AS I arrived at the gates of Heathcote Park Raceway for registration day of Drag Challenge Weekend Victoria, I was greeted by the sight of track owner Lance Warren drifting his work buggy through the pits. The former IT guy pulled up at the fence, grabbed a whipper snipper and proceeded to blaze away at the few weeds that had the temerity to stick their heads up on his property. That done, he gave me a wave and screamed off again, only to return minutes later behind the wheel of a cherrypicker truck for a spot of maintenance on the track’s PA system.
Right then, I knew our first Drag Challenge event in almost 18 months was in safe hands, and I headed to scrutineering to help get the early bird entrants stickered up and ready to party.
Heathcote has come a long way under Lance’s stewardship, but my favourite upgrade so far is the brand-new concrete walls in the deep end. With some of our racers pulling trap speeds in excess of 180mph, the old Armco fences just weren’t up to snuff.
And we had a solid field of such monsters among the 150 entrants for DCW, including Rob Giangrave’s twin-turbo big block-powered XR Falcon ute, Mark Whitla’s nitrous-sucking Capri, the twin-turbo Toranas of Chris Kaarsberg and Brandon Zito, and a small fleet of seven-second early Commodores thanks to Adam Rogash, Kai McPhee and Luke Foley.
In fact, the event was shaping up with some fascinating battles in each class. Speed Pro SixCylinder was particularly strong, and is now our largest class outside of Vibrant Performance Dial Your Own.
This story is from the May 2022 edition of Street Machine Magazine.
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This story is from the May 2022 edition of Street Machine Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED
ARBY’S EFFORTS TO IMPROVE HIS VG VALIANT’S 60-FOOT TIMES YIELD PROMISING RESULTS IN THE RUN-UP TO STREET MACHINE DRAG CHALLENGE
ANIKA HODGES
THE CAR DROVE INTO OUR SHED AS A CREAM 202CI VC AND DROVE OUT AS A SILVER CAR WITH A 355 V8
STAGE FRIGHT
IT TOOK OWEN SCOTT MORE THAN 20 YEARS TO BUILD A TROPHY-WINING, 600HP EH HOLDEN UTE THAT WILL STAND THE TEST OF TIME
THE Ummmal SUSPECT
FORGET WHAT YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT MINI-TRUCKS. THIS SUMMERNATS TOP 60 HILUX IS A PROPER STREET MACHINE
FULLY UTILISED
HARDWOOD ROD & CUSTOM TURNS DARREN ISON'S HAND-ME-DOWN HT INTO A SMOOTH OPERATOR
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED
ARBY’S EFFORTS TO IMPROVE HIS VG VALIANT’S 60-FOOT TIMES YIELD PROMISING RESULTS IN THE RUN-UP TO STREET MACHINE DRAG CHALLENGE
PEOPLE POWER
WE TAKE A LOOK BACK AT 36 YEARS OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS - AND MOST DEMOCRATICALLY AWARDED - HONOUR IN OUR SPORT: STREET MACHINE OF THE YEAR
OUT-AND-OUT MAYHEM
STREET MACHINE DRAG CHALLENGE IS ALREADY A ROLLICKING GOOD TIME, BUT WHAT CAR EVENT CAN'T BE MADE EVEN BETTER BY ADDING A BURNOUT COMP? INTRODUCING OUR INAUGURAL RODS OUT!
BAD TO THE BONE
THANKS TO HIS SON, ANDY, THE LATE MARIO COLALILLO’S 39 PLYMOUTH COUPE IS BACK ON THE ROAD AND STILL ONE OF THE BADDEST HOT RODS IN THE COUNTRY
THE CHALLENGE IS REAL
FROM TRACK DRAMAS TO SOARING TEMPERATURES, DRAG CHALLENGE 2024 THREW US SOME OF ITS TOUGHEST TESTS YET, BUT IT ALSO BROUGHT SOME OF THE QUICKEST TIMES THE EVENT HAS EVER SEEN
