I’LL admit I’m pretty fresh to the world of drag racing. Since my first days as a Street Machine intern a couple of years ago, I’ve covered a few quarter-mile events, including seven-second street car action across two Drag Challenges. But none of them have prepared me for the visceral thrill that is Top Fuel racing.
The location for my baptism of nitro is Mildura’s Sunset Strip, an eighth-mile facility nestled in the north-western corner of Victoria. The Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship chose this country track for Round Two of its inaugural season, in a now-rare appearance of the category in Victoria. So this is a special event not only for Sunset Strip but for the Top Fuel racers themselves. Mildura last saw Top Fuel action in 2014, when Lamattina Top Fuel Racing put on an exhibition event.
This meet also marks the first time an Aussie Top Fuel championship round has been held over an eighth-mile rather than a 1000-foot track.
The round is part of the Ken Scroop Memorial Meet, dedicated to the late South Australian racer. Sunset Strip is a second home for many racing-starved Croweaters, being the same distance from Adelaide as Whyalla’s Steel City Raceway. Top Fuel aside, 10 other classes fill out the weekend, ranging from Junior Dragster to Super Street and even nitro-powered Top Bike.
Arriving at Sunset Strip just after lunch on Saturday, I find a respectable crowd already posted trackside. Even more observers wander the pits, stopping to marvel at the four Top Fuel teams doing their thing. I soon find myself doing the same. Watching a 10-person crew working with such rehearsed efficiency is an amazing sight as they torque up valve gear, screw-on fuel lines, strap down blowers and pack ’chutes.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 2022 من Street Machine Magazine.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 2022 من Street Machine Magazine.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
ROYAL CARRIAGE
BENNY ROYAL TOOK A FAMILY HEIRLOOM TOYOTA CORONA, SHOVED A 1JZ IN IT AND HEADED OFF FOR FIVE DAYS OF DRAG-AND-DRIVE
DEBUT TOUR
WITH A SCREAMING HOLDEN SIX, DEAN TROUNSON'S HOME-COOKED HR STEERS WITH THE BEST OF 'EM
FULLY FRANKED
A SNEAKY 670 HORSES OF FRANK MARCHESE POWER MAKES ROB GORGIEVSKI'S CONCOURS XW A PROPER TREAT
NOMADIC LIFESTYLE
DON'T BE FOOLED BY ITS DEMURE APPEARANCE THIS '57 CHEVY NOMAD IS A RAUNCHY RESTOMOD PACKING MODERN MUMBO
PERFECT 10 '!!!!
THE SYDNEY HOT ROD & CUSTOM AUTO EXPO TURNS 10
VAN WILDER
PETER MARRIOTT BUILT THIS TOUGH, 350 CHEV-POWERED HK PANEL VAN IN TRIBUTE TO THE LONG-LOST HT VAN OF HIS YOUTH
EXPRESS DELIVERY
IF YOU'VE ever been to the Bright Rod Run (and you damn well should've), odds are you've seen Joel Beatson lapping in an early Falcon.
RED HOT & BLUE
A REBORN PROGM8 SHOOTS FOR THE TITLE OF AUSTRALIA'S BEST SHOW-AND-GO COMMODORE
PEOPLE LIKE US
WHEN Michael Gonzalez isn't busy making eight-second passes in CHOCTOP, his street-driven, LSA-fed VC Commodore, or cruising one of the many other cars in his collection, he can be found managing Springmount Raceway, home to Far North Queensland's biggest horsepower hoedown, Northern Nats (see p. 48 for full feature).
DRIVING INNOVATION
EVER WISH YOU COULD HAVE A BRAND-NEW VERSION OF AN ICONIC 1970s AUSSIE MUSCLE CAR, FULL OF THE LATEST TECH? DRIVE SOUTH IS WORKING TO MAKE THAT A REALITY
