Every race is competitive…everybody wants to win. But there are different forms of winning. Take NASCAR, for example. Some want to catch every checkered flag, whether it’s black and white or green and white. Some only care about the final flag. Others play the long game, racking up points in the hope of winning the grand prize, the championship, the title for the year. Not everyone is into that. By the final race, usually it’s clear who is in the running for the championship, and normally it’s down to just a couple of people who are battling. Usually.

For the 2017 IRPA Nationals, there were five racers in the mix for the top honors: Raymond Hislop in a Ford Falcon, Peter Major in a Subaru WRX, Christoper Brown in the Toyota Corolla Sprinter, John Callegari in the Holden Commodore VN, and Matt Cherry in the Holden Monaro. Two V8 four-doors, one V8 coupe, one four-banger coupe and a Rexy set up for asphalt. That’s a hell of a mix for any kind of race even before the green flag drops. Now tell everybody that the winner takes all and drop the green flag…the racing is going to be intense. Hislop’s Falcon is a beast and just moves out, but watch Major’s run through the ranks. This guy is driving like his next rent check is on the line.