MILDURA’S eighth-mile is not called the Sunset Strip for nothin’. It was so
damn hot you just wanted to rip all your clothes off!
Scorching conditions in the high 30s and track temps that crept towards
70 during the day made it tough for everyone except Quentin Feast, who took
top spot overall and top in Haltech Radial Blown after nipping in for an early
5.385. In response, Mark Drew could only manage a 5.415, which was still
second-quickest for the day. Once again, on a day when horsepower was
going up in smoke on the startline, the key for both of them was to take a
milder approach upon launch before bringing on the boost further down the
line, keeping their passes as straight and clean as possible.
There was a surprise early on when a four-cylinder Gemini driven by Scott
Forrester momentarily held the quickest ET with a 5.728. Unfortunately for
him, the Isuzu motor gave up the ghost after the finish line and put the Gem
out of the event.
Another on the attrition list was Bubba Medlyn, whose Holden V8 donk
threw a rod late in the day and ended his campaign – he would later receive
the Hard Luck Award for his troubles – while Harry Haig continued to
struggle with the Shonky HQ’s transmission right up until stumps.
Meanwhile, Jarrod Wood and Adam Rogash were mounting last-minute
assaults on the timing boards. Both were finding it impossible to maintain
traction, but that didn’t stop them from circling back through the all-but-
empty staging lanes and cutting laps until the bitter end.DAY
2
SU
NSE
T^ ST
RIP,^
MILDU
RA,^ VICTORIAABOVE: Andrew McLellan’s
Plymouth ’Cuda has been
a participant at Hot Rod
Drag Week in ’Murica and
now Australia’s own Street
Machine Drag Challenge
three times. Legend! With a
stroker 512-cuber on board,
it rumbled through the week
without too many hiccups
to claim this year’s Quickest
Mopar award01: 800hp! That’s how many
ponies Scott Forrester’s
diminutive Gemini was
carrying for Drag Challenge.
Elsewhere, the Gem has
pulled eights in the quarter-
mile, but an over-rev on
Monday at Adelaide caused
valvetrain problems for the
single-cam 2.0L Isuzu four,
so it was on a trailer on
Tuesday afternoon02: Desperate times call for
desperate measures as the
Sunset Strip track crew crack
open the water truck to lower
the blacktop’s sweltering
temperature. If it’s too hot,
rubber lifts from the track,
adding another element to
an already difficult, heat-
soaked day03: Kim Smith had an
‘oh bummer’ moment at
Mildura on the second day,
snapping the end from her
supercharged HSV Maloo’s
driveshaft. Working at the
track in the stinking heat
with assistance from fellow
participant Nathan Ghosn, she
managed to cobble another
rubber donut to the end of
her broken one, then fix it all
properly at Corsa Specialised
Vehicles in MilduraMILDURA’S eighth-mile is not called the Sunset Strip for nothin’. It was so
damn hot you just wanted to rip all your clothes off!
Scorching conditions in the high 30s and track temps that crept towards
70 during the day made it tough for everyone except Quentin Feast, who took
top spot overall and top in Haltech Radial Blown after nipping in for an early
5.385. In response, Mark Drew could only manage a 5.415, which was still
second-quickest for the day. Once again, on a day when horsepower was
going up in smoke on the startline, the key for both of them was to take a
milder approach upon launch before bringing on the boost further down the
line, keeping their passes as straight and clean as possible.
There was a surprise early on when a four-cylinder Gemini driven by Scott
Forrester momentarily held the quickest ET with a 5.728. Unfortunately for
him, the Isuzu motor gave up the ghost after the finish line and put the Gem
out of the event.
Another on the attrition list was Bubba Medlyn, whose Holden V8 donk
threw a rod late in the day and ended his campaign – he would later receive
the Hard Luck Award for his troubles – while Harry Haig continued to
struggle with the Shonky HQ’s transmission right up until stumps.
Meanwhile, Jarrod Wood and Adam Rogash were mounting last-minute
assaults on the timing boards. Both were finding it impossible to maintain
traction, but that didn’t stop them from circling back through the all-but-
empty staging lanes and cutting laps until the bitter end.DAY
SU
NSE
T ST
RIP,
MILDU
RA, VICTORIAABOVE:Andrew McLellan’s
Plymouth ’Cuda has been
a participant atHot Rod
Drag Week in ’Murica and
now Australia’s own Street
MachineeDrag Challenge
three times. Legend! With a
stroker 512-cuber on board,
it rumbled through the week
without too many hiccups
to claim this year’s Quickest
Mopar award01 : 800hp! That’s how many
ponies Scott Forrester’s
diminutive Gemini was
carrying for Drag Challenge.
Elsewhere, the Gem has
pulled eights in the quarter-
mile, but an over-rev on
Monday at Adelaide caused
valvetrain problems for the
single-cam 2.0L Isuzu four,
so it was on a trailer on
Tuesday afternoon02 : Desperate times call for
desperate measures as the
Sunset Strip track crew crack
open the water truck to lower
the blacktop’s sweltering
temperature. If it’s too hot,
rubber lifts from the track,
adding another element to
an already difficult, heat-
soaked day03: Kim Smith had an
‘oh bummer’ moment at
Mildura on the second day,
snapping the end from her
supercharged HSV Maloo’s
driveshaft. Working at the
track in the stinking heat
with assistance from fellow
participant Nathan Ghosn, she
managed to cobble another
rubber donut to the end of
her broken one, then fix it all
properly at Corsa Specialised
Vehicles in Mildura