Operation VPW Drag Challenge

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The challenge of holding Australia’s answer to America’s Drag Week had the organisation of a Special Forces black ops mission as to avoid any undue attention from the establishment in blue. So with confidentiality agreements and media blackouts the participants were recruited under the cover of darkness for operation VPW Drag Challenge.

Based around the popular Drag Week in the US where competitors travel to four different tracks in week covering around 2000km, with the catch being all race vehicles must be driven the entire distance, VPW Drag Challenge was born. The concept has been bandied around here in the past, though our road and registration rules pose a bit more of a restriction than the overseas event and any high profile operation involving modified cars surely raises the attention from law enforcement or tabloid current affairs shows looking for a headline.

18 racers accepted the invite only invitation to the event that would see all racers have to drive their own race vehicle to four venues in a week, no car trailers allowed, with only the tools and spares you can carry in the car or by towing a small storage trailer.

The VPW Drag Challenge competitors would meet at Sydney Dragway for the first racing event, before driving to Motorsport Training Australia in Albury for a bit of heads up racing fun with no timeslips over 150 metre track, then head to Calder Park and finally wrapping up at Heathcote Park. Winners would be determined by who had the quickest average ET over all the laps run at each venue.

Some heavy hitters did take up the challenge, including Terry Seng in his VC Commodore which has to be the toughest regularly driven genuine streeter in the country.

It was not all smooth driving, roadside repairs happened, Luke Foley’s VH Commodore suffering the most as problems plagued the car from the outset, but the crew ploughed on to keep the car running until the event end.

Unfortunately Mother Nature intervened in Sydney, washing out the first stage of the event to be held at the track’s Race 4 Real Wednesday night street meet, so racers packed up and headed to Albury.

Racers unpack, dissemble, reassemble at each stop to ready for racing, Greg Mason’s ute sure became advantageous for hauling gear.

By the end of the four stop tour, Quentin Feast in his mint turbo Torana was declared the Outright winner along with the Radial Blown and Quickest GM titles with a 8.73 second average time.

Terry Seng was off his seven second pace but did finish runner up in Radial Blown with a 9.01 sec average.

In a car built specifically to tackle Drag Week in the US, Street Machine magazine’s Mark Arblaster won Outlaw Blown and Quickest Mopar with a 10.52 sec average, runner up in Outlaw Blown was Brendan Cherry’s HQ Monaro having a 14.9 sec average.

Running a 9.68 average Tristan “Trick” Triccas wrapped up the Radial Aspirated title, Quickest Ford and was the Pro Flow Shootout winner at Motorsport Training Australia.

Carolyn Tzortzas in her overhauled Torana was runner up in Radial Aspirated with a 10.03 and achieved her first nine second ET along the way.

Outlaw Aspirated went to Steve Reimann with a 10.81 average.

Luke Foley for all his mechanical woes proved persistence pays off and was rewarded being the quickest car not to pull a trailer on the journey and Spirit of Drag Challenge, running a 9.79 second average.