a couple of our test hits.”

The priority right now for Wood is on the USA, where the Corvette will stay for a few years. Eventually he will take it back to Australia but only after he has had a chance to see if he can make a statement in one of the toughest categories in drag racing.

“It would be good to go 3.50s, even 40s. We have the parts and the power to do it, we just have to work out how to do it. Without Kevin, Sammy and Eric from TKM there is no way I’d be doing what I am doing.”

Wood expects radial events to continue growing in Australia, especially thanks to the influx of cars coming from America.

“There are plenty of cars in Australia already, but then you have more of the old American cars being brought in, cars that perhaps aren’t quite at the top of Radial vs The World in the States but are still good cars,” he said.

“It’s a population thing. You can’t spend all the money on glue (traction compound) for an event with 100 cars – they get 100 cars to a test day in America. But Australia will get there in time.” DNM

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E X TREME

EXPERIENCE Kyle and Keira Putland are showcasing drag racing and giving people the rides of their lives.

By Luke Nieuwhof.

Photos by Luke Nieuwhof.

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Drag racing ten

Kyle and wife Keira have developed the Quarter Mile Drag Racing Experience to be more than just a ride.

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ds to be a selfish affair.

It’s not like bringing another fishing rod for a day on the water or inviting someone to come camping; there’s one hot seat and everyone else is in a supporting role.

There are limited opportunities to share the experience, but Western Australian racer Kyle Putland and wife Keira are changing that by running the Quarter Mile Drag Race Experience, taking people for adrenaline-charged rides in three-seater dragsters.

Putland has been working his way up through the tiers of drag racing for some years now, starting in Modified before moving into Comp with a very quick naturally aspirated altered (which we featured in our very first issue of Drag News Magazine). He also had a brief foray into nitro with a few passes in an Outlaw Nitro Funny Car. With a keen business mind, he wanted to share his own passion for drag racing while building another small business to go alongside his existing endeavour, Hydraulic Technical Solutions.

“I literally woke up one morning and I said to Keira, ‘Babe, I’ve got this idea of taking people for a ride in a drag car.’ Then it became a mission to find some cars,” he said.

First Putland thought building some dragsters would be the right path, and contacted some chassis shops to investigate the option.

He knew of the existing three-seater dragsters in Sydney, but hadn’t seen any ‘for sale’ signs on them recently.

“After speaking to lots of people I thought I would contact the Sydney guys and see if they wanted to sell them. They weren’t for sale initially, but we got talking to them and we were able to strike a deal.”

It turned out to be a helpful option, as Putland was guided through the details of running the cars as a business.

“Without the support of the people that had the cars, doing something like the Quarter Mile Drag Racing Experience would be next to impossible. They have been very helpful with insurance and everything that goes with taking people for 250kmh rides.”

Cars sorted, Putland next needed to put a team in place to manage everything during a ride day. That turned out to be an extensive list of requirements, from fitting race suits to activating on-board cameras. He drew on family and friends to fill the roles, but there was one he needed more trust in than any other and that was a second driver. For that seat, Putland chose Al McClure, one of WA’s most experienced drag racers. The bonus was that Putland could get the whole McClure family involved, including his wife Natalie who looks after the safety gear, and sons Connor and Bailey who take care of getting people in and out of the cars and any between run maintenance.

“I’ve been racing with Al for years and they are close family friends,” Putland said. “Al has got so much experience, over 30 years racing all kinds of cars. The whole family are great people and their passion for drag racing is just as big as ours.”

Then there is Keira, who Kyle actually met at the track (she was a crew member on Russell Ladbrook’s Top Alcohol Funny Car). She runs a beauty therapy business and understands the value of good customer service, and Kyle said she had been great in greeting and organising people when they arrive at the track.

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CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: Family and friends, including the McClure drag racing dynasty, are there on ride days to help facilitate the smooth running of the Quarter Mile Drag Racing Experience. An onboard camera captures the impressions of passengers and measures acceleration information. Cooling is extensive on the car, with multiple transmission coolers in place to ensure the dragsters can complete anywhere up to 40 laps over a day. Hard, fast and real - sums it up really! The driver’s cockpit is just like any other Modified dragster for the most part, it even has a delay box in place still. The passenger has a more spartan view, with a replica steering wheel in place to hold on to. The three-seater chassis is a rare sight in drag racing and Putland is currently operating two of just six cars worldwide.

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“She is why our ride days run so well and are organised. Other than the little talk I give, I sit in the car all day while she is making sure everything actually works through the day. That is really valuable.”

When you are taking people for rides in a dragster, one unavoidable issue is that it is all over very quickly. A matter of seconds for the run, and just a few minutes in total including the pre and post-run prep. Putland wanted to make sure people got value for money and focused on building the experience around the run.

Passengers first sign all the paperwork before they are given a race suit to wear to get into the mood of the day. Close by, the Quarter Mile Drag Racing Experience has a practice tree for them to play with and get photos next to.

Putland then rounds up everybody and takes them to the start line, where they get an up close look at the staging area and feel the sticky track under their feet. He gives details about the cars and the drivers, as well as the team of 12 people who assist on the day.

“As drag racers we are used to it but some people have never stood on the start line before,” Putland said.

“We say it is not just another hot lap, it is the whole experience, so we try to build as much of an experience into the session as possible, rather than just giving a ride.”

From there things start to get down to business, with the passengers given helmets, gloves and arm restraints before they are assisted into the cars and strapped in tight.

