NEWS FRONT
SEPTEMBER 2019: ALL THE NEWS THAT MATTERS
STORY BORIS VISKOVIC PHOTOS ROGER GORRINGE, PAUL SADLER, DEBBIE JARVIS & AL RITCHIEF
UEL altereds and gassers go together
like nitromethane and methanol, and
you’ll be able to get a massive dose of
both at the Aeroflow World Fuel Altered
Challenge when it hits Sydney Dragway on 21
September. It’ll be a massive day of drag racing
full of cars with too much horsepower and not
enough wheelbase, with the extra attraction of
a three-way battle between the Aussies, Yanks
and Kiwis.
Graeme Cowin is bringing in four legendary US
fuel altereds: Pure Hell, High Heaven, Rat Trap
and Randy Bradford’s Topolino. Kiwi racer David
Gauld is bringing his Nitemare ’34 Ford across
the ditch, and he’ll be joined by expat Morice
McMillin driving Spooky. Psycho III, Chucky’s
Toy, Agro and Berserk from Cowin’s stable will
make up the rest of the field, for a total of 10 nitro-
burning monsters. This may well be a once-in-a-
lifetime opportunity to see these cars together in
the same place.
Adding to the old-school action will be a 32-car
gasser field, sponsored by Street Machine and
put together by the Australian Nostalgia Racerscrew. They have graciously given up the club’s
beer money to bring three killer cars across from
NZ: the Lark Ness Monster Studebaker, the
Twistin’ Pistons Model A and the Pist ’n’ Broke
Henry J. With massive wheels-up launches and
bang-shifted manual transmissions, the gassers
always put on a great show.
But wait, there’s more! For those who like their
drag racing a little lower to the ground, there’ll
be Pro Extreme cars, Extreme Bike, Boosted
Outlaws, Top Modified and a Street Machine
class.
The event isn’t just about drag racing though,
with activities for the kids, market stalls and a
show ’n’ shine being set up along the top of the
terraces. If you want to be part of the show ’n’
shine, you must enter online prior to the event. It’s
only $10 (plus booking fee), and that gets the car
and driver through the gate, so get onto it quick.
Spectator prices are dirt-cheap too – just $
for adults and $15 for kids aged 12-16, and if
they’re younger than that, they get in for free!
Head to sydneydragway.com.au and click on the
‘Buy Tickets’ button. s1: One of the driving forces behind the
Vintage Gas scene is Damien Kemp’s
’64 Fairlane, Funderbolt. It might look
rough and ready, but at the moment it’s
the quickest in the world, running in the
8.70s2: One of the most recognisable and
famous fuel altereds of all time, Rich
Guasco’s Pure Hell has been laying it
down on the quarter-mile since 1963 in
one form or another. While we probably
won’t see any of those legendary fire
burnouts, you can bet it will still be a
show worth seeingRon Hope’s Rat Trap is
one of the most well-
travelled fuel altereds
going, and it’s not always
drag racing. Ron was even
invited to the Goodwood
Festival of Speed and ran
the hillclimb, smoking the
tyres at every opportunityALTERED STATES
THE AEROFLOW WORLD FUEL ALTERED CHALLENGE BRINGS A FUEL
ALTERED AND GASSER BONANZA TO SYDNEY DRAGWAY IN SEPTEMBER
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