WILD AT HEART

VICTOR BRAY

BACK in the April issue, I wrote about the SFG 500 meeting that was to be held at US131 Motorsports Park in Michigan, where the promoters guaranteed US$500,000 to the winner, making it the largest payday in drag history. At the time I had a couple of reservations, mainly because we’ve all heard about meetings that promise the world but fail to produce the goods.

Well, the event did go ahead in late June. Over 500 entries turned up, and the race promoters lived up to their promise, paying over US$500,000 to 19-year-old Gage Burch from Florida, who won the final.

RAY BOX TOOK A REAL GAMBLE BACK IN 1991 WHEN HE STARTED THE BRISBANE JAMBOREE, AND OVER THE YEARS HAS TURNED THE EVENT INTO ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT RACE MEETINGS IN THE COUNTRY. IT WOULD BE A REAL SHAME IF RAY WAS LOST TO DRAG RACING

In the process, the young bloke beat some of the very best bracket racers in the world, including five-time NHRA Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. It just proves that when the light goes green, reputations aren’t everything. In the final, Burch defeated gun racer Johnny ‘Bracket Racer’ Ezell, who travelled from Lafayette, Louisiana to compete.

I loved what Burch said after he dusted Coughlin: “No disrespect to Jeg at all, but you can’t treat anybody different just because they have a big name. The race was full of big names, but you have to treat each one of them the same and run your race and do the best you can.”

I should point out that Burch didn’t actually keep all of the half-million in the end. From all accounts, he pocketed about US$160,000, while Ezell walked away with US$140,000, after the 16 finalists decided to split the prize money. When I first wrote about the event, I said that if you were a real dyed-in-the-wool drag racer, you wouldn’t want to split the prize money. I haven’t changed my mind, but on the day and under the circumstances, who knows?

I can’t let this month go by without paying tribute to Ray Box, who after 30 years is no longer part of the Jamboree scene in Australia. He took a real gamble back in 1991 when he started the Brisbane Jamboree, and over the years has turned the event into one of the most important race meetings in the country.

It would be a real shame if Ray was lost to drag racing. He has a passion for the sport, a proven history in event management and understands what drag racing is about. Col Willshire has taken over the running of the Jamboree, and, being the astute businessman he is, I’m sure he will take it to the next level.

I was intrigued to see that the revamped Supercars E-series racing simulation competition kicks off on 24 September. There will be six rounds comprising 16 races broadcast live on Fox Sports and streamed on Kayo in prime time. What caught my eye is that members of the public can be drafted into the series through a number of elimination races. The series covers 14 different circuits, including Monza, Italy; Laguna Seca, California; and Mount Panorama, Bathurst. The final race

will be held the same weekend as the last round of the Supercars season in late November.

It got me thinking: why not a similar virtual series for drag racing, streamed online? You could race in Top Fuel, Pro Slammer, Funny Car, Pro Stock or any one of a dozen or so Sportsman categories against competitors locally or from around the world. There could be events like the NHRA Gatornationals, US Nationals and the Western Swing, either individually or as part of a series. The possibilities are endless. Virtual sport is an area with massive potential and drag racing is well placed to become a significant player. A World Series of Drag Racing would be amazing. What it needs is someone with vision, passion and a bucket-load of money. The risks are there, but the financial rewards and the boost for drag racing would be out of this world.

It’s been some time since I wrote about what cars we have in the shed at home. There are four cars that I have always wanted to own: a 1957 Chev, 1957 Buick Caballero wagon, 1959 Cadillac de Ville coupe and a 1950 Buick Roadmaster 76R. The ’57 Chev has always been my favourite car, and I was lucky enough to get my hands on the Caddy and Buick wagon before prices went through the roof. But I have been looking for years for a Roadmaster. I reckon over a period of 20 years I saw only about three of them that were in my price range.

When the Roadmaster first appeared it was state-of-the-art, with power windows and power seats as standard equipment. The interior trim was pure luxury and would put 90 per cent of today’s cars to shame. The car I wanted was the two-door coupe version. Eventually, I gave up the search and settled for a four-door Roadmaster. Then what happened? A couple of months later, I came across a two-door that I could afford. I snapped it up, and today I’m a proud owner of a 1950 two-door Buick Roadmaster 76R! The straight eight-cylinder engine has been replaced with a 578ci V8 Cadillac motor, and a four-speed auto gearbox has been fitted. The car drives like a dream, has a lovely patina and is a real crowd-stopper.

Even though the opening round of the 20192020 Pro Slammer season is three months away, we’ve already been out testing. The level of competition is so high these days that you don’t park the car at the end of a season, then a couple of weeks before Round One give the car a dust-off, change the oil and go racing. When we went testing, the focus was on what it takes to make half-track at around 3.70sec and

330 km/h. That’s about where you need to be if you are going to be a serious contender. We were happy with the results and plan to go back in the next couple of weeks for some more laps.

The third generation of Team Bray have licensed in Junior Dragster. Ben’s son Zac breezed through the process, but his sister Dakota went too fast, so under the JD rules her day was over and she needs to go back again to finish her licence.

We’ve also begun the search to find a new naming rights sponsor for next season to work alongside our many associate sponsors, including Century Batteries, Speedflow, Gates and NGK. This year I’m coming up to 62 years old. There have been a few battles over the past couple of years, but I still love racing. The way I see it, as long as I can strap in and push the throttle, I want to keep driving – hopefully for the next few years at least. So, if Ben and I can land a two- or three-year deal with a company, that would just about see me out – unless I take a leaf out of US Top Fuel racer Chris Karamesines’ book, who is still racing at 87! Who knows?