“Then we go and scare the sh*t out of them,” Putland laughed.

At the big post-Christmas ride day we attended, one of the dragsters did 40 passes – more than some teams will do in a whole season. Every cooling trick in the book is used to cope with the demands of ferrying thrill-seekers down the quarter mile and back up the return road.

Thankfully the engines are methanol-fuelled, which provides a cooling effect. There are multiple transmission coolers in place and the routine is kept relatively quick between the initial fire up, burnout and run.

“To do 40 laps in six hours without any maintenance is pretty impressive and managing the temperatures is the key to that,” Putland said. “We are really conscious of our maintenance between events to make sure the reliability is there. If we don’t have reliability the business doesn’t work.”

Having two dragsters available was important to Putland to ensure a level of redundancy in case one car had a problem, potentially saving a day of bookings.

“It wasn’t an option not to have a back up,” he said.

The dragsters use 580ci big blocks, and make a touch under 1000 horsepower. The set up is big and lazy, designed to provide peak acceleration while still being able to turn around quickly.

Unleashed on the quarter mile without passengers, they have run as quick as 7.8 seconds, and with passengers aboard they will still pull 2.7G on launch. They are two of only six three-seater dragsters

in the world.

Now, to fully understand this operation, it would be necessary for me to take a ride – the perks of the job I guess! Kyle was kind enough to open up a seat for myself and my wife Chancey.

The first thing we were impressed by was the professionalism of the branding. There was signage in place to direct people from the gates to the staging lanes, uniforms for all of the team members and well presented dragsters waiting nearby. It didn’t feel like something gritty or dirty, it was the high quality experience that people expect when they are giving someone a gift or treating themselves.

I’m no stranger to fast trips down the quarter mile. I’ve got a PB of 8.23 on my family’s Kawasaki drag bike and I drove the Ecclestone family’s nine second dragster for a season. I’ve even done a passenger trip before in the McSweeney brothers’ supercharged Ford Falcon.

It’s been about three years since I have raced though, and I was surprised by how fast the Quarter Mile Drag Racing Experience dragster felt. It really got up and boogied once it was out of the hole and I had a smile from ear to ear for most of the run.

I perhaps expected the run might feel a little tame, somewhat sanitised.

But afterwards I realised that couldn’t have been further from the truth. A ride in one of these dragsters is a great way to experience the acceleration normally reserved for a low eight second race car. I think anyone who was contemplating going drag racing, especially if they are looking at a rail, could do worse than to get a ride with Putland’s Quarter Mile Drag Racing Experience. It is the ultimate ‘taste test’ of the sport.

Chancey came into the experience differently prepared to myself.

She had a passing familiarity with the sport, but had never raced down a drag strip in any capacity. The only thing she had acceleration-wise to compare was a plane.

“I didn’t expect all the G-forces at the start, I think I thought it would be something like a jet where it ramps up, but this was all at once,” she said.

“I can see why people buy a second ride, it all happens so fast that you’re left wondering what just happened.”

Putland said watching people’s reactions is the best part of the business, from screams to cheers.

“Watching people’s smiles when they get out of the car, it is pretty special really,” he said. “We say to people at the start, ‘It sounds stupid, but you’re not going to be able to explain what it is like.’

They will have to tell their friends to do it for themselves. We even have to tell them to make sure they keep their eyes open; peoples instincts kick in and they just want to close their eyes! There is no feeling that can match acceleration.”

If you would like to book a ride for yourself or a friend, head to dragraceexperience.com.au. DNM

“Watching people’s smiles when they get out of the car, it is pretty special really.”

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Kyle leads a pack of adrenaline-seekers to the start line to give them an up close look at the dragsters and explain what they are in for.

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THE

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The McClure family bring new life to a rusted Torana with a wild conversion.

By Luke Nieuwhof.

Photos by Luke Nieuwhof.

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Few motors have developed a cult following like the Ford Barra six cylinder.

It’s arguably the equivalent of the old Holden red motors in terms of hot rodder appeal, but with a whole lot more horsepower potential.

As a shortcut to quick times on the drag strip without spending huge money, the Barra is proving hard to beat and even the traditionalist are taking note.

Western Australia’s McClure family have been a mainstay of racing at Perth Motorplex, moving up through the ranks of Super Sedan into Comp, where their funny cars, altereds and dragsters were national record setters and championship winners. Throw in a few Junior Dragsters and they have always been busy at the track. They’ve never been shy of trying new things and their latest creation, a Barra-powered Holden Torana for Outlaw Radial duties, has been one of their most attention-getting cars yet.

Family patriarch Al had owned and raced a Torana in the past, but the car had been sold a long time ago. He wanted another one to build into a drag car for his boys once they were out of Junior Dragsters, but Torana prices have been nothing to sneeze at in the last decade, so a rescue was more attractive for the former panel beater turned concreter.

“This car was sitting in a shed and it needed a lot of work,” Connor said.

“Dad was going to walk away from it, but he was heading out of the driveway and Mum said to him, ‘Just turn around and bloody go buy it.

You’ll never get anything like that again and you can fix anything.’

“It sat in the corner for maybe eight years and then when we started getting old enough and finished up in the Juniors, Dad started to do some stuff to it.”

Those familiar LC Torana body lines were there, but this was far from a glamorous street machine.

“It had nothing done to it and it was pretty rusted out,” Connor remembered. “It had one door ripped off it, every panel on the car had a different colour on the inside of it, so it was a ‘bitsa’ that is for sure.”

