BRENDEN ‘BUBBA’ MEDLYN

IN THE lead-up to Drag Challenge 2016 there were a lot of names being bandied about as possible victors, but nobody was talking about the eventual winner, Brenden ‘Bubba’ Medlyn.

“I was surprised as anyone,” Bubba said. “I didn’t think it was a possibility. I was like a fat kid in a candy store at Drag Challenge because I didn’t know where to look; there were all these amazing cars. I was in disbelief until it was officially announced, because guys were running sevens on Days Four and Five and I wasn’t sure I’d had enough of a lead.”

If you’re wondering how Bubba got his nickname, it stems from the old joke of going to jail and being locked up with a big guy named Bubba. “I was a bit of a wild boy when I was younger and my brother made the joke that I’d end up in jail one day, but I’d be the one they call Bubba. The name just stuck after that,” he said.

Despite the nickname, Brenden is a businessman with a few different companies to run, one of which is All Race Fabrications in Dandenong. The team had a few busy months in the lead-up to Drag Challenge.

“I haven’t done much racing in the past year. I think we did Powercruise Sydney and one race meeting at Calder, so we made a few changes to the car,” Bubba said. “The old turbos were a little too big for the 370ci engine so we went to smaller and more efficient Garrett GTW turbos, and while the engine was out the guys decided to paint the engine bay. Next minute the whole car ended up getting painted, which is why it’s two-tone and not flat black like last year. Everyone involved has done an amazing job.”

With absolutely no track time on the car, the guys fronted up at Calder Park on Day One and ran an 8.2 on their very first pass. “I was like: ‘Wow, that felt all right,’” Brenden recalled. “Then we went out again and ran 8.1 and then 8.01@176mph. We probably could have kept going but we didn’t want to push too hard too early.”

Bubba was the quickest of the day on both Day One and Day Two, opening a handy lead on the rest of the field. That early lead served him well when the other competitors started to hit their stride, but no one overtook the Holden-powered Commodore and Bubba took the overall win three-tenths ahead of his nearest competitor.

HOLDEN VH COMMODORE Class: Turbosmart Outlaw Blown SPECSEngine:370ci Holden V8 Turbos: Twin Garrett 67mm Transmission: Powerglide Converter: Neal Chance 3000rpm Diff: 3.7:1 Power: 1352rwhp Previous PB: 8.50@165mph Best Drag Challenge Run: 8.01@176mph Bubba credits his win to a solid tune by Jason from Tunnel Vision and the AMS2000 boost controller. “Jason checked the tune a couple of times, but didn’t end up making any changes to the Haltech. The AMS is awesome for boost control; it’s 100 per cent accurate and very user-friendly; even I can use it,” he laughed. “It’s handy when you want to make small adjustments to how you put the power down without having a tuner by your side”