Masterton Motorplex 2020

Masterton Motorplex

DRAG RACING season 2020/2021

FT. Outlaw 71 | Wild Bunch Wars | New Zealand Nationals

WWW.MASTERTONMOTORPLEX.CO.NZ Masterton Motorplex 2020/2021 Season 1

welcome Welcome to Masterton Motorplex

contents 2 Welcome 3 About 5-6 MMP Full Comp 7 Graham Christison Steve Milliken 8 Gary Sinkinson 9 Mark Gapp Kendal Smith 10 John Shepherd 11-13 National Drag Racing Championship 15 Gavin Green Jody Burgess 16-17 Dragstalgia 18 Hartley Family

On behalf of the Members of the Board of Masterton Motorplex and all our hardworking volunteers, I would like to welcome you all to MMP and another great season of drag racing.

As this programme illustrates, drag racing enthusiasts are spoiled for choice this season with the added bonus of five meetings instead of the usual four.

There’s something for every taste from The Wild Bunch and Outlaw 71s for old-school heads, to the fastest Top Alcohol and Top Doorslammers in the country.

Drag racing is known for its unpredictability and Covid-19 has

2 Masterton Motorplex 2020/2021 Season

added an extra helping of that, but this year’s offering at Masterton Motorplex is guaranteed to blow away any lingering lockdown blues.

As always, none of this would be possible without the volunteers, racers and crews who contribute their time and energy out of love for the sport.

I would also like to thank everyone who supports Masterton Motorplex by attending our meetings. Without you, none of this would happen.

Here’s to a great season of racing at MMP. Bob Wilton Manager Masterton Motorplex

20 Mark Haustein Robert Shearing Dean Scott 21 Roger Binnema 22-23 Auckland Invasion 24 Barry Plumpton 25 Nigel Dixon Chris Johnston 27 MMP Full Comp 27 Peter Schimanski Steve Carlson 28 Eric Voice 29 Colin Johnson 30 Dwane Garrett

about Making up for lost time Covid put paid to the final meeting of the 2019/20 Masterton Motorplex season which was supposed to take place in March, and which would have featured the Aeroflow Outlaw Nitro Funny Cars from Australia.

But some consolation can be drawn from the fact that this has allowed Masterton Motorplex to hold five meetings for its 2020/21 season, not including the already held annual Test & Tune.

This year’s programme provides the opportunity to build on the exciting initiatives which have been taking place at Masterton Motorplex and within the sport of drag racing in New Zealand.

The popular Outlaw 71 series is back for the first meeting of the season, along with The Wild Bunch, who will feature in the ever-popular Dragstalgia.

This year also sees the second consecutive season where a combined IHRA and NZDR National Drag Racing Championship will be held across all categories.

For further insight into how this initiative is progressing, check out our interviews with IHRA board member and Meremere Dragway General Manager Gary Bogaart and NZDR Board ChairmanTony Ewens further inside this programme.

The end result of all these initiatives is that visitors to Masterton Motorplex are seeing more

DS ROSIESORTO RODS MINI H

The Tararua mountains make a stunning backdrop to the new timing lights. competitors than ever from all parts of New Zealand.

As always, the Masterton Motorplex board and volunteers are continuing to improve the dragstrip as a venue for competitors and spectators alike.

The most recent improvements have been extending the height of the concrete barrier - just in time for the Test & Tune - and installing the dragstrip’s new timing board, so the public has the best view in New Zealand to see racing times.

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And they have just finished planting more trees to beautify the venue and provide shade during the heat of the day.

The track itself continues to mature with every passing season, increasing the chances of records being broken.

It looks like 2020/21 is going to be a season not to be missed!

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MMP Full Comp Meeting 7/8 NOVEMBER 2020

FT. Outlaw 71 Outlaws as unpredictable as ever Last season the Outlaw 71s lived up to their reputation as the loud, fast and unpredictable boys and girls of drag racing.

They won’t be turning down the dial this season, and there will be even more of them!

This year organisers Gavin Doughty and Tod Aitken have tossed in an additional financial incentive with $1000 going to the winner of each meeting, and $500 to the runner-up.

Last year 15 cars competed in the class but Gavin expects around 25 this season.

“We changed the format a bit to include the two prizes on the day at each meeting as some cars can’t make it to all the meetings to complete. Having one-off prizes will give an added incentive to get these cars to meetings by giving them a chance to win a cash prize.

“And for those that can’t race all rounds, they still get the opportunity to race similar cars of a full racer return format giving them great seat time.”

Points will still be allocated at each of the five meetings being held this

Outlaw 71s co-organisers Gavin Doughty. Photo/Steve Virtue. season, which culminates with the Outlaw Masters Final in March 2021 at Masterton Motorplex.

The Outlaw 71s will be the featured class at Masterton Motorplex’s first full competition meeting on November 7th and 8th, followed

by Meremere, Taupo, Motueka and then at MMP again for the Outlaw Masters.