Al had taken on the task of home-building a drag car before. The first time was a Super Sedan Holden ute which saw service in the family for a number of years. He’d done roll cages for people here and there, and the next generation of Connor and Bailey were keen to build their own car together with their Dad. The radial tyre scene was just taking off as the family were deciding which direction to take the car in. Perth’s Outlaw Radial class is a little different to others around the country, running over the quarter mile, but the McClures liked the idea of the all-run format the class used.

Next was to find a motor that would be up to the job of making seven second runs, while not costing the earth.

“I’m right into the import scene, so I wanted an import engine, but I didn’t want to pay $30k to build a 2JZ or RB or something,” Connor said.

“So we looked away from the imports, but I still wanted a six cylinder, and that made the Barra motor a no brainer because of the availability and how easily they make horsepower.”

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RIGHT: The family McClure - that’s Al standing on the left and his wife Natalie on the right, with brothers Connor and Begley at left and right respectively.

BELOW: Connor lights up the tyres of the turbo Torrie in the burout box.

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Family friend and former drag racer Allan Kirk was out making a delivery one day when he saw a workshop, Monsta Torque, who seemed right into their Barra motors.

“We got in touch with Rob at Monsta Torque and I don’t think he knew what to think of us at first, going on about wanting to put a Barra in a Torana,” Connor laughed. “He might have been a little scared off at first but he has warmed up to us and been an awesome help.”

Connor found a Ford Falcon BF turbo motor on Facebook and bought it, but admitted they were still learning about the platform at the time.

“We would have been better off getting a $200 scrap motor, where I spent $1500 on an actual turbo motor, so we wasted a little bit of money there but you live and learn and we sold some bits off it to get the money back. It ended up being a dummy motor for the car.”

The motor now in the car is a far cry from a wrecker piece. There’s Manley rods and pistons inside, a Monsta Torque bottom end girdle, 9/16 size head studs and Crow Cams valve springs.

Supplying the 34 pounds of boost (which may be up around 44psi in the future) is an 80mm Garrett GTX4508R, attached to a Plazmaman forward facing plenum and a CRG exhaust manifold. Dual 2000cc injectors keep up with the methanol demands.

Calling the shots is a Haltech 2500 ECU, tuned by Rob at Monsta Torque. The car made just under 900 horsepower on the dyno but the team are confident that with the extra ten pounds of boost and four degrees of timing they have up their sleeves that 1000 horsepower will be possible.

The Torana is now a back half car, retaining the original floor pans but with four link suspension. The car remains all steel, with not a single fibreglass panel on it.

The transmission is a sentimental piece, a Powerglide originally used in the family’s supercharged altered. They set multiple national records with the box but sold it when they went to a manual. The friend who bought the Powerglide never ended up using it though, so when the time came to look for one for the Torana, he was the first stop.

The family began to show off some pics of the build as it neared completion, and the car earned plenty of attention via social media. A vocal minority consisting of single men living in their mother’s basement, who have never built cars themselves, were horrified at the prospect of a Ford motor in a Holden classic. But the more cultured fans realised this was a match made in heaven.

Holden arguably designed the better looking cars, but Ford was on to something real special with the Barra horsepower.

The car was completed with the help of other partners including Rotomotion, Keys Family Motorsport, Applied Automotive, Perth Isotropic Super Finishing, Advanced Auto Wreckers and Allfast Torque Convertors. The next thing to do was train a couple of new McClures on how to go fast down a drag strip, outside of the confines of a Junior Dragster.

“The only car I had driven after the Juniors was my Mum’s ute, which did an 11.0 at a street meet,” Connor said.

As you may have read elsewhere in this magazine, the McClures are an integral part of the Quarter Mile Drag Race Experience, which meant Kyle Putland was able to give Connor a sample of the speeds he could expect from the Torana.

“I had the feeling from the dragster, but driving it is completely different. It was a bit of a shock the first time it really nailed me back in the seat,” Connor said.

“It is just acceleration the whole way down the track because of the boost, it is always pulling you down track; it’s not a big hit and

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then a coast.”

While Al has plenty of drag racing experience from street cars to supercharged altereds, a radial tyre is a challenge he has not dealt with before, not to mention getting deep into suspension set up.

“With the radial tyre you have to be more gentle with it off the line, which has been a huge learning curve for us,” Connor said.

“We are rigid chassis guys who never really played with four links and stuff. We have put ourselves in at the deep end, especially running a 275, but we have had plenty of help from smart people like Geoff Black at Black Magic and all the radial guys have really been helpful with anything we had questions about.”

The car has now been as quick as 8.49 at 159mph after the team managed to sort out the launch.

“We had a fair bit of trouble with the car smoking the tyres. Geoff walked over to have a chat to us about the car and we told him we were struggling. He gave us some advice and straight away it showed an improvement. He said we were in the ballpark but just needed a little bit here and there, and the car completely changed on the start line.

“We have been slowly bringing the power in. You can feel it through the top end and when you hit the chute it gets your attention.”

Connor anticipates the car finishing in the seven second zone. He and brother Bailey are alternating the seat with Connor playing at the national opens while Bailey gets in for testing and Wednesday nights.

“We think the car has got sub-eight potential. We are creeping up on it and will be happy to keep improving through the year. If it doesn’t run a seven it isn’t going to phase us, we are happy to be out there and having fun.” DNM

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PURPLE

PAVEMENT

EATER

Khain Mackey doesn’t have to brag about this powerful Premier - he just lets the numbers do the talking.

