SUPER NOVA

MIKE WARD'S TWIN-TURBO NOVA HAS RESET THE DRAG-AND-DRIVE BAR FOR AUSSIES RACING IN THE US

TAKING on a drag-and-drive event is no mean feat, especially when you're on the other side of the world, challenging Americans at their own game. Pushing your car to the limit on the road and track in soaring temperatures and contending with long daily drives, potholes and adverse track conditions becomes a hell of a lot more difficult when you don't have mates and local contacts to back you up. Flying into the United States and attempting to build a car with limited resources is an even bigger challenge again. Many Aussie teams have thrashed like madmen, only to arrive with untested cars or simply be outgunned in their chosen class.

That's why you've really got to hand it to Mike Ward and his mates from Western Australia, who have run the quickest drag-and-drive average of any Aussie team in the US, with an impressive 7.35-second average over a week of racing. In doing so, they reeled off a PB of 7.14 on leaf springs and 275 radials, with bigger things still to come! To rewind, fellow racer Kevin Boulton took Mike to Hot Rod Drag Week 2018 to show him how it all worked. Mike was obviously impressed; as soon as he got home, he and his mates formulated a plan to run their own car Stateside.

They decided trying to build a car from scratch in the States would be too hard, so they started looking for a turn-key car that met their criteria. It had to be registered and capable of running quicker than an 8.50, and most importantly it had to be complete. The hunt began, and as luck had it, they found a Chevy Nova owned by a guy called Eddie Whipple.