The Outlaw 71s name stems from the Supercharged Outlaws, with the competition open to cars running any conventional belt-drive type supercharger, typically known as ‘71’ series of superchargers in their

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earlier years but still common is some race classes today.

Belt driven Supercharged Outlaws had once been the norm, Gavin says, but as time went on alternative forms of supercharging were introduced such as turbo, procharger, nitrous oxide and nitro methane.

As time passed, the race fields of this group became smaller and split throughout the country but they had their own unique charm that Gavin and Tod felt deserved a revival.

Continued on page 6

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Continued from page 5 The Outlaw 71 series comes with a line-up of dragsters, altered and door cars.

The cars have to run faster than 8 seconds, but slower than 6.5 seconds over the quarter mile.

Qualifying is based on reaction time, and the competition uses the DialYour-Own format.

This is where the drivers nominate their own target time and then have to get as close to that as possible.

This ensures the cars are all evenly matched, says Gavin, with the DYO handicap resulting in side-by-side finish line action.

This still incorporates fast action packed racing but DYO also tests the skill of the driver and crew to achieve perfect control of their car.

Superchargers are notoriously hard to control, says Gavin, and the faster they go, the harder they are to control.

“That is why we keep the limit on the slowest and fastest times so that racing is as close as possible.”

Since the series started in

Photo/Steve Virtue.

November 2018, it has become a real crowd pleaser as well as attracting an increasing number of competitors.

Spectators are going to see fast, exciting action and four brand new cars to New Zealand, Gavin promises.

There is going to be a strong Wairarapa representation with

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Neville Gadd in the Nailer front engine dragster, Steve “Cowboy” Carlson in his Falcon Sprint, complemented by several other Wellington, Hutt and Manawatu based racers.

The Outlaw 71s are always popular with children who are welcomed to have their free posters signed by the drivers on the day.

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profiles Graham Christison CRUSHINATOR RACING 319

Steve Milliken CHEVY MASTER SEDAN

Graham Christison brings with him a long and great history in drag racing

Before becoming a ‘proper’ racer, Steve occasionally drag-raced his ’57 Chevy to 12 second quarters, but soon decided that a Fiat Topolino altered would be the go.

Graham started racing back in 1975 in a B/Gas Class Car called Jumping Jack Flash which competed for three seasons with a best time of 10.7s at 135mph.

He then progressed to a B/Altered called Zig Zag for three seasons with a best time of 9.3s at 146mph, and was runner-up at the New Zealand Nationals three times.

Graham then had a long break but crewed for Dennis McAnerin on the Cheap Trip Altered and David Drew with his Supercharged Outlaw Altered.

“In 2010 Maggie suggested we have another go so we built a rear dragster to compete in Supercharged Outlaw, naming it “Crushinator”.

Photo/Graham Meiklejohn.

The team won the NZDRA Nationals and Supercharged Outlaw Championship in 2014-15 with the highest points of any driver in the NZDRA before writing it off at Taupo.

“It was a great car but tail happy.”

So they decided to build a front engine dragster, also called Crushinator, whose best time so far is 7.216 at 182mph, winning the IHRA Nationals in 2018.

“It feels much more controllable than the rear engine car.”

By the end of three years’ development, it had run down to 7.20s at 180mph, still with basically the same specification and had become a popular and consistent bracket car.

In 2018 Steve had the hankering for something potentially quicker. He bought ‘The Hitman’ Chevy Master Sedan out of Australia which was painted in the now familiar “Chaos” candy-red and then handed to crew-chief Trev to iron out any possible bugs and make reliability/ performance/safety mods as he saw fit.

Continued on page 8

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profiles Continued from page 7 The first season with the new car was a steep learning curve for all the crew, but a couple of round wins and a handful of 7.40 second quarters showed enough potential for a radical rebuild over the “Covid” season. So Steve is looking forward to handing out some whoopass at the track!

Photo/Steve Virtue

Gary Sinkinson CHEVY NOVA

with a newly imported Chevy Nova.

The Nova’s debut was at Taupo and ran a 8.0 at 170mph on its first race pass, then a 8.1 @ 170mph, before engine issues ended the day on a sour note.

Gary Sinkinson raced in his early twenties but had to give it up to raise a family.

“I was then conned back into it by JD Shepherd when he viewed and organised the El Camino for me to purchase, which gave me the push to get back out there.”

Gary ran the El Camino in Super

However Gary has rebuilt the engine and is looking really good.

Photo/Steve Virtue Sedan for four years then changed to Supercharged Outlaws in early 2020

“On my second run I did my P.B of 7.57 at 178mph. The Nova runs a 540BBC 871 supercharger/power glide and 9 inch. I haven’t had many wins in my career but I am hoping to change this.”