By Luke Nieuwhof.

Photos by Hayley Turns.

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ABOVE LEFT: The 1967 Holden Premier began life as a six cylinder street car, before a fateful coat of paint saw things go overboard.

ABOVE RIGHT: Khain Mackey next to his pride and joy.

LEFT: Factory this is not. Mackey now has a 400ci small block carrying a pair of 88mm turbochargers.

The good racers always say they let their numbers do the talking.

Khain Mackey was quietly spoken, modest to the point of shyness when I called to interview him.

Not knowing much about Mackey or his history in drag racing, I asked him to tell me a bit about who he was, what was his deal?

“Mate, I’m just a self-employed concreter,” he said.

I had to think about how to represent this bloke, because I had photos of his amazing Holden Premier in front of me and yet he wasn’t convinced his story was anything special. But it is, because Mackey represents the story of so many racers, hard-working business owners the country and the world around who labour over their pride and joy on the weekends. He represents the ‘every man’, and it could be said his car reflects the hot street trends of the decades, taking advantage of better technology at each turn.

Mackey was on the search for a daily driver when he found the six cylinder Premier. It didn’t have racing pretensions at the time, just some of that early four-door Holden street swagger. But it was reliable enough for Mackey to think about giving it a new look. Just a quick paint job, he thought.

“Seven years later it was a totally different car,” he said.

What originally began as a bit of a makeover turned into open heart surgery. A small block Chev went under the bonnet and there was some chassis work done to strengthen everything up. The cruiser was now a decently quick street car.

“It was for the street but I took it to the track and it went 11.50s, that was around 2000 or so,” Mackey explained.

This concreter with a passion for speed was keen to go faster, and tried several more aspirated engines over the following years before turbocharging attracted his attention in 2006. More horsepower meant crossing a line from regular street use to more of a track car, but Mackey was happy with that choice.

“It was basically a 400 cube small block and we started with a blow-through carby,” he said. “We only had that set up on for one or two meetings though before we went to mechanical injection and I ran that for eight years.”

Much of that combination made it through to the version of the Premier seen on these pages.

The Chev uses Racer Pro 23 degree cylinder heads, a product that ended up providing a small headache for Mackey. It wasn’t so much the product itself that was a problem, just the fact that the company closes down and stopped making the heads.

“I had a crack in one of my cylinder heads, and I was worried I wouldn’t be able to get any new heads,” he said. “Racer Pro shut down business in 2016, but fortunately I ended up tracking a set down. I’ve also since had my damaged heads repaired. If I had to change cylinder heads now it would be way too much stuff to change; I’d have to modify the exhaust and everything. So two sets should do for now unless I do any catastrophic damage.”

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Providing the forced induction are a pair of Garrett GT4718 88mm turbochargers. The set up is controlled by a Holley EFI system and puts the power through a Coan converter-equipped Powerglide.

When the whole shebang was bolted on to a hub dyno it spun the rollers to the tune of 1850 horsepower, a figure Mackey believed had been higher since.

“On the track it was showing just under 2100 horsepower,” he said.

The power produced a personal best time of 7.47 seconds at 190mph back in 2016.

“That was the first pass we made with the twin turbos, but we broke a lifter on the next pass,” Mackey recalled.

The damage was fixed and Mackey travelled to the Jamboree in Brisbane where the car went 4.80/156mph over the eighth mile as part of the J275 class, and that was the last time it saw the track.

PPRF_Signage_1000x1400_FA.pdf

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“When we took the photos with Hayley that was the first time we’d been back in a couple of years. Being out there for the first time in a few years it was a little bit nervous but it didn’t take long to get back into the swing of it.”

There may still be number plates attached but Mackey said there were few street intentions left for the Premier.

“It can see the street, it is still rego’d, but it doesn’t go out. The old heads that got repaired are now resin filled so there is no water in the engine; it won’t be seeing street miles with this motor.”

Mackey believed there was more to come from the car yet, though he said he was hesitant to set goals because he just wants to be out there having fun without hurting any gear.

“I’d like to leave the car as it is now and I just want to run like a 7.20 at mid 190s, it will do that pretty easy. I will do both the Jamborees in the J275 class, and I might do the last Kenda race in October up at Willowbank.” DNM

2:52 PM

CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT: Mackey has clocked a PB of 7.47 so far but he hopes the Premier will go as quick as 7.2s and push 190mph speeds out the back door. This is very much still a street car, even though it does not see street use any more - note even the floor mats are still in place. Weld Wheels up front keep things nice and light.

The classic steel face of the Premier is an Australian icon, but we doubt they imagined them running sevens in the 1960s!

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DRAGGIN’ FOR

DARRYL

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When it came to building a turbocharged tribute to his brother, Graeme Horner wasn’t going to take any shortcuts.

By Luke Nieuwhof.

Photos by Hayley Turns.

DRAG NEWS MAGAZINE | 45

People build fast cars for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes it is the raw thrill of speed, or to show off to their mates. Others want a family activity while some just want a hobby. For South Australian Graeme Horner the reason was more significant.

This Commodore is a dedication to his brother Darryl, who passed away in 2015. This classic sedan was meant to be his first car, giving him freedom to explore the world and enjoy life, but sadly he passed before he was able to drive it.

“Darryl’s passing was unexpected,” Graeme said. “The car was in my father’s backyard sitting there and I said it was time to do something with it. I wanted to build the ultimate machine for my brother.”

