// ISSUE 43
Brian Hope // Randy Bradford Matthew Grubisa’s Radial Pontiac Kyle Hopf // Wade Wagstaff Jason Grima // Hot Rod Drag Week Centrifugal Supercharger Tech
CONTENTS
Drag News Magazine Issue 43 Print Date: October 8, 2019 Editor: Luke Nieuwhof (luke@dragnews.com.au) Advertising Guru: Rob Sparkes (advertising@dragnews.com.au) Photography Editor: Grant Stephens (grant@dragnews.com.au)
HOT RODDING RODENT: Ron Hope has taken the Rat Trap legend and turned it into a global cult.
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SUPERCHARGED SHORTY: Randy Bradford has been part of the fuel altered world for half a century, and has never had more fun.
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HELL RAISER: Brian Hope followed his father’s footsteps into nitro and gets to drive not just one, but two legendary race cars.
WARBIRD: Matthew Grubisa is the hot pick to be next into the threes on radial tyres.
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UNREALISED POTENTIAL: Kyle Hopf has some big goals in mind for his stunning radial Camaro.
PLUS: Wade Wagstaff (42), Hot Rod Drag Week (44), Centrifugal Superchargers (52), Jason Grima (56), Aeroflow World Fuel Altered Challenge Snapshots (60).
FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHERS: Joe Maday (NSW) - maday@mail2joseph.com Dave Reid (Qld) - sales@dragphotos.com.au Hayley Turns (Vic) - halzjeep@gmail.com John Bosher (NSW) - johnbosher@hotmail.com Jay Treasure (WA) - jattyt@hotmail.com Craig Radcliffe (NT) - crazyhouse0830@bigpond.com
WANT TO SEND US CONTENT? Send an email to press@dragnews.com.au. LEGAL: All content is copyright to Drag News Australia Pty Ltd and may not be reproduced in any form without express written permission. Views expressed in this magazine by interviewees do not represent those of Drag News Australia Pty Ltd.
EDITORIAL Super Sedan Nationals? With the Junior Dragster Nationals being held a few months ago, I wondered if all brackets should consider putting on their own nationals. You know, like a Modified Nationals or a Super Sedan Nationals. It would be an opportunity for the communities of those brackets to come together and celebrate themselves, creating an experience that justifies the expenses people have to become involved. Pure fun! Like the Junior Dragster Nationals, the focus doesn’t have to be on one big race. A weekend could be used to run all kinds of formats, offering much enjoyment for all. So who’s doing it? Everyone should be at East Coast Thunder One of the decisions that confounds me in the sport currently is Sydney Dragway splitting sportsman brackets for their two big events, East Coast Thunder and Nitro Thunder. I think it takes away from the ‘national event’ feel those two marquee shows should have. Perhaps I have my rose-coloured glasses on, but there was something very special about the days when the pits were absolutely full. All those racers and the people they bring to the track would then be there in the stands when the pros were racing, adding to the atmosphere. I can’t see it being a cost issue, as sportsman brackets pay for themselves and then some. Perhaps it is a scheduling issue with 400 Thunder keen to run one-day formats for the pros. Whatever it is, I feel like these events could be bigger, without too much difficulty. Why don’t big bucks meets work in Australia? Willowbank Raceway recently had to scrap their big bucks bracket meeting, which was scheduled to follow the 400 Thunder sportsman round on October 5. This style of event is huge in the USA, but for whatever reason, racers don’t seem willing to support similar events in Australia. Part of the difficulty down under is getting big enough fields to support higher prizemoney, but it seems racers are staying away until payouts reach five figures. Perhaps we need to offer something more than just money. I’ve had an idea ticking around in my head for a bracket meet that is similar to Drag Week, where racers do two or three rounds of competition at one track, then pack everything up in the trailer and drive to a new track to do the same again the following day. The winner would be judged on points based on wins each day. This would be a neat experience for bracket racers – though I
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can imagine packing and unpacking a trailer each day could be gruelling. Then again, maybe that would all be part of the fun like it is for Drag Weekers. I don’t blame Willowbank for scrapping the event before it went ahead based on poor pre-entry numbers but hope they are willing to revive the format in the future. Graeme Cowin’s gifts to drag racing The Aeroflow World Fuel Altered Challenge was the kind of event that needs a philanthropist behind it – or should that be fuelanthropist? I can’t imagine the costs of making the event happen are covered too easily, so Australian drag racing really needs to thank Graeme Cowin for bringing that excitement. Graeme is giving gifts of drag racing goodness at tracks around the country courtesy of his Aeroflow Outlaw Nitro Funny Car and Hot Rod Series, the likes of which we may not see again for some time. So enjoy the show while it takes place – we are witnessing a really cool period of the sport. Podcast exhaustion Kind of a random thought this one, but is anyone suffering podcast exhaustion? I like listening to podcasts but the sheer number available now, and the commitment to listening to each of them, makes we wonder just how many listens some of them are getting, especially for niche interests. Why do we have websites? Someone asked me the other day what the point of a website is when we have social media. It’s a good question. In my mind, websites serve as a much more permanent source of information, with less ‘noise’. Have you tried searching for a gallery from an old event on Facebook for example? It’s a real pain in the butt trying to search back through a page’s post history. For immediacy and virality, there is no doubt social media works. But the information is fleeting, and you can easily miss important news if you spend a few days away. Websites will be there waiting for you, and the right website that caters for your interest delivers the information without all the associated mess of social media (I really don’t want to know my friends’ opinions on politics and religion any more). So go ahead and visit dragnews.com.au, and enjoy pure drag racing information, straight to the veins. - Luke Nieuwhof
STAND WITH THE DRAG RACING INDUSTRY Drag News Magazine is rebooting its business listings. Rather than one page with all the listings, we will be running small ads throughout the magazine, sized like this FuelTech one. These ads are supremely affordable at just $300 for the year (eight issues), including a print subscription valued at $90. Or for $600 we will include your business’ logo in our email blasts, reaching over 4000 people. Email advertising@dragnews.com.au to take up the offer and support your industry’s magazine.