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profiles Mark Gapp 41 WILLYS COUPE After many years racing speedway in modifieds, then a sprintcar, the team made the switch to drag racing with the purchase of the 41 Willys Coupe, running a 572 Chev big block with a 14/71 blower and alcohol injection. Since then the team have raced in Supercharged Outlaw, Outlaw 71, and Wildbunch.

“There was a steep learning curve with the car only being 23 passes old at the time of purchase and a big step up from the street cars previously owned and some wild passes until they got a handle on it,” says Mark.

But after five years campaigning at every track they could get on to, and

Photo/Steve Virtue upwards of 76 passes per season, they have ended up collecting National series wins in NZDRA, IHRA, the first Outlaw 71 series, and the new National Series current NZ1, and other regional events like Track Outlaw, and Nostalgia Drags.

It won the NZDRA title in 2018 and was runner-up in last year’s Outlaw 71.

“As we all do, I started out drag racing on the street with a Mk 3 Cortina with a 350 chev,” recalls Kendal Smith.

“I moved away to Tauranga and teamed up with Steve Bennet and raced a few of his cars in Auckland and built a Torana Wild Bunch car with him that never raced.”

It is a family sport with wife Cheryl doing the back-up duties, and son Jack racing a Junior dragster and current 3nz in his class.

Taupo from Randy Winkle when he was over here racing. Its best time to date is a 7.19 at 189mph.

Kendal Smith GREENGO

“Then I moved on to a LH Torana with a super charged SBC that I raced at Thunder Park at the age of 20.

Mark enjoys the racer return system being used in Outlaw 71.

Other GreenGo successes have been winning Taupo in 2017, and runner-up in the 2017 Central Nationals and Gasser.

Fast forward to the 64 Falcon gasser which Kendal says was a whole lot of fun, running at 10.09 at 128mph, and winning the 2011 nostalgia drags.

“The whole family is involved with Dylan taking the reins last year, getting Rookie of the Year and second in Outlaw 71. Connor has been racing a JR since he was 8 years old and Rachel is making sure we are all safe.”

Then he purchased the GreenGo in

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profiles John Shepherd VW (BIOHAZARD) John started racing a street legal Volkswagen in 1989. It ran 13 sec Âź mile passes. He wanted to go faster, so with a fair bit of work it was turned into a drag car called Bettlejuice and ran 9.90 seconds in a class called Supergas for many years.

Following that, JD ran a Topolino for two seasons and in 2015 made the big step to a blown and injected hemi-powered front engine dragster (FED) called Hellraiser. race success saw the demise of one motor followed by further damage to a second.

The passion continued and the purchase of a second Fed called Backdraft (also hemi-powered) saw elapsed times reduced and speeds increase, now running in the 6 second range with speeds around 200mph.

The Outlaw series arrived and this really suited JD - the chance to race similar vehicles on a racer return format, giving him plenty of seat time.

Mechanical failures in the quest for

Long hours in the shed saw JD return to the track to continue in the series, collecting a well-earned 4th place in the inaugural Outlaw 71 series.

With the onset of season two, JD decided to go back to his fond memory of the days racing the VW but with the power and a blower to make the requirements of Outlaw 71.

Another VW was purchased from Australia, sporting supercharged big block Chev power. This short base ride with huge horse power certainly proved to be a handful, so between tuning meets, JD elected to return to old faithful in Backdraft, taking out the win in season 2 of Outlaw 71.

With more time in the off season, JD is back. And the VW (BioHazard) is back and looking stunning with new paint and graphics.

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10 Masterton Motorplex 2020/2021 Season

National Drag Racing Championship 12/13 DECEMBER 2020

Further track improvements take MMP to International standard When I caught up with Tony Ewens Board Chairman of the New Zealand Drag Racing Association (NZDRA) he was about to take the measurements of the recently altered concrete barriers that line the Masterton Motorplex drag racing strip one sunny Friday afternoon.

braking area, which has also been lengthened and reconfigured.

Just before this season’s first event, the Test & Tune, Bob Wilton and the team at MMP had raised the height of the concrete blocks to one metre for the full length of the primary

Tony points out that specific track specifications have to be met to achieve International standard.

This has been the latest and last step in raising Masterton Motorplex’s status from “National” to “International”, making it the best drag strip in New Zealand.

Continued on page 12

NZDRA Board Chairman Tony Ewens.

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Continued from page 11 Reaching this standard is not just about the track, but encompasses other aspects such as the venue’s ability to cater for competitors and spectators.

“A prime example”, said Bob, “was last season when an alcohol dragster went into the sand trap at 120 metres.”

Tony believes the new status will attract more overseas competitors to MMP, when Covid becomes less of a barrier.

“I asked the driver why he hadn’t pulled the shoot and he said, ‘Man, I was just trying to steer it so it didn’t crash.’ In this situation the chute would have been activated straight away.”

“It takes a lot of money to bring cars to New Zealand. They are after tracks with proven records for records being broken. After all, that is what every competitor is after, faster personal bests and breaking records.”