Horner is now 30 years old, and cars have been a part of his life for as long as he can remember.

“I am a country lad who grew up on a farm, so I have been driving farm cars since I was five years old,” he said. “I joined the Army when I got out of school and travelled the country, but I kept the passion. I was a mechanic by trade and then upskilled to be a diesel mechanic. I got out of the Army in 2013 and went off to the mines for a while.”

Horner developed skills that proved valuable for people with a performance mind, and he had stints in different workshops to keep his hand in the game. He eventually started Horner Performance in Adelaide.

“On all my time off I would contract for different workshops around Adelaide, I would build engines with Walker Performance and I started to get involved with dyno tuning. I went to some Horsepower Academy and EFI University courses to learn.

“I crewed at the drags for mates and I loved the adrenaline and the people you meet through drag racing. I enjoyed seeing the variety of different cars, because I love engines, performance and efficiency. I build burnout motors too but there is something about drag racing where you have that big hit at the start and there is no way to lie who won at the finish line, it’s not subjective.”

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There has been a variety of rides filling Horner’s sheds over the years, including a HB Torana with a Crossflow, a VX SS Commodore and a VK Calais with a turbo LS1. The latter completed Drag Challenge and was the fastest unopened LS1 car in the country for a while, running 9.49 in 2015. It was upgraded to a 408ci with a single turbo which took Horner to a new best of 8.74/158mph at Drag Challenge, and he finished seventh overall for the week in 2016. Running on 275 tyres, the VK was seriously quick for a radial car and claimed the ASPA X275 class honours literally the day after completing Drag Challenge.

“You can always keep developing in drag racing, always keep going faster,” Horner said. “There is always something to change; it is endless.

“I like to build my own cars because if a customer comes and asks my opinion I want to give an honest answer on what I can do for them.”

Horner sold the Calais to turn his focus to his brother’s VH Commodore. The first steps had already been taking, with the car getting some paint thanks to Luke at Born Again Restorations and an engine swap to a basic EFI five litre, which was enough for the family to go cruising on the street.

“I got a bit bored though,” Horner confessed.

Out went the five litre and in came a 500 horsepower 355ci stroker, with a Turbo 350 transmission and transbrake, enough to take the car into the tens with a best of 10.90 in full street trim.

“My little brother always wanted a V8, and I always had V8s, so I wanted an angry V8 in it. We stayed with the 355 for a few years.

My time with Calais had led me to start studying aftermarket EFI and what we could do, and I watched what big names like Frank Marchese, Kon from Wollongong Automotive and Streetbuilt in WA were doing, and I figured there was no reason we couldn’t do some of the same.”

Horner didn’t take any shortcuts. He built an LSX 419ci with

Mast Motorsport six bolt cylinder heads handled by Brenton at Marusic Inductions. Aftermarket internals were put in place through out with Clint at Crankshaft Rebuilders doing the machining work. There are custom engine and trans mounts in place to get the engine as far back as possible without busting it through the firewall.

You can’t miss the twin 76mm Proboost GTX42s hanging off the front of the motor, supplied by Grant at Proboost.

“I have always used Grant’s turbos, he always updates them and he does whatever we need, even a one off item he can put together for us,” Horner said.

“From there a good mate of mine, Jon at Jonny Tig, did some of his excellent intercooler and piping work.”

There is a Holley EFI system, which was installed at Horner Performance and supplied by Wollongong Automotive.

“This was the first car I put a Holley EFI on but I have now used them on half a dozen builds.”

Horner took the VH to Chris at CK Racing Developments to give the chassis the upgrades it would need to handle extra power.

“I wanted to put a moly front end and a rear end into it and make it adjustable for X275 racing,” he explained. “Before we got super serious I went to an engineer and asked about putting 1600 horsepower in a street car, what would I have to do? We installed a bolt-in cage and made it so it would be engineerable later – it is all removable and up to engineer spec.”

A 35 spline nine inch rear end with fabricated housing went in alongside adjustable four link suspension. At the opposite end is a Pro9 moly front end with adjustable AFCO coilovers, Wilwood brakes, an anti-roll bar and suspension travel limiter.

There’s a Reid case Powerglide with trans dump built by Matt at MDT Transmissions, with a billet Neal Chance converter by Terry at Altorque Converters. It all rests on 15x10 rims with a 325 radial tyre.

ABOVE LEFT: A 325/50R15 Mickey Thompson radial sitting underneath the rear arches.

LEFT: Horner got the launch worked out in Portland, where the car ran as quick as 5.20.

RIGHT: The interior was kept as factory as possible - though it is fun to keep looking at this photo and seeing more and more race additions pop out.

DRAG NEWS MAGAZINE | 51

Soon the time arrived for Horner to take the Commodore to the strip. In fact very soon, as it went from an engineless roller to being ready for action in just six weeks. Now it would be time to see if the number on the time card would be the sum of this machine’s parts.

“The very first pass we went down track on the wastegate with six pounds of boost and it went 9.5/145mph,” he said. “We were like, ‘Holy Jesus, this thing is going to go.’ Then on the second pass I made a mistake and put the wrong number in the boost control and it spiked coming out the hole, and I didn’t have all the safety settings in the ECU yet. I popped the head gasket straight out the side. I had to pull the motor back down, though a better head gasket in it, and then we took it to Portland.”

After struggling to get the radial tyres to hook for the first couple of runs, not unexpected on a track prepped for sportsman-style slicks, Horner found the right mix and got the Commodore hooked for a 5.20/137mph pass over the eighth mile with 18 pounds of boost.

