NO EXCUSES DRAGS

NO EXCUSES #2 BROUGHT HEADS-UP RADIAL RACING TO BALLARAT

Just before COVID-19 hit, we got a big dose of radial action at Ballarat Airport

FOLLOWING the success of the inaugural No Excuses event back in December 2018, organiser Paul Sera and the Radial Life team knew they were onto a good thing and returned with No Excuses #2 in late February. Thankfully, the gloomy Victorian weather decided to give it a rest for a day and provided blue skies, sunshine and comfortable temperatures. The Ballarat Drag Racing Club blocked off one of the Ballarat Airport runways and the racing was on!

No Excuses is a radial tyre-only event with four classes (235, 275, 325 and AWD) and extra prizes awarded for various performances like the obligatory Best Burnout. As the title implies, No Excuses doesn’t involve winning with dial-ins or best average times – when the light goes green, the first car to reach the other end of the eighth-mile track gets the chocolates. There were 69 entrants in all sorts of crazy-fast machines, ranging from 60s muscle to VF Clubbies, along with a significant number of Supras and Skylines lining up to stick it up the V8s.

The classes at No Excuses are based on tyre width. The 235 class is aimed squarely at quick street cars, with limitations like full exhaust to the diff, no methanol and only one power adder allowed. Once you step up to 275, the only limitation is a maximum of two power adders, and in 325 and AWD the only rule is that those tyres have gotta be radials! The icing on the cake is the promise of cash prizes for class winners, not to mention the coveted bragging rights – anyone quick enough to take the flag on a windy Ballarat airstrip would certainly be a formidable opponent on a more forgiving track.

THERE WERE 69 ENTRANTS IN ALL SORTS OF CRAZY-FAST MACHINES, RANGING FROM 60S MUSCLE TO VF CLUBBIES

IT’S ABOUT WHO CAN DELIVER THEIR POWER THE BEST, NOT NECESSARILY WHO HAS THE MOST POWER. YOU HAVE TO DRIVE SMART

ANYONE QUICK ENOUGH TO TAKE THE FLAG ON A WINDY BALLARAT AIRSTRIP WOULD BE A FORMIDABLE OPPONENT ON A MORE FORGIVING TRACK

Even with its difficult surface, Paul loves the airport track. “The best part about Ballarat is it’s about who can deliver their power the best, not necessarily who has the most power,” he said. “You have to drive smart.” The event isn’t no-prep, so at least there’s some sticky stuff covering the first 60 feet, but that doesn’t mean it’s a doddle. There were more than a few hairy moments at the deep end that might have necessitated a change of undies for some drivers, but thankfully nothing worse than some premature tyre wear resulted.

Unfortunately, not everything went to plan, with the timing gear suffering an altercation with a car during the middle of the competition, but the team found a way around it. “We had officials at the finish line, and we had some races that were so close the drivers couldn’t even tell who won,” said Paul.

With 1000 spectators through the gates and a fantastic grassroots atmosphere, No Excuses #2 was a great day’s racing for all involved and so successful that planning for #3 is already underway. Make sure you check it out!

Lance Warren’s ballistic, all-paw Nissan R35 GT-R took out the Fastest Six award at No Excuses #2

ABOVE: Corey Vanderlei’s LX hatch was featured in SM, Sep ’17, when it was owned by Jodie Guilfoyle, but it’s had a few changes since then. The 406ci small-block has made way for a 427-cube LS wearing a 2.9L supercharger for extra breathing ability. “It’s pretty crazy out here,” said Corey. “I’m just on and off the throttle; it won’t hook up. I was thinking of changing to the bigger pulley, but it’s called No Excuses, so I’ll just have to send it!”

LEFT: Mark Attard’s Torana caught everyone’s attention with its retina-cooking paintjob and deafening roar. Ali Sead built the monster 565ci big-block Chev under the bonnet and was nominated to operate the tiller at No Excuses #2, going quick enough to earn the Fastest V8 gong. The donk can suck down 700hp of laughing gas as well. “It’s probably not the right car for this track,” said Mark, “but it should do low 8s on the quarter without the nitrous” RIGHT: Alex Stamatopoulos’s XW stood out among the boosted late-model cars with its polycarbonate scoop and the fierce naturally aspirated rumble. The driveline comprises a 749hp, 434ci Clevor with a Powerglide, carbonfibre tailshaft and sheet-metal 9in filled with Strange goodies. There are still cart springs holding up the bum, though they’re split mono-leaves controlled by nine-way shocks and a 36mm bar. In street trim, the XW has run a 9.98@135mph at Calder

ABOVE: Yani Rustemi’s XE looks a bit rough on the outside, but behind the stone chips is a driveline that’s propelled it into the nines at Calder. The Barra is a stock G6E Turbo mill with head studs and valve springs for reliability and a big high-mount snail for power, with a Turbo 400 sending twist to a four-pinion Borgwarner diff. “It was supposed to be a budget build, but the budget’s long gone!” quipped Yani BELOW: Peter Vouyoukas had previously run 10.1 in his mean Lsa-powered VF before it grenaded, prompting him to upgrade to something a bit beefier. The mill is now a Dart-based 427-cuber, and the whine was swapped out for an 88mm whistle on Killaboost plumbing. Running on corn syrup and tuned by Allsparks, the combo makes 1034hp through a full exhaust and standard auto and diff