Every Group One vehicle is now required to have a transponder in it so the Electrimotion can be activated if necessary. But there is nothing to stop cars in other classes having one, says Tony. “This all just adds to the safety of drag racing.”

Bob opened what looked like a heavy suitcase. When asked what was in it, the reply was an Electrimotion Command Module.

Ironically, said Bob, it is often the lower classes of car that take more to stop because they are heavier.

“If a driver is unable to activate the safety parachute, this system triggers to deploy the chute automatically. There are any number of reasons why this might happen. For instance, if the driver is distracted or passes out.”

This is an extra safety control implemented to bring the vehicle to a safe stop.

As Board Chairman of the NZDRA Tony has been 100 per cent behind the two-year trial of a Joint National Series of the NZDRA and IHRA. “I’ve been pushing for this to happen for quite a few years.”

The first joint series went very well, he said, but losing the ninth and final round, which would have been held at MMP, to the Covid lockdown took a bit of the shine off the series

and the end of season prizegiving.

However Tony is looking forward to the 2020/21 series.

“It is not perfect yet, but we are heading in the right direction. Things are getting better and better, with more cars, more strength in each class and more spectators, which means tracks like MMP can make

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12 Masterton Motorplex 2020/2021 Season

Electrimotion Command Module will automatically trigger the parachute if the driver doesn’t.

Photo/Steve Virtue.

more money to put back into their facilities.”

figure when the Joint National Series was being negotiated.

organisations will agree to continue with it.

Tony has never been a drag racer, although he does have a 1973 Dodge Challenger muscle car. His competitive years were in jet boat river racing.

Tony understands the passion that competitors and members have for their particular association and sees no reason for the NZDRA and IHRA to combine if a Joint National Series stays an annual event.

“If this season runs well and everything lines up, I am hopeful everyone will vote to continue next year.”

Bob said this has allowed Tony to be perceived as a much more neutral

He’s optimistic that the two

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profiles Gavin Green THE ANGRY BIRD TOP DOOR SLAMMER Featherston’s Gavin Green has been racing for 25 years, achieving NZDRA 2015 Sportsman of the Year, 2015 NZDRA Top Street NZ champion, and runner-up in the 2019 Group 1 National Series, and has achieved the 200mph milestone.

Gavin and his wife Jenelle’s current Top Door Slammer, The Angry Bird, has achieved 6.07 seconds @ 234mph at Masterton Motorplex, and ran the quickest side by side door slammer race achieved at both Masterton and Meremere.

car, but managing the power and set-up, and getting it down the track is the biggest challenge.

“It’s not easy racing at this level. I enjoy the challenge of racing the

“Door slammers are temperamental.

Paying particular attention to all

Photo/Steve Virtue. aspects of the car is vital as things can go wrong in a thousandths of a second.”

“Results cannot be achieved without our crew helping us to race the car and our sponsor.”

Jody Burgess GSX SUZUKI FUNNY BIKE Where do you live?

Levin.

about catching up with you mates and having a good time.

How long have you been racing for?

Had a few goes at Thunder Park so it’s been a while.

What’s your passion in drag racing?

I love old school drag bikes and cars.

Tell us a bit about your bike...

It is a GSX Suzuki funny bike imported from Australia. It’s a new rebuild motor so we don’t really know how fast it will go. But once I have learnt how to ride it, it should get some good times.

What are some of the highlights and achievements of your career?

Lol, to get down the track safe and try to better yourself each time. It’s not always about winning. It’s about doing the best you can do. Its

Can you give me some of the bike’s specs...

1350cc, Mr Turbo Kit, 20PSI Boost, Snowflake lock up clutch, Kosman chassis 77 in long Falicon crank, MSD MC- 4 ignition.

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Masterton Motorplex 2020/2021 Season 15

Dragstalgia 2/3 JANUARY 2021

FT. Wild Bunch Wars Wild Bunch ready to cause some trouble The Wild Bunch are itching for some action after a truncated 2019/20 season left them frustrated.

Maybe that’s why this time round they are dubbing their competition the “Wild Bunch Wars”.

The 2019/20 season started off with bang, with a January meeting at Masterton Motorplex that Ryan Sheldon describes as “awesome”.

“It was the biggest crowd MMP had ever had, and the most vehicles that had ever assembled in this class in one place in New Zealand.”

Photo/Steve Virtue.

But then things turned to Covid custard.

Among them was a young Ryan, helping out wherever he could.

But a bit of history before we go there.

Years passed but Ryan’s memories of the Wild Bunch never faded, and in 2018 he decided it was time to revive it.

Thirty years ago, Chris Tynan and fellow members of the iconic class called Wild Bunch were an important part of the drag racing landscape, and left a lasting impression wherever they went.

“A few of my mates had similar sorts of cars that are not necessarily competitive in the higher performance-based classes.

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“We just wanted to get back to having fun, putting on a show, and go pretty fast along the way.”