“The car will see 30 pounds of boost, so it shows the potential,” he said. “We are just waiting to get to a radial track. I am going to the Kenda 660 at the end of February in Sydney, and I will race at Jamboree as well. We should run mid-sevens on a radial tyre, no dramas.

“It made 1300 rear wheel horsepower on the chassis dyno. We are still not able to put all of that power in. It should make 1600 horsepower at the track and I would like to leave on 12 pounds, then it should run 4.7s or 4.8s at just over 140mph.”

Horner is looking forward to further testing the car when he takes on Drag Challenge once again. Drag Challenge is the ultimate test for combined drag and street cars.

“I have done that event three times now. I like that it is a variety of different cars out there and people doing the best with what they

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have. A street car has appeal to everybody, whether it is a grandpa who had a classic when it was brand new or the kids who like seeing the power and cruising.”

You may notice a lot of names Horner listed in this build. The other names we couldn’t find space for above include Graham at Boss Diffs, Wheel and Tyre Kingdom, Ange at Heavy Elec, Brett from Gawler Mechanical, Outlaw Speed Shop and Kavanagh Auto Parts. His philosophy is that building a car is nothing new, so why not draw on the experience of those who have done it before?

“I believe it always takes more than one person to build a car. I have a hashtag I used which is #teamhp. Nothing we are doing is new, it has all been done before. Because this car is in my brother’s memory I didn’t want to do anything half assed, it’s all done to the best of my ability, with the best people I know.”

The Commodore is very much at home on a race track but it is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The standard interior was kept in place wherever possible, and in spots where changes were necessary they have been hidden well. One example is the race seats, which have been re-trimmed in the factory colours. The dash and console has all stayed in place too, though the analogue gauges have been replaced with a Holley EFI screen.

The end result is a car that is extremely drivable and Horner reckons he has put about 5000km on the car in six months, enjoying not just race events but also cruises.

“It is still quite tame and it shows what we can do with modern technology; there’s no changing jets or pills and this thing has bugger-all maintenance. My mum can literally jump in and drive it down the street, not that she ever would! It’s probably a little loud for her.”

That sounds like a fitting tribute to a brother if ever we heard one.

DNM

WWW.CICLEANING.COM.AU

BOOST BIKE Greg Durack brings new ideas and technology to keep up with nitro-breathing rivals.

By Luke Nieuwhof.

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Top Fuel Motorcycle remains one of the few variety-filled classes left in heads up drag racing. From four cylinder, supercharged nitro burners like Chris Matheson’s Nitro Voodoo, to the numerous nitro Harleys, to nitrous and turbochargers, all find a home in the bracket.

Greg Durack has been waving the turbocharged flag ever since he discovered drag racing at Ravenswood International Raceway in Western Australia.

“I had a Kawasaki Z1000 in the early eighties and a couple of my uni mates also had Z1000s,” he said. “I got invited to Ravenswood to have a few runs down the track and that was it, the bug bit and is still there 40 years later.”

Durack focused on his career early, working overseas, but was able to return to the sport in the late eighties when he moved to Townsville to work on the mines at Charters Towers. He found another Z1000 to play with but then built a purpose built drag bike. Turbocharging resonated with Durack right from the start, when programmable electronic fuel injection was just emerging. It was a recipe that he has always stuck with.

He built another bike in the late nineties, which he rode into the Perth Motorplex era, cutting seven second times with some regularity. All of the lessons he learned from his first bikes were applied to the third generation machine he now rides.

“I wanted to build a bike with a stronger crankcase, crankshaft, clutch and transmission that eliminated past issues, while holding the objective of competing in Top Bike at the highest level,” he said.

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Durack wanted to stay with Kawasaki and researched their 1500cc jet ski engines. These were a direct derivative of the Kawasaki ZX12R motorcycles (sans gearbox and clutch), but with an increase in piston stroke.

“I thought that would be a good platform for a robust drag racing engine,” he said.

The trick was now to find a motor without having to buy a whole jet ski. Someone’s bad day turned into Durack’s luck, when he heard about a 1500cc jet ski that had sunk to the bottom of the Swan River and had been sitting there for two days.

“I purchased the engine out of it cheaply in order to evaluate its suitability,” he said. “In the end it was a viable option, it accepted the ZX12R head, albeit with some modifications in areas, and that was the beginning of my third turbo bike.”

Two years were spent researching and planning how to make the bike work, along with sourcing parts. The motorcycle fabrication was undertaken by Clyde Carstairs from Bravo Resources, with all the engine machining work done by Gavin Forbes from FME. “Both have been significant contributors to the development of the bike,” Durack said.

“Ian Jones of Specialised Industrial Autronics in Merredin was tasked with the electrical wiring of the control systems, which has innovative features to make it all work and had its challenges. Grant Bojanjac from Per4manz supplied a turbo capable of supporting 750hp.”

The unique bike was unveiled in 2011 and Durack termed it a ‘New Age Funny Bike’. The engine runs a belt primary drive off

//

“I would like to run consistent, reliable mid-sixes, I think I would be happy with that.”

the end of the crankshaft to a computer controlled dry clutch, which then runs through a three-speed planetary transmission. The bike uses mechanical fuel injection to burn about four litres of methanol on a run.

“The clutch and transmission is robust and can handle about 1200hp through it,” Durack said.

After a few years on that combination, running a best of 6.83 at 214mph, Durack decided he wanted to up the horsepower some more.

