> HOT GOSSIP

SYDNEY CUSTOMS

THE Hot Rod & Custom Auto Expo is on again at Rosehill Racecourse, 26-27 May. A cool new feature of the event is the Nostalgia Lane hall – a haven for lovers of traditional hot rods, customs, drag cars, lowriders and bombs. Each of the clubs, sponsors and vendors participating in Nostalgia Lane will award their own trophies to their favourite cars. Cool deal! Other features will include the Mooneyes dragster, pinstriping by Hiro ‘Wildman’ Ishii and freestyle motocross demos. And if you can’t enter your car for the whole weekend, get there nice and early and park in the outdoor show ’n’ shine. For more info visit hotrodandcustom.com.au.

ROCKET MAN

GRAEME Cowin has been recognised for five decades of dedication to drag racing with a place in the Australian Motorsport Hall Of Fame. Only the third drag racer among the 72 current inductees, Graeme joins Ash Marshall and Jim Read in representing the quarter-mile brigade. “We have some pretty famous names on that list, so to be in that company is certainly amazing; I’m honoured,” said the Sydneysider, a former truck driver who went on to found leading performance-parts brands Rocket Industries and Aeroflow.

Among his achievements as a racer were his pioneering trips to the States to compete in the NHRA in the 1980s; becoming the first driver outside North America to crack the five-second barrier, which he did with a 4.895@473.84km/h at Calder in 1993; and winning the 1995 Australian Top Fuel Championship.

NEXT!

THE June mag will be a cracker! We’ll have all the action from Street Machine Drag Challenge Weekend in Queensland, nostalgia drags from Meremere, NZ (starring a group of Aussie gassers), and the formidable team of Geoff Seddon and Simon Davidson returning to Lake Gairdner for DLRA Speed Week. Plus more feature cars than you can poke a dipstick at, and much more! On sale 17 May.