“The competition is Dial Your Own so it is not 100 per cent performance based, but just as much skill is required,” says Ryan. “Drivers have to pick a time and see how close they run to it.

The first meeting of The Wild Bunch, held in April 2019 in Auckland, was a tester with just eight cars.

“A lot of factors come into this, such as the reliability of the car and the tuning of it which is affected by the conditions of the day, especially the air and track temperature.”

Then came the above mentioned appearance at Dragstalgia - where the Wild Bunch will again appear on January 2nd and 3rd, followed by two Covid cancelled meetings.

The big crash that occurred at MMP last year was caused by a combination of factors including the track being too cold and the car not getting enough traction, recalls Ryan who was racing against it.

Three meetings are again planned for this season, the first at MMP and then two more at Meremere.

There were 22 cars at Dragstalgia last January. Ryan expects the number of competitors this time round to match or possibly better that.

Wild Bunch Wars organiser Ryan Sheldon. Photo/Steve Virtue.

Thirty years ago it was impossible to get parts from the United States because it was too costly and too time consuming.”

“We have 34 cars at large in the competition this season. I don’t know how many we will get at each event.

That depends on how well they survive other events, but we hope to get 20 to 25.”

The Wild Bunch today is a specialist class with competitors having to meet certain criteria, the most obvious being that the cars need to have doors that open and close.

The original Wild Bunch were based on average road cars that were “modified on steroids” with whatever their owners could find.

“The main performance criteria is that they have to go between 6.99 and 7.99 seconds.

“Back in those days you made do with the parts you could find locally.

“The other car crossed lanes and rolled, clipping my bumper just ahead of me. I had seen what was happening and slowed down.

We were both going somewhere between 130 and 150mph (209 and 241kmh).”

While Ryan survived the near-miss with his 1958 Plymouth “Joker” fully intact, he will be racing a very much different car at this year’s Dragstalgia.

“A guy in Australia made an offer I couldn’t refuse for its engine, so this year I have a completely new one, going up from 1000HP to 2000HP.

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Masterton Motorplex 2020/2021 Season 17

profiles Hartley Family ‘71 MUSTANG In a sea of Chevy-powered Wild Bunchers, with the odd Hemi chucked in for good measure, one man stands alone and loyal to his brand of preference.

While many choose to use the rear end made famous by said brand, only one chooses to run an all Blue Oval combo - that man being none other than Mustang Murray Hartley.

With over 35 years in the sport, the Hartley family name is familiar to many. Not only Murray, but sons Alan and Nathan have both been bitten by the bug and successful at different levels, and the Hartley bus has become a familiar sight at racetracks around the country.

The family’s second tube chassis ‘71 Mustang is a car that’s been in the build longer than Ford have been making their famous 9 inch.

It was sourced across the ditch in

Photo/Steve Virtue. mid-2017 as a roller. While its bright yellow hue remains, in the engine bay now resides a 351 Cleveland, topped with a 10-71 supercharger, enderle injection and a thirst for methanol.

To date the Mustang has propelled Murray to within a whisker of a 7 second timeslip. His 8.0 best has

been mixed in with the odd wild pass and a bunch of super cool wheel standing launches which make him the perfect addition to Wild Bunch Wars.

Murray and wife Marie are looking to throw the proverbial cat among the pigeons and claim the odd bowtie scalp along the way.

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Masterton Motorplex 2020/2021 Season 19

profiles Mark Haustein HT HOLDEN UTE

Robert Shearing ‘67 CAMARO

Everyone who loves the sport of drag racing has a car or an era they love the most.

If there was a Dedication To The Cause Award, or one given out for being down right nuts, then Robert Shearing would probably be your man.

Some like gasses, some funny cars or dragsters, or even the classical street rod where drag racing has its roots.

Then there are the likes of Mark Haustein and a bunch of others who prefer the Wild Bunch era, and in particular the HT Holden Ute of Wellington’s Mark “Blobby” Thomas.

Chris Tynan’s ‘55 aside , that ute remains one of the iconic cars of an era set to make a dramatic comeback at the Wild Bunch Wars in January.

So what do you do when you already have an HT Holden drag Ute running solidly in Super Sedan and a local racer has his blown alcohol big block out of his dragster for sale?

Well, you snap that up and build

Photo/Steve Virtue yourself a clone!

Basically all that remains of the original is the steel HT shell with a complete new tube chassis sitting under it now. A Reid cased Glide and fabricated 9 inch rear complete the puzzle.

Mark’s last meeting was his best.

While still getting comfortable in the car, he has already eased it into the low 8 second zone, with plenty more to come.

Mark may just get the chance to pull into stage against the very car that was the inspiration for his own.

Dean Scott CHEV S10 TRUCK Towards the end of the 1990s, NHRA created a class called Pro Stock Truck, trying to capitalise and expand on the already popular Pro Stock class of the era.