“I had a season out building a new, stronger engine. The capacity has increased to 1570cc with stronger custom rods and custom pistons, and now a solid billet cylinder block.

“A significant development has been a billet ZX12R cylinder head, which was re- designed

by Lou Cotter, a four-valve Kawasaki drag racing aficionado from years past, which he had fabricated by Noonan Race Engineering. This new head flows significantly more than the stock head all round, and I just had to get one of those to develop the bike further, complete with custom higher lift camshafts. The turbo has also been upgraded to support 950 horsepower at 50 pounds of boost.”

The new combination has not taken long to deliver improvements, with Durack’s PB dropping to a 6.779 in the motor’s fifth event.

It’s a long way from the street bikes he used to mess around with and Durack said the riding experience of a 200mph+ turbocharged motorcycle is really something.

“The riding experience is a major part of the journey, albeit a fraction of the time considering the development and work on these machines just to be there. When the engine starts, you are focused on what you need to do, the crew need to line you up straight which makes the run easier, as these big tyred bikes can take a bit of work to keep straight if you get out of the groove.

“I do most of the acceleration in the first half of the track where it is up to 170mph in less than 4.4 seconds, and I can really notice the wind pressure become exponential after half track with continued acceleration. It may seem funny but on a run but I don’t really get a sensation of speed as I have tunnel vision, I really notice though when I have to slow down, which can have more challenges than the run itself. If I get too aggressive on the front brake it is very easy to lock it up, which can make life even more interesting again.”

Durack has been a mainstay of Perth Motorplex’s local Nitro Bike series, but he has some international ambitions with his motorcycle.

“I would like to run consistent, reliable mid-sixes, I think I would be happy with that,” he said. “If that is achieved this season, a bucket list item would be to compete in Top Bike at the European Finals at Santa Pod, England in September against all the Europeans. It is a great track and atmosphere, the crew are keen, and I would like to enjoy that experience with them as they have been supporting me for many years through all the ups and downs.

“Some people probably can’t see the sense in all the effort required to have a few seconds of a quarter mile straight line run, and that is fine, other people have interests in chasing a little white ball around a paddock trying to put it in a little hole – and there are some mighty expensive fish out there.” DNM

DRAG NEWS MAGAZINE | 57

CHAMPIONSHIP UPDATE Events up and down the east coast of Australia have dodged weather and the national bushfire crisis to see many championships reach their midway point. Let’s bring you up to date with what has been going on!

400 Thunder Professional Series Wayne Newby begun 2020 in the best way possible, taking a Top Fuel victory and leading a Rapisarda Autosport International clean sweep at Willowbank Raceway’s New Year’s Thunder event on January 4.

Newby defeated team mate Damien Harris in the final round, with a time of 3.863 seconds. West Australian Harris was actually quicker than New South Wales’ Newby with a 3.841 time but trailed his comrade after a tardy reaction time to the green light cost him almost a full tenth of a second on the start line.

The Rapisarda team completed a clean sweep of the event in front of the near capacity crowd, with the team’s third driver – America’s Ashley Sanford – clocking the quickest elapsed time (3.827) and fastest speed (504.30kmh) of the night’s racing.

Queensland driver Gary Phillips showed his veteran experience in an entertaining Pro Alcohol final against rookie driver Jake Donnelly. Both drivers spun their tyres at the start line and had to recover their 3000 horsepower, supercharged Funny Cars. Phillips was first to find traction and reaped the dividends, with a winning time of 6.583 seconds far from setting any records but enough to clinch the 400 Thunder trophy and deny Donnelly his first win.

The tropical conditions made tuning challenging for the Pro Stock teams but Queensland’s own Tyronne Tremayne was able to master Willowbank Raceway on his way to his first victory in the team’s new Camaro.

Tremayne waited until the final round to unleash a 7.004 second pass, the quickest run of the day in Pro Stock, to defeat fellow Queenslander Wayne Daley’s valiant 7.078.

While Tremayne’s performance was what earned him praise, fellow Pro Stock racer Jason Hedges received plenty of accolades after saving his car from a big accident when his parachutes were late to deploy. Hedges flirted with the concrete safety barriers but thankfully kept his Pontiac clean and undamaged from the dramatic moment.

Pro Bike saw a surprise winner as Queensland’s Andrew Badcock upset more fancied rivals to take his first victory of the season.

Badcock’s motorcycle uses a custom Suzuki Hayabusa motor built by Badcock himself and with a combination of consistent performance and great reaction times, he took the machine to the winner’s circle. A time of 7.570 seconds in the final round got by Victoria’s Glenn Wooster.

Next up was Santo’s Summer Thunder, which was postponed to the Australia Day weekend after wet weather got in the way of the original date.

The final round saw Phil Lamattina and Wayne Newby face off for

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Photos by cacklingpipes.com and dragphotos.com.au.

the event honours. At the green the advantage was with Newby and he was never headed, with a 3.82 enough to take the win at his team owner’s event and his second Top Fuel event win in succession. Lamattina had nothing to drop his head about with a 3.90 proving that the team have sorted their early season issues.

Phil Read set a new track record of 3.802 in testing, showing plenty of potential in the Hydraulink dragster.

Pro Slammer saw Steve Ham and John Zappia race in the final round, the only racers on two wins after the first two sessions of the all run format. The green light saw Zappia take a one-thousandth of a second advantage and he stretched it out into a win, his first of the season and one that sees him back in the championship chase.

