Kathryn 'Kat' McDonald
The fact that Kat McDonald’s parents gave her a 318 V8 Chrysler engine for her 21st birthday is a pretty good indication of the type of family she grew up in. With both parents being staunch Mopar supporters, there was never any chance Kat would be anything but, and many of her earliest memories are of her dad racing at Thunderpark, and both parents racing at Masterton airstrip, Port Road, the Whanganui street drags, and even the Fielding street drags. Aged 19, Kat borrowed her mother’s 318-powered 1970 VG Valiant coupe for her own first go on the strip. Over the course of a few seasons, she managed a best of 16.68s at 82mph before choosing to purchase her own 1967 VC Valiant to drop her birthday gift into. A few seasons later, she ran a best of 14.98s at 101mph in that car. Kat’s competitive streak, which has seen her compete in netball and also become involved in the world of dog obedience training, saw her want to go even faster, and things began to snowball. With the assistance of husband Brett and her parents, a more suitable 1969 Chrysler Valiant was built, and, over the last few seasons, she’s dropped down into the low 10-second zone. Early this season, the previous wedge motor was replaced with a 572ci Hemi based on an Indy Maxx block. The tough, naturally aspirated combo uses a 1090cfm Holley Dominator carb atop Indy 4261RA Legend cylinder heads and matching manifold. The result has been enough power to help Kat achieve her goal of becoming the first female on the NZV8 Quickest Streeters list, with an impressive 9.86s at 137mph on pump gas. Understandably, that’s an achievement to be proud of, and a title that no one can ever take from her. However, she’s now got a new goal in sight, and that’s to become the quickest naturally aspirated vehicle on the list. While that goal will be hard to achieve, we’re sure that, with the support of her drag racing–crazed family, Kat won’t give up till it happens. Kat mentions that, while other females are generally surprised that she races, they’re also very impressed, even if they’re not car people themselves. On the other hand, a lot of guys like to launch into a conversation about how their friend’s car ‘probably has 1000hp and is no doubt faster than hers’. Sorry lads — this is one lady who will kick your arse and have plenty of fun doing it!