The class was culled a mere few years later and an abundance of low run, basically new trucks suddenly had no place to race.

While they have popped up all over the world in all manner of different

Photo/Steve Virtue

Hailing from the deep south, Robert and his AGRO8 Racing 67 Camaro were one of the first to join us.

His ride may look familiar, being the ex-Nigel Dixon car. It still boasts a methanol burning big block Chev powerplant, displacing 509 cubic inches these days, although Robert will probably tell you it’s a ‘learner” motor with bigger and better things are to come.

The Robert Tynan built chassis has always gone straight as an arrow and with a turbo 400 and 9 inch rear

favourite in Super Sedan.

The green HZ Holden Ute with the very same blown alcohol big block was a must-see.

While it regularly dipped into the 7s, the time came to move on with a purpose-built race car.

configurations, Dean Scott’s version which hit our shores as a roller late last summer is now boasting a blown alcohol big block Chevy.

If Dean’s name sounds familiar, that’s probably because his previous ride “Harry” was a fan

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When Robert leaves home to join us at Wild Bunch Wars, it will be the best part of 20 hours and 1100km later that he actually arrives.

The Chev S10 truck, sourced across the ditch, blasted as low as 7.25 at 190mph at the end of last summer.

Knocking right on the door of the lower end of Wild Bunch’s 6.99-7.99 limits, Dean and the S10 may be doing a lot of chasing at Wild Bunch Wars.

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profiles Roger Binnema 1995 HONDA ACCORD Probably one of the most travelled racers and cars in the country would have to be Balclutha’s Roger Binnema and his 1995 Honda Accord.

Photo/Steve Virtue completing the driveline, the so-called “learner” motor has already propelled the team into the 7s and as low as 7.86 at 177mph.

With very few cars in the South Island, Robert is looking forward to lining up against other similar vehicles in what will be a full field of wild bunchers, and just maybe showing them what a good southern man is made of.

One of the sports genuine nice guys, don’t let that fool you. He will plain woop your butt on the track.

Four decades in the sport has taught him every trick in the book.

Roger’s combo of choice is not what you would first think. Once you see the monster 14/71 rootes supercharger and carbon fibre hat poking out the bonnet, below it sits not a 500-odd cube big block but a tiny 400cubic inch AFR headed Dart small block Chev.

While by no means a lightweight pro mod style car, the steel bodied Honda consistently drops jaws and has dropped its pb way down to 7.26 at 195mph.

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Which is impressive in itself, but more so the fact that it comes from the screaming small block with the sound unlike no other.

A Rossler powerglide/9 inch combo helps with the consistency, as does Roger’s experience behind the wheel of a car he knows like the back of his hand.

Wild Bunch Wars will see Roger as one of potentially five South Island cars in the field, and one of the favourites. With good reason his record precedes him and his reputation backs that up.

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Auckland Invasion 20/21 FEBRUARY 2021

National Drag Racing Championship - NZ Nationals A special Auckland/Masterton relationship Masterton Motorplex and Meremere Dragway have always had a cordial relationship.

A good part of the credit for this has to go to the strong working relationship between MMP’s Manager Bob Wilton and Meremere’s General Manager Gary Bogaart.

Gary has managed Meremere for the past 11 years, but his history with it goes back to when he started competing in the mid-1980s.

Since then Gary has been very successful in drag racing, winning pretty much every trophy/series in New Zealand, and setting numerous New Zealand records. These days

he races an Altered while his son Nick runs a Ford Falcon in Top Street.

trial of a Joint National Series in all classes last season.

Gary is a life member of the Pukekohe Hot Rod Club which established the Meremere Dragway in 1973.

Gary describes last season’s series as “beautiful, brilliant. It is a good idea and going good.

It was while racing at MMP in the early 2000s that Gary and Bob met.

“It is giving a better show for the public, attracting more spectators, so it is a win/win for everyone.

The two of them were instrumental in setting up “Kiwi Thunder” in 2018/19, an experiment in combining Group One Top Alcohols and Top Doorslammers from IHRA of which Gary is a board member and NZDRA. It was the success of this initiative that lead to the first of a two-year

“The more spectators there are, the more financially viable are the tracks and they can invest in improving their facilities.

“More competitors raises the quality, because the best are racing against the best.”

Gary says he has had no negative

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“It’s always good to race against as many different people as possible.”

Part of the reason for the special relationship between MMP and Meremere is that they are the only two tracks in New Zealand that are of a high enough standard to host Group One cars.

What this means is that while the other classes will be competing at various locations around New Zealand as part of the Joint National Series, these two tracks will share the Group One between them, with MMP hosting the December and February meetings which features the “Auckland Invasion” while Meremere hosts the January meeting which features the “Wellington Invasion” and the series final in March.

Last year Group One had a full field, albeit hit by the cancellation of one meeting each due to the Covid lockdown.

Meremere’s General Manager and IHRA board member Gary Bogaart.