WINNING STREAK KAI Mcphee has had a lot of success in his VC Commodore in the past six months. He finished fourth overall at Drag Challenge 2019, won the 325 class at No Excuses #1 and ran a new PB of 7.867@180mph at the Sydney Jamboree. The 5.3L iron block-based engine is out to 359ci, running Higgins-ported cathedral heads and a big single. The car has had input from some of the best and brightest in the scene, including Mark Drew, Shane Marshall, Jeff Johnson and Tim Bailey. Now Kai can add another trophy to his cabinet for the win in the big-hitter 325 class at No Excuses #2!

FORTUNE FAVOURS THE BRAME MATT Brame returned to No Excuses at the wheel of his 8sec LH more-door (SM, May ’17) to defend his 275-class title. However, he was pretty nonchalant about the possibility of winning the top gong twice in a row: “I didn’t expect to win the first one, let alone the second one,” he laughed. Nevertheless, Matt made it two from two. The winning combo comprises a 419ci Chevy, ’Glide and 3.5:1-geared 9in diff, along with a 300-shot of laughing gas to wake things up. “There’s no traction control or nitrous control – it’s all or nothing,” Matt said. The LH has run a best of 8.70@160mph on the Heathcote strip and is a genuine street car, often carrying the Brame family to meets and events all over Victoria. With No Excuses #3 in the planning stage, Matt is ready to have another crack at the top spot.

Although Fox-body Mustangs are commonplace in the States, seeing one at Ballarat Airport was pretty different. Tommy Pronobis has stuffed his 1993 example with an Svobased 330ci Windsor and a couple of Aeroflow turbos. With 40psi shoved down its gullet, the little Windsor pumped out 1300hp at the hubs, though Tommy had it running a more conservative tune for the slippery Ballarat track

CHAMPION RUBY JASON Ruby’s S13 Silvia has gone from strength to strength in recent years, taking out Tunnel Vision’s King Of The Street, Quickest Six at Drag Challenge 2019 and the AWD class at No Excuses last year. But with crazy machines like Lance Warren’s R35 to contend with in the AWD class at this year’s event, Jason still had to bring his A-game to take home the tinware. The S13 runs an RB25/30 from Matt Sims Performance with a Precision 76/75 snail strapped to it for somewhere around 1200hp worth of shove. A ’Glide sends power to all four 255s via an R32 GT-R transfer case and diffs, all crammed into the little Silvia by Jason himself. Jason’s already planning to screw a bit more out of the combo for the next event, and with a PB of 8.2 on the quarter, he’s knocking on the door of a 7sec pass.

ABOVE: Peter Dabelic’s tidy EL Fairmont might not look too quick, but with 455kw at the tyres, it’s a mean street car. There’s nothing E-series about the running gear, with a boosted Barra up front, a built ZF auto trans and an AU diff under the bum. The EL front end was swapped out in favour of BA K-frame, suspension and brakes

LEFT: Kevin O’neill’s ’56 FE Holden more than made up for its age with some serious speed. The 400ci Dart-block Chev makes around 630hp backed by a TH350 and a 9in, and there are Wilwoods on the HR front end to wash off the speed with haste. A two-time Drag Challenge veteran, Kevin and the FE made it all the way to 235 class final at No Excuses #2

ABOVE: Rob Marinelli had two of his cars at No Excuses #2. While Rob steered the blown Cortina, he threw Steve Koukouletas the keys to the nitrous-snorting 11sec XP. Up front is a Competition Engines-built 347 Windsor, with a 150-shot for extra fun at the track. As for the Cortina, it’s powered by a B&m-blown 302 Windsor backed by a manualised C4 and 9in Jamie Knight’s HZ Premier is a genuine street car, with 3.2:1 gears in the 9in for easy cruising and a boosted LS2 for bruising. The engine is practically stock, with nothing but a healthy cam, a 75mm VS Racing snail and a diet of corn juice to turn it into a low-10sec powerhouse. “I blew it with a red light in the first round, but we had a great day,” said Jamie

GOOD ’SPORT BEN Polson didn’t rock up to No Excuses #2 with his eyes on the prize, but his yellow VZ Clubsport won the 235 class anyway. It runs the original LS2 with nothing but a cam, valve springs and oil pump to support the extra air it swallows from the S480 turbo. The car was originally put together by Streetbuilt Racing in WA to lay down powerskids before it found its way into Ben’s hands. On corn juice and 15psi, the LS pushes 530rwkw out through a built Turbo 400 from Tranzco, with a Truetrac added to the stock IRS to help put the power down. Ben’s PB in the VZ is 9.93@139mph, but he’s already building a new powerplant for it with his sights set on an 8sec pass.