Swan Hill – On the downhill run to a new drag strip

Written by Kym Oberauer.

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.

Nitro Funny Car – it’s no laughing matter

Written by Kym Oberauer.

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.

Goodbye Super Sedan, hello Super Stock

Written by Darren Parker.

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.