“I’m not sure what the situation will be this year. With Covid, who knows?”

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profiles Barry Plumpton 1968 CAMARO Hailing from Massey, Auckland, Barry Plumpton raced in his twenties in club drags for several years, then purchased an HQ 2010 and started improving and upgrading the car.

He ran in Father’s Day drags and won the Top 8 Australian Shootout in 2011 and 2015. Barry purchased Monte Carlo in 2012 and in his first season in 2012/2013 was the NZDRA Super Stock national champion and set national records, and IHRA Top Street national champion and set national records.

Barry then turned on nitrous and entered the Top Door slammer class.

He was 2013/2014 Meremere drag racer of the year, NZDRA national champion 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2018, IHRA national champion 2013, 2016 and 2018, NZDRA NZ nationals class winner 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2018, IHRA NZ nationals class winner 2013, 2014, 2017 (2018 2nd), 2019 winner of Kiwi Thunder Top Doors slammer class, and then took

Photo/Steve Virtue the car to Australia.

There he ran the quickest and fastest nitrous pass ever in Australia in just his first meeting on Australian soil, with a 6.04 @ 238mph.

Barry went on to run a bunch of 5 second passes, win the Pro Extreme class at the 400 Thunder meeting in Sydney, and then lower that fastest Australasian time ever to 5.88 at 246mph at the Winter Nationals.

“I enjoy the challenges of competing with big inch nitrous motors and the unknown. I’m assisted by some great mates, nearly always laughing and

enjoying our competing to challenge ourselves.”

Barry is currently competing in a 1968 Camaro built by Jerry Bickel Race Cars and running a 959” musi nitrous motor with Bruno/Lenco trans.

In November 2019 he ran New Zealand’s first (and only to date) 5 second pass in a door car with a 5.92 @ 239mph.

And in the same meeting running four passes under national record, including a 6.12 pass as a test, on unleaded fuel, also believed to be the fastest in Australasia to date.

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Nigel Dixon KRUZIN KUSTOMS TOP DOORSLAMMER Anyone who’s raced at the highest level in this country knows it’s no easy feat. Hours and hours of work need to be put in before you even hit the track.

And for Nigel and Jodz Dixon and the Kruzin Kustoms top doorslammer that adage rings true and isn’t possible without the backing and support of a bunch of great people.

Chris Johnston 2003 UYEHARA TAD Pukekohe’s Chris Johnston has been racing for four decades now.

Highlights have included winning several championships in Comp and Top Alcohol over the years - winning the Top Alcohol class at the New Zealand Nationals for nine years in a row.

Chris set several national records in Comp in his earlier days, running the quickest and fastest pass by a Chev-

With Bronson Dunne as always making the tuning and set up calls and overseeing the maintenance schedule, the team have yet to miss a race and very rarely miss even a round which will once again stand them in good stead rolling into an action-packed 2020/21 summer of racing.

Photo/Steve Virtue

The fact that for three years the team has been at the pointy end of the field culminating in being the current and defending National Champion, and the fastest and only doorcar in the land over 240mph proves that hardwork and dedication does indeed pay off.

Powered by a screw blown 521 cube Hemi, Nigel’s BF Falcon has run as quick as 6.10. So that elusive 5 second time card is just around the corner and the smart money would be on that happening sooner rather than later.

powered vehicle in the world 5.49 sec @ 262mph and then changing to a Chrysler Hemi and running the quickest and fastest pass for a Blown Alcohol Dragster outside America at 5.35 sec @ 268mph.

The chassis of his current car is a 2003 Uyehara TAD which has recently been front halved by Terry’ Chassis Shoppe in Auckland.

Photo/Steve Virtue injection system pushing over 16 gallons a minute into the cyls.

The engine is a 464cu in Noonan Race Engineering Billet Hemi producing around 4500 hp. The PSI supercharger forces 60lb of boost into the engine with a mechanical

“We run a crower triple plate clutch coupled to a 3 speed Lenco transmission and a Strange Top Loader with 10” gears.”

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profiles Peter Schimanski FIAT TOPOLINO Peter Schimanski purchased the Fiat Topolino six years ago out of America.

“We had a 2005 Monaro which I took to Meremere to race for a few years. Then I got the hard word from the wife to go buy a race car and the rest is history.

“We are known as ‘Team Dinosaur ‘ and have been racing it ever since.

It was a real learning curve for our team as we had no idea what we were getting ourselves in for.

“Our first job was to get a team together so we approached Terry Pattison who is our crew chief and mechanic. Along with three other members, we have been together right from the start. Our best time is a 7.4 in the Outlaw 71 class.”

Steve Carlson AMERICAN FORD FALCON SPRINT

Photo/Steve Virtue

Steve started at 17 with a Jailbar Panel Van, SBC at Thunder Park, then a T Bucket with an SBF four speed. “I did huge skids and featured in “The Truth” newspaper, good times!”

