The first Bathurst race was held fifty years ago originally known as the Armstrong 500 after it had been moved from Phillip Island.

This Thursday to Sunday other milestones are being celebrated along with the 50 years of "The Great Race". This weekend also marks the 30th anniversary of when Dick Johnson hit 'The Rock' on the Bathurst track and Sidchrome is also celebrating their 70th year of supplying tools to both professionals and keen car enthusiasts.

Team Bray Racing is once again returning to Bathurst as part of the on track entertainment and keen to put on a show with both of their burnout cars. They have also brought along some Rat Rods and a collection of cars including Les Kerlin's Fat Pipes 1971 SS Chevelle with its 598 Big Block power plant. At the Team Bray compound (Harris Park Merchandise Area) you will be able to get up close with Victor's and Ben's race cars and the men themselves.

Bill Perdikaris - Pro StockSydney Pro Stock driver Bill Perdikaris says he finally has a car that is responding to set up changes and is ready to be a surprise packet when the ANDRA championship begins on October 20 at Adelaide International Raceway.

Off-season testing has seen many Pro Stock teams producing tough numbers and Perdikaris joined them with a 7.06sec run in the Cargo Logistics/ENG Haulage Ford Escort at Willowbank Raceway that had the potential to be even quicker.

"The run felt smooth and pinned me back in the seat, but I had to abort it at three quarter track when a valve spring broke," he said. "We replaced the broken spring and machined the clutch to see if we could back up the 7.06 but a whole season of excessive tyre shake took its toll and it cracked the snout of the cam shaft."

Aaron Tremayne - Pro StockFormer Pro Stock champion Aaron Tremayne says the team has spent the off season developing the horsepower needed to fire back into form for the start of the ANDRA drag racing championship season at Adelaide International Raceway on October 20.

Tremayne finished an uncharacteristic eighth in last season's championship chase, having won the previous four championships in a row. He was blunt in his assessment of the poor finish.

"The top eight is pretty pathetic as far as I'm concerned," he said.

The performance inspired plenty of work in the team's shop in Queensland and also in testing to regain some form both in the engine department and with his own driving, which produced three red light losses last season.

Steve Read Top Fuel (Photo courtesy Terry Andrews)Queensland's Steve Read will return to where his nitro career began when the ANDRA Top Fuel season launches at Adelaide International Raceway on October 20.

Read's first event in a Top Fuel dragster was driving for team owner Santo Rapisarda at the South Australian venue back in 1995 and he said he has positive memories of the experience.

"I was thinking about it just the other day and remembering the debut there," he said. "I've always liked the place. It has a great atmosphere, the fans are very vocal and I used to love going there."

With a best run in his debut event of 5.38sec, Read has since come a long way. He developed his own Top Fuel operation and with a personal best time of 4.68sec performance is not an issue. Read runs his own transport business and has had limited time for racing over the past few seasons, competing at only the 2011 and 2012 Winternationals in his home state.

The October 20 season opener for the 2012/13 ANDRA Drag Racing Series will see the return of the Pro Stock championship to Adelaide for the first time in over a decade, with a group of local racers keen to show off their skills in front of the South Australian audience.

For Virginia resident Arthur Kolaroff, it will mean a tow of just minutes, compared to the days it normally takes him to reach Sydney or Brisbane to compete with his Carisma Potato-supported Pontiac.

"It will be great to have an official round here, most of my sponsors are from South Australia so we can show what we do in front of them," he said. "We did an exhibition in 2011 here but we are looking forward to racing for championship points now."

Ben Patterson (Photo courtesy Fred Dwyer)It’s early evening in Munford Tennessee when Ben Patterson pops into view on my computer. Like most days in the workshop, Ben and the crew have been hard at work preparing the Clay Millican driven MPE Motorsports Top Fuel Dragster.

The workshop is particularly frantic as they prepare for the upcoming NHRA Western Swing; three gruelling events in a row starting with the Mile High Nationals in Denver, followed by the Sonoma Nationals and finishing up in Seattle at Pacific Raceways.

This isn’t new territory for Ben however. For the last few years he’s been making the pilgrimage to the US of A to train under the highly credentialed tuner Lance Larsen, along with guidance from crew chiefs Justin Crosslin and Mike Domagala.