A 5.69 was more than enough for the points leader Ham, who recorded a 5.9 second pass after early tyre shake.

In the newly created first appearance of IHRA Australia Pro Mod category, two of the most consistently quick cars over the course of the event faced off in the final round. It was Sydney local Zoran Gajic in the Gas Racing mustang taking the win over Greg “Mauler” Tsakiridis with a near perfect 5.85 on the 5.85 index.

400 Thunder Sportsman Series The sportsman arm of 400 Thunder accompanied the pros at the most recent stops on the our.

Driving to victories at Willowbank were Tanya Thompson (Pro Radial), Kellie Kidd (Modified), Tammy Goldthorpe (Modified Bike), Patrick Barron (Super Gas), Wade Moran (Super Street) and Jaidyn Seng (Junior Dragster).

Meanwhile at Sydney Dragway, Phil Lamattina’s son Ross took his first Gold Christmas tree in Junior Dragster with other winners including Joe Gauci (Pro Radial), Brandon Gosbell (Extreme Bike) Fred Nicastri (Super Comp), Wally Hosta (Performance Bike), Frank Oliveri (Top Sportsman), Daniel Flack (Modified), Tammy Goldthorpe once again (Modified Bike), Michael Milasiewicz (Super Sedan), Peter Hamilton (Super Street) and Greg South (Super Gas).

ANDRA Summit Sportsman Series January’s South Coast 660 at South Coast Raceway provided a perfect start to 2020’s Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series action for more than 150 competitors.

Race day hosted eliminations for 10 brackets with Matt Forbes (Super Comp), Levi Addison (Competition Bike), Christine Steffens (Supercharged Outlaws), Glenn Henley (Top Sportsman), Kenny Stewart (Modified), Graeme Cooper (Super Sedan), Gavin Dohnt (Modified Bike), Kelvin Brian (Super Street), Jake Berias (Summit Racing Equipment Junior Dragster) and Colin Griffin (Super Gas) hoisting silver ANDRA Christmas trees at the conclusion of the event. DNM

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: Wayne Newby charged to the front of the 400 Thunder Top Fuel points following successive wins in Willowbank and Sydney. Phil Read knocked out a new Sydney Dragway track record with a 3.802 in new Hydraulink colours. Andrew Badcock’s Hayabusa-powered Pro Bike brought home a win at Willowbank. Tyronne Tremayne overcame tropical heat and humidity for victory in Pro Stock in January. Matt Forbes showed he was just as capable in Group Two as anywhere else, claiming Super Comp at South Coast Raceway’s ANDRA round.

PERTH MOTORPLEX

POWERSHOTS

What was meant to be another Aeroflow Outlaw Nitro Funny Car spectacular turned into a local show when the feature cars couldn’t get across the Nullarbor - but fans still turned out in their droves at the Plex on January 4.

Photos by Luke Nieuwhof.

rslammer-legal 5.585 John Zappia made a Pro Slammer/Top Doo g session for the WA second run during an afternoon qualifyin record at Perth Motorplex.

Summer Slam Series, setting a new track

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Zappia’s time was the quickest Pro Slam mer/Top Doorslammer performance recorded as part of a competit ion event, and just behind the outright blown sedan record of 5.572 set by Scott MacLean.

racing yet, hitting a one of his best days of ed joy en i in or eg Gr up spot in the WA Daniel d going to a runner an 5 5.6 of st be l na new perso round.

Summer Slam Series

US doorslammer crew chief Jon Salemi made the trip around the world to tune Kelvin Lyle’s Ford Mustang. He tested a few theories across the day.

Ben Pisconeri cooked a convertor in his be autiful Ford Barrapowered Mustang, res ulting in quite the sm oke and oil trail thro the braking area. ugh

Kelvin Lyle slows up his mean Ford Mus tang Pro Slammer Doorslammer. Thou /Top gh his race day did not go to plan, a la produced a confide te r test run nce-boosting 5.73.

Nigel Johnson ba kes the rear tyre s in his Oxygen Pe Exhaust Top Alc rformance ohol Dragster. Jo hnson has been more and more steadily finding consistency.

Paul Ryan’s front engine dragster boils the hides in Modi fied. This thing is nostalgia through and through, with the chassi s originally built in the sixties.

ng seat from father ly taken over the drivi tru d an ll we s ha cy Here are some big Todd Sta harged Mazda RX7. oc rb tu ’s ily fam e th Terry in from the RR/Gasser! time two-step flames

Timothy Roads’ Datsun ute was carrying the front wheel s a long way on every run as he banged through a manual gearb ox for some awesome seven second runs in the Outlaw Radial class.

drag racing. The all parts of life - even in t fel s wa sis cri re ich combined with The bushfi from every ticket, wh r lla do a ted na do al fire services.

Motorplex almost $20,000 for loc d ise ra ns tio na do spectator

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Luke Seaton is a big Valentino Rossi fan - note the 4646 ANDRA number in reference to the famed MotoGP rider!

Wayne McGuinness dropped a stunning 6.524 second run in the final of Nitro Bike, a massive personal best.

Darryl Mullins loves do ing big skids in his Supe rcharged Outlaws Funny Car. Drag racing needs more young racers like this getting out there and putting on a show!

Lucas Green has the full support of his family including father Doug, mother Corrinna and sister Caitlyn. her Ian’s Top r is a tiny clone of fat ste ag Dr or ni Ju n’s Madison Brow d in the nineties. which he campaigne Alcohol Funny Car,

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