Pioneers recognised by ANFA
The 2013 recipients of the Australian Nostalgia Fuel Association's Pioneer Awards received their awards at Sydney Dragway last night (Saturday, 16 November).
The presentations to legends 'Pommie' Pete Allen, Jim Walton, Ian Splatt, Bob Honeybrook, Lex Swayn, and Ron and Allen Moore were held along with a free barbeque following the annual Rocket Open Day.
The five pioneers have left an indelible impression on the sport, with the positive influence of a number of them still being felt today.
'Pommie' Pete arrived in Australia in 1968 with a Triumph drag bike in his luggage intending to start a world tour and the wild, smoking 10-second times from his bike had never been seen before.
Allen became one of Australian drag racing's all-time greats racing everything form mini-bikes to six-second Top Bikes.
Today, Allen supports his son Maurice, who recently won his second Australian Nationals title
Walton established himself as one of the sport's elite racers in the 1960 and '70s, wheeling his incredible 'Hard Goa' fuel altered before switching to Funny Cars.
Walton almost lots both legs after horrific accident at Calder Park in his Coca-Cola 'Thunda Down-Under' Monza Funny Car, but advances in technology and sheer determination allowed him to return to racing to continue breaking national records and winning ANDRA championships.
From hot rodding to one of the country's best race car builders and the sport's businessmen, Splatt made a huge impression in drag racing.
Splatt was synonymous for his famous Bounty Hunter A/FA, a beautiful car that was light years ahead of its time in construction, presentation and performance.
Splatt event dabbled with a unique monocoque chassis for a very short period before moving to a more conventional blown altered. He ran his first 200mph pass at the 1985 Nationals, but after a near life-ending accident the same weekend he called it quits.
Honeybrook is one of those rare individuals who worked both behind the scenes and raced himself.
In addition to working at Castlereagh, Bob wheeled a Funny Car and was also the editor of Drag Racing News magazine.
His passion and enthusiasm for the sport is well known and he remains a respected wealth of knowledge on the history of Australian drag racing's competitors, cars and the sport itself.
For almost 30 years, Brisbane journalist Swayn was the voice of drag racing in Queensland ensuring the recently deceased DRAGSTER Australia magazine had the best coverage of local and national events.
More importantly, Swayn played a major role in the establishment of Willowbank Raceway and has remained a dedicated member of its team from the beginning, producing the quarterly Elapsed Times in-house newspaper.
Win or lose, it didn't matter to Ron and Allen Moore who were a big part of the Sydney drag racing scene from the opening of Castlereagh in 1966 to its closure almost two decades later.
Having fun was most important to the Moores, who were always there and always racing.
Congratulations to all recipients of the ANFA Pioneer Awards.
