HOT ROD DRAG WEEK 2019

PROUD DID OUR NATION FIVE AUSSIE TEAMS DRAG WEEK AT THE 15TH ANNUAL

Five Aussie teams take on the world’s toughest street-and-strip challenge

TECH DAY: VIRGINIA MOTORSPORTS PARK, VIRGINIA

THERE were five Australian-owned cars among the 400 that fronted for rego day at Hot Rod Drag Week 2019, and all of them would make it to the finish after five days of racing and over 1200km of street driving. Harry Haig had the ’69 Chevelle he calls ‘Stevo’ back for the fifth year in a row, and his 16-year-old son, Corty Haig, was all set to race the 1983 ‘Malibu Stacy’ wagon that Robby Abbott drove last year. Robby was alongside Corty to help steer him through his first Drag Week. “I just want to finish, have fun, and make some memories,” said Corty.

The ’55 Chevy of father-and-son team Ross and Brenton Gault had copped a few upgrades since Drag Week 2018, and they felt confident of running quicker than the high 10s of last year.

There were twice as many turbocharged Barra-powered cars this year, with Ben Paganoni’s Fox-body Mustang joining Ben Neal’s Toyota Cresta in flying the flag for Ford Australia’s boostloving straight-six. Back for its second crack at Drag Week, the Cresta ran low nines at Street Machine Drag Challenge Weekend in May and had subsequently gone 8.39@156mph in Sydney. However, Benny and the team were forced to switch back to their old motor at the 11th hour when the new built mill dropped a valve during preparations in Charleston, South Carolina.

Ben Paganoni had similar problems, with the Barra in his Mustang spinning a bearing while leaving Charleston a few days before Drag Week. With little hope of sourcing Barra parts in the US, the team’s solution was to switch out the block for the one that had just come out of the Cresta. Although the number-five piston was slightly damaged, they cleaned up the top of it and hoped it’d hold up.

In the mix for the Overall win were perennial contenders Tom Bailey’s 2.0 Camaro Pro Mod, Dave Schroeder’s nitrous Corvette and Bryant Goldstone’s all-steel Javelin, with Magnus Frost’s new Opel Ascona Pro Mod, dubbed ‘The Jawbreaker’, poised to give them a run for their money.

HARRY HAIG HAD THE ’69 CHEVELLE HE CALLS ‘STEVO’ BACK FOR THE FIFTH YEAR IN A ROW

Having smashed through the 8sec barrier in Sydney prior to Drag Week, Ben Neal had high hopes for his turbo Barra-powered ’85 Cresta at this year’s event. Unfortunately, the new built motor dropped a valve during the lead-up, forcing Benny and the team to swap back to the motor that he used at Drag Week last year

Queenslander Ben Paganoni had The Skid Factory boys put a turbocharged Barra into an ’86 Fox-body Mustang (with a 1994 front) for his Drag Week campaign. But the motor suffered a big-end bearing failure a few days prior to the event, so the block that had just come out of Ben Neal’s Cresta was slotted in. “We put everything together the best we could,” said Ben P. “But we’re here now and thank god we get to enjoy it”

The 540ci Bbc-powered ’55 Chev of Aussie father-and-son team Ross and Brenton Gault now sports a fibreglass bonnet and bumpers, a new 3800rpm converter, and a rear gear ratio switched from 3.5s to 3.9s. Although the car had only been driven roughly 10 miles since last year’s event, Ross was confident it could run 10.3s. “I don’t think it can do any better than that, unless it’s making more than the 670hp I think it’s making,” he said

16-year-old Corty Haig, son of Harry, popped his Drag Week cherry in this ’83 Chevy Malibu wagon, backed up by co-driver Robby Abbott, who campaigned the car in 2018. Last year the wagon, nicknamed ‘Malibu Stacy’, had a thrown-together 396-cube donk, and high 13s was the best it could muster. Now it’s got a 565ci big-block with a set of Pro2 heads, and Robby reckoned there was a mid-10 in it

Dave Schroeder and his co-pilot John Ens won Drag Week 2017 and were runners-up last year in Dave’s nitrous-assisted 872ci ’66 Corvette. This year the car was the quickest during the afternoon test ’n’ tune on tech day, going 6.54@214mph, but it suffered a broken oil pump drive on the run. Dave and John managed to fix it but then found debris in the engine and were forced to withdraw from the event before it had even begun

Harry Haig’s twin-turbo 450ci Dart big block-powered ’69 Chevelle has improved year on year since it was first dragged out of a field in Independence, Kansas for Drag Week 2015. Last year it ran in the high 8s to finish runner-up in the Super Street Big-block Power Adder class. The Chevelle had the honour of being featured on the official Hot Rod Drag Week 2019 T-shirt