DRAG NATION

IT HAS BEEN A MASSIVE MONTH FOR AUSTRALIAN DRAG RACING!

-  SIMON TELFORD 

JUNE was a big month for drag racing Down Under, and quite a historic one, too. The 55th Winternationals at Willowbank marked the end of an era,being the final event for the 400 Thunder series, and the very next weekend saw the final meeting for the short-lived Australian Drag Racing Championship at Nitro Up North in Darwin.

Both series will be replaced by the new National Drag Racing Championship, which will kick off at The Bend Dragway, 21-22 October – just a week after we wrap up Street Machine Drag Challenge 2023 at that new South Australian track.

At the Winters, Morice McMillin won the first Nitro Funny Car championship to be contested Down Under in decades. Moriceran a record-setting 4.702-second pass over the 1000ft to win both the event and the title for the Aeroflow team.

With the Pro Slammer championship already in the bag for Steve Ham, Paul Cannuli took out the class win at the Winters for the second year in a row, making his way through a small field to best Ben Bray in the final.

Other notable results included brothers Jaidyn and Caleb Seng finishing first and second respectively in Pro Radial.

The Winternationals was also the final meeting for Graeme Cooper’s famous EH Holden wagon, ‘The Bricklayer’ (pictured above), after a 45-year career. The pair were a formidable bracket racing combination, with many event wins, as well as taking out ANDRA Super Street Championships in 1985-’86, 1993 and 1995.