SM DRAG CHALLENGE

MORE THAN 200 OF AUSTRALIA’S QUICKEST STREET CARS SPEND A WEEK FIGHTING EACH OTHER AND THE WEATHER ON STREET MACHINE DRAG CHALLENGE 2019

Just a whole bunch of street cars doing street car things

THERE isn’t a tougher test of a car’s mettle (and metal) than running the insane five-day gauntlet we call Street Machine Drag Challenge. This is the Le Mans 24-Hour for street cars in Australia in terms of both prestige and endurance, as entrants prove who has the quickest and fastest street cars in Australia in between racking up more than1700km on rural roads. This year we had a last-minute itinerary change, with Swan Hill having to be dropped from the Day Two schedule. As many entrants had already booked accommodation in the area, we made the Swan Hill startline our mandatory photo stop and moved Day Two’s race start at Mildura’s Sunset Strip back to 4pm on Tuesday, before returning there on Wednesday. Huge thanks have to go to the Sunset Strip team for accommodating this change and getting their track prepped to perfection before spending two days and one very late, cold night battling incredible weather conditions for us.

In addition to our regular classes of Haltech Radial Blown, Turbosmart Outlaw Blown, Pacemaker Radial Aspirated, Carnage Outlaw Aspirated and K&N Dial Your Own, this year the decision was made to include a pair of small-tyre 235 classes, as well one just for six-pot entries. Following their success at Drag Challenge Weekend in Queensland earlier in the year, Tuff Mounts 235 Blown, Tuff Mounts 235 Aspirated and XR6 Turbo Developments Six-cylinder were given the nod for the full-fat five-day Drag Challenge. Tuff Mounts’ Jason Waye, who was one of the key drivers of the classes’ inclusion, knows the popularity of these types of cars, and actually built an Ls1-powered ’81 Sigma to compete in 235 Aspirated just for the event!

THIS IS THE LE MANS 24-HOUR FOR STREET CARS IN AUSTRALIA IN TERMS OF BOTH PRESTIGE AND ENDURANCE

ENTRANTS THREW THEIR PRIDE-AND-JOYS ON THE LINE IN PURSUIT OF BRAGGING RIGHTS AND ONE REASONABLY COMFORTABLE JACKET

One of the most highly anticipated cars at Drag Challenge 2019 had to be Daniel Szabolics’s HQ Monaro (SM, Dec ’19). With a twin-turbo 632ci bigblock under the bonnet and Drag Challenge ’18 Champion Frank Marchese in the passenger seat, expectations were high for the big-inch brute to rewrite DC history, though Daniel wasn’t going to have it on his Pat Malone.

Drag Challenge regulars Harry Haig, Mark Drew, Brendan Cherry, Kai Mcphee and Luke Foley weren’t going to let Dan and Frank walk off with the tinware, and everyone was ready to PB. There were also dark-horse contenders in the form of Jason Ruby’s no-prep-winning, all-wheel-drive turbo six-pot Nissan Silvia, as well as Albury-wodonga’s Daniel Drury, who’d bought Lorenzo Gullotto’s seven-second VL as a roller and fitted a big-inch twin-turbo LSX combo.

As the banter swirled around social media in the lead-up to DC19, we knew we were going to watch a bunch of super-committed car enthusiasts throw their pride-and-joys on the line in the ultimate pursuit of bragging rights and one reasonably comfortable jacket. But we couldn’t have imagined the absolute epic saga that was going to be thrown our way, as Drag Challenge 2019 gave us soaring highs, crushing lows, and victory plucked from the jaws of defeat.

Mark Johnstone’s Ls-powered and nitrousassisted FC Holden was part of a large Tasmanian contingent this year. Despite being a fresh build, the early girl completed the event and ran a best of 11.15@133mph

Triple Outlaw Aspirated champ Stephen Micallef was back this year with a more relaxed ride than his usual big-block Tonner – a turbo LS HT Monaro

Broken Hill first-time racers Ben Brown and Darren Vartuli both garnered an ‘I Survived Drag Challenge’ sticker – just! They’ll be back in 2020

Rob Giangrave brought along his XR ute for his first crack at Drag Challenge. The engine is an Efi-fed 540ci big-block Ford, making a healthy 722hp at the hubs and backed by a Turbo 400. “Everything is a compromise between racing and endurance,” Rob said of the ute’s set-up

Matt Hohenhaus made a great start to his DC ’19 campaign in his 1Jz-powered XM Falcon, recording a 9.917 on Day One and putting himself into the Top 10 of Tuff Mounts 235 Blown. However, mechanical dramas on the way to Mildura saw him leave the car in Swan Hill and continue the trip in a mate’s car. Next time!

LEFT & BELOW: Kevin Amey from Reaper Performance Diesel freighted his 2010 Colorado ute over from WA to run in Haltech Radial Blown. Packing a stock 4JJ1 3.0L four-banger swallowing 65psi from a Precision 6870 turbo, the Holden makes 550rwhp on pump diesel. To combat the portly Colorado’s weight, Kevin fitted carbonfibre doors, front guards, bonnet and front fascia, getting the two-door down to approximately 1450kg

Graeme Horner’s stunning ’83 VH is a rolling tribute to his younger brother, who passed away at 16. The SL/X packs a stout 429ci LSX with twin 72mm turbos to make over 1000hp. The car did a head gasket on Day One, so Graeme decided against a quick fix and headed home to fight another day

ABOVE: Tassie lad Tim Sullivan ran a 9.40@148mph pass on Day One in his rear-mount turbocharged big-block HJ ute, but broke a rocker stud pedestal during his burnout on Day Two. “We welded it back up, but it broke again and we were out of the game,” Tim said. “We got it running on Wednesday morning, but didn’t want to risk it, so we ordered the right parts and had it all fixed on Thursday, ready to make some passes at Calder on Friday. We drove it all the way home too, so I’m very happy with that! I’m hoping to get it into the low nines and then the eights once I lighten the old girl up bit”