Have you ever wondered what a drag racing weather station does, how it works and how it helps bracket racers win more rounds?
Every drag racing weather station basically works like this:
1 - It samples and displays the current weather conditions
2 - It allows you to record your runs from your time slip along with the weather conditions at the time of the run
3 - It predicts your ET based upon the current weather conditions and your previously recorded runs
Love’em or hate’em, delay boxes are a part of Drag Racing in Australia and are legal in Super Sedan, Modified and Super Gas. Racing without one is like turning up to a gun fight with a knife. Sure you could go a few rounds without one, but more often than not you are going to get shot down at the tree.
In its purest form it's an electronic control device that delays the release of your trans-brake by a pre-determined amount of time. Your trans-brake button is wired to the delay box and a wire then runs from the delay box to your trans-brake solenoid.
Located on the Murray River, about 4 hours drive from Melbourne is the town of Swan Hill; picturesque vistas with activities and a climate perfect for that family getaway.
All true of course. But I want you to turn your attention to a block of land 10kms west of the town know as Chisholm Reserve. This block of land looks very likely to become the next home of a quarter mile drag strip, with the imminent release of a business case study commissioned by the Swan Hill Rural City Council.
Recently I caught up with Lucas Woodburn, Vice President of the Swan Hill Drag Racing Club (SHDRC) to talk about how the project got started, where it’s at and what the future holds.
Question: When was Nitro Funny Car last run as an ANDRA championship bracket?
Answer: 1998 - a one-off event in Perth won by Lloyd Jones.
It seems strange that one of the most spectacular crowd pleasers in drag racing has been on the outer for 14 years.
Don't quote me on this but at the time I recall Nitro Funny Car was struggling with competitor numbers and their on track performance sometimes criticised. The closure of Eastern Creek (1997) and Calder Park Raceway (2001) to ANDRA championship drag racing certainly didn't help the cause either.
For those that don’t know me I will do a quick introduction. My name is Darren Parker and I have been involved in Drag Racing for around 17 years. It all started back in the 90’s when I was taken to the Nationals at Calder Park. I still remember sitting on the hill with the crowd packed in shoulder to shoulder in awe of the sport. Immediately it was the high revving Pro Stock and Super Stock sedans that caught my eye.
About 2 years later I started going to street meetings at Calder Park in my VP SS Commodore. Running mid 15 seconds in a street car was fast at the time, but soon I started modifying it to go faster. Starting with a 331ci Holden, ditching the 5spd manual to go to a 3spd auto and then a bigger and more powerful 383ci Holden and some attention from the police meant it was time to make it a serious race car and not a street car anymore. After some chassis modifications I was running in the high 9sec zone in Super Sedan.