Then Steve raced “The Butcher”

A ‘64 Falcon Sprint took Steve’s fancy - “Big cubes BBF, light car, easy and cheap to run, yeah right!”

A couple of seasons later, Steve got the hang of the thing, cleaned up both NZDRA and IHRA Super Sedan titles, travelled 8500km racing in all over the country, and had a ball doing it.

One of Wairarapa’s own, Steve “Cowboy” Carlson has been a keen supporter of Masterton Motorplex, with a long history in drag racing.

But this is his first year racing in the Outlaw 71 class at the dragstrip.

Photo/Steve Virtue

33 Ford Tudor with an SBC and clutched auto that was used and abused on a daily basis.

“Family and business came along.

Then 30-odd years later with MMP on the doorstep and a conversation with Fast Eddie who got me onto racing junk.com... the rest is history.”

“All this was naturally aspirated, but Outlaw ‘71 looked like a whole lot of fun. Yeah, how hard can it be!”

With a BAE Hemi, quick drive B & J Transmission, and a whole lot of learning, Steve claims to still know nothing.

“But we will be out there this year giving it a whirl.”

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profiles Eric Voice 1970 CHEVELLE Martinborough’s Eric Voice has been racing for 30 years, going back to the days of Thunder Park.

An 18-year hiatus ended when he got the bug again.

Some of the highlights of Eric’s career have included doing the “street meets” many years ago in Port Road, Masterton (Te Ore Ore Road), Heads Road in Wanganui, Manfield and Trentham. Plus winning the Masterton Motorplex 11:90 index in 1998.

“I started off with my 1969 GTS 350 Monaro, which I owned for 33 years. After getting back into racing, I wanted to go faster and did not want to alter the Monaro, so sold it and exported it back to Australia in 2019.

“I found the Chevelle on a Facebook group in USA. After doing some due diligence, the car was purchased and arrived in New Zealand during lockdown.

Photo/Steve Virtue.

“Needless to say, I was eager to get it, so as soon as I was able to, I travelled to Auckland to pick it up.

“The car is mostly as it was run in the USA. I have upgraded some minor things to meet New Zealand safety requirements, and the car was debuted in new colour scheme at Test & Tune 2020. I still keep in contact with previous owner.”

Some of the specs of the Top Street are its 427 Big Block Chev, Powerglide, 12 Bolt 4.88 gears, 5000 stall, Transbrake.

The car was running in the 9 sec quarter mile before it was imported from Florida with Eric happy with a 9.9 on its third run.

Thanks to my wife Tracy for her support!

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profiles Colin Johnson SUZUKI GSXR1000 2008 Drag racing for just six or so years, Colin Johnson already has an impressive record.

The Featherston born and bred biker was winner of NZDRA Mod bike 2017, runner-up in NZDRA Comp Bike 2019 and Combined NZDRA/IHRA Season Winner 2020 Comp Bike.

Colin holds national records for class B/SB 9.803 sec, 144.79mph.

Colin has had bikes for 40 years, enjoying riding road and trail bikes.

He has a 2006 Suzuki Hayabusa 1300 Turbo which he uses for New Zealand land speed records. His top speed for this is 334.09kmh and Colin is a member of the over 200mph club.

In drag racing Colin races in competition class under B/SB which is for bikes 650cc to 999cc which

Photo/Steve Virtue. run in an index time of 9.87sec. He also runs in Modified Bike which is for all classes of bike and runs a dial in time.

His Suzuki GSXR1000 2008 has a standard motor with a few legal tweaks.

“The class I run in is limited to only being allowed to do a few things to it, keeping it as close as a factory stock bike. She is a short-wheelbased circuit racer which can cause

wheelies to happen a lot.”

“The best things about this sport is you get to travel around spending time with like-minded people that love bikes and speeding legally.

Motorbike drag racing is definitely a cheaper way of getting into the sport to start out.

“We are so lucky to have a fantastic international track just up the road with Masterton Motorplex. Run by an awesome crew of volunteers.”

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profiles Dwane Garrett TORQUINGHEADS Another Wairarapa boy, Dwane Garrett is owner and driver of top alcohol dragster Torquingheads.

“Our team is local here in the Wairarapa and we love mixing it up with the big fellas. The car is New Zealand made and we have run a best of 5.94 sec at 232mph down the 1/4 mile.

“The best moments for me are a bunch of guys playing with the big stuff and then taking it out on the track and racing the madness.”

Dwane is always finding new ways to make the beast more beastie. The car is a 250” rear engine dragster with a blown 511 bae hem.

“It runs a clutch....so yeah I get to dump the pedal at 6000rpm off the start line with one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the hand brake. And hold on!

to race some of New Zealand’s fastest cars and are hoping to mix it up some more this season.

“Our team has been very fortunate

“I love this sport and the people

Photo/Steve Virtue. around it. When racing ,you are constantly trying for that perfect run.

When those staging beams light up it’s on like donkey kong.”

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