The proof that Hot Rod Magazine’s Drag Week is an institution of it’s own is taking place in two locations : the spinoff Drag Weekend that is going on in the American Southwest, and the Street Machine Drag Challenge, which has just wrapped up after a week of competition. It only makes sense that Australians would pick up on the concept of Drag Week…ever since John Farone brought his 1972 Valiant Charger over to play, it seems that the Australian contingent has grown, and this year not only was Farone on hand, but you had two other Holdens, a Ford Capri and the team that basically yanked a 1969 Chevelle SS396 out of a twenty-year slumber and proceeded to beat on it like a red-headed stepchild. This is the second year for the Drag Challenge, and the growth has been exponential over last year’s entrant list. The cars are mostly Aussie equipment, with plenty of Holdens, Fords and Valiants, but there is some American iron in the mix as well, including a gorgeous pair of E-body Chryslers and an early Mercury Comet. Maybe we should send Buck and one of his field-find hot rods down to Oz to compete next year! Click play below and check out what life looks like on the road on the other end of the world!
Did I really see the guy in the model T looking car run an 11.3 with no helmet? I take it they must have more relaxed safety regs down in Aussie land!
The guy with the Mercury Comet also has a matching year Mercury ramp truck that is all of the awesome. I chatted to him at a race recently, and he told me that he had more people asking about the truck than the race car!