Instead of trying to complete the impossible task of picking our best photos from 2016, I decided to choose photo highlights from events in my travels this season.
The first event of the year for me saw the Australian Nationals return to its spiritual home at Calder Park, and a great crowd brought back some of that feel and atmosphere Australia’s most prestigious event should have.
There was some cool wheelstanding action, the photo of Louis Svingos standing up his Valiant won me the ANDRA photo competition.
It was not a great start of the year for Bill Perdikaris who trashed his Pro Stock escort, but it was great to see Perdikaris return with vengeance later in the season.
Heading back to Sydney and Brendon Luke put on his race face ready for a great season of tough sportsman racing in the Atura Championship Series at Sydney Dragway. As it turned out, Luke would go on and win the track championship series in Modified.
We are blessed in Sydney being able to shoot so many tough turbo animals.
Lights Out heralded a new style of event and the fans ate it up.
And meeting Jeff Lutz and Doc from Street Outlaws fame was cool too.
Day of the Drags was the other end of spectrum relatively speaking, but just as fantastic to shoot – hard to top side by side nitro altered racing.
Sydney Jamboree brought the braap and babes.
Chris Stevermuer thought he could fly his Torana to the finish stripe at the APSA Pro Street event.
Joe Gauci showing why radial tyre racing is becoming so popular.
In testing for the Nitro Champs, Geoff Blake had an unexpected FED moment debuting his Top Alcohol set up.
The Nitro Champs turned it on.
Agony and the ecstasy.
Brett Oldfield had a eruption on a test day due to a drive line failure.
All the excitement, colour, emotion and drama of Australia’s largest drag race – the Winternationals. The huge crowds and those Willowbank sunsets always make for some great imagery.
The Carrot Boys were back with Aaron Hambridge behind the wheel for licensing at Sydney Dragway.
No story behind this shot, just likes it while scrawling through event photos.
Chris Manks debuted his wicked quick altered during the season, it proved a difficult beast to tame.
Nitro Up North is now permanently on my drag racing schedule, despite the insane temperatures of the Top End, this event always manages to be one of the most enjoyable to attend.
A week later it was polar opposites with sub zero temperatures for my first visit to Alice Springs Inland Dragway and the Desert Nationals. The bar right on the start line is a cool feature.
Back in Sydney and Moits had landed his beautiful black Mustang and ran the quickest pass for a door car in Australian history.
The grudge racing format was expanded to the wildly popular Grudge Kings that saw Sydney Dragway packed for a crazy no-holds barred drag racing event.
Wheelstand of the year contender Paul Linnett at the Nostalgia Drags in Sydney.
And of course the rest of the Nostalgia Drags host its usual array of coolness.
Emmanual Mann flames on at a Full Throttle Friday.
Testing was under way for another Grudge Kings event with some ripper wheelstands, sadly the event itself was washed out.
Pazzo broke radial racing barriers with his Cortina.
Alex Makdessi debuted his Pontiac in awesome fashion.
East Coast Thunder kicked off a new 400 Thunder season.
Top Fuel pain.
A crew’s work is never done.
Two legends from either side of the pond.
A bad ass new ride.
What does a world famous DJ do in his spare time?
The Aeroflow Outlaw Nitro Funny Car roadshow stopped by Sydney.
On the road again, and this time it was the grand opening of Swan Hill Dragway.
And finally the year was rounded out with the ANDRA Summer Nationals at Adelaide International Raceway.
So that is my 2016 year in review as I prepare to start off the 2017 with New Year’s Thunder at Willowbank Raceway. I must thank my partner in photography Michael Wyllie who backs me up and holds down the fort in Sydney when I am elsewhere, many of these shot are from his eye, and all the racers and crew who have supported us over 2016.
You can check out thousands of more photos on Cacklingpipes.com and my Facebook page.
-Grant Stephens