// SHUTTER SPEED SUNSET RUNNER: Joe Gauci in the brand new Carl Cox Motorsport Ford Mustang, ready to fly down the Willowbank quarter mile at the Kenda Radial Riot. Having already reached the 4.0s, this car is expected to be among the quickest radial tyre rides in the country. Canon 1DX Mark II at ISO 2500, 28mm, 1/1250sec, F7.1. Photo by dragphotos.com.au.
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// SHUTTER SPEED IN THE WILD: Sweden is a surprising hub of tough street cars, and the country is home to some keen Hot Rod Drag Week participants. The Opel Ascona is a cousin of the Holden Torana, and Robin Johannesson drove this nitrous assisted one to an average of 7.79 for the week, enough to finish fifth overall. Canon 7D Mark II at ISO 100, 50mm, 1/160sec, F5.6. Photo by Luke Nieuwhof.
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One of the most well-travelled drag cars in the world finally arrived in Australia, and what a journey it has been. By Luke Nieuwhof. Photos by cacklingpipes.com and Joe Maday.
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Few drag racing machines have created as much a stir worldwide as Rat Trap. In the nitro-filled air of 1960s Southern California, Rat Trap was part of the evolution for drag racing’s wildest class, the AA/Fuel Altereds. No breed of quarter mile metal has been as revered for as long as the Awful Awfuls. Don Green conceived the original Rat Trap in 1965. The name Rat Trap was prodding the competition, who all race with big block Chevs, known as rat motors; Green instead slotted in the 426ci Hemi which had been popularised by Don Garlits. Green followed a conventional recipe to begin with, as even in the freedom of the swinging sixties you didn’t want to stray too far from the pack while you were building your name. Featuring a fairly standard straight front axle, the car wasn’t known for smashing records or beating up on the competition – Winged Express driver ‘Wild’ Willie Borsch called it the ‘Death Trap.’ In 1968, Green went back to the drawing board with chassis builder Dennis Watson. Gone was the front axle, replaced with independent Volkswagen torsion bar front suspension and friction shocks. “It was incredibly unique at the time,” Hope said. “Dennis built three cars all alike with that front suspension. One guy saw it and didn’t like it and sawed off the front end, one disappeared and we don’t know what happened with it, and the last one became Rat Trap.” The new version made its debut in 1969 and a legend was born, as a procession of drivers became winners in the car; Green preferred to be an owner and tuner. Hope came on to the scene in 1970, joining the pit crew to add some of his experience as a salt flats record setter. The early seventies continued to be good to the team, but the car was sold in 1972. Green moved on to Funny Cars for a time, while Hope decided it was time to settle down with the family. Decades passed and Hope stayed in touch with various elements of the drag racing and land speed scenes. He was at the Bonneville flats in 1993 with the Summers family, most known for setting the wheel-driven land speed record of 409mph in 1965 with Goldenrod, a streamliner powered by four Hemis. “I was talking with Joy Summers, and she said, ‘Did you know Don is here?’ I went to find him and we got to talking about old times. I said, ‘We ought to put the Rat Trap back together.’ Mousie Marcellus was putting the Winged Express back together and I thought we should do something too.” Hope was now based in Nashville, Tennessee, and though he talked a couple more times with Green, he wasn’t sure if anything was going to happen. Then one afternoon a pick up truck rumbled into Hope’s driveway. “It was Don, he’d driven from California. He said if
we just kept talking about it, it would never happen. I needed to buy the pipe and get started. I asked how much he needed to get going, and he said $1000. I thought, ‘Well, I’ve spent $1000 on other things I’ve cared about less.’ So I have him a thousand bucks and he went back to California, then a week later he called me and he needed another $1000 because things were progressing!” Green and Hope brought Watson out of retirement to oversee the chassis construction and with the help of a few more Californian fabricators a new Rat Trap was born. The rebuilt legend first appeared at the California Hot Rod Reunion in 1995, and it made its first runs in 1996. This time Hope manned the butterfly steering wheel and together with the rebuilt Winged Express, the team toured the country, allowing drag racing fans across America to relive the heady days of the fuel altereds. The rebooted Rat Trap ran a 427 Donovan, hooked up to a direct drive with a Crowerglide clutch. There’s a 6-71 blower and depending on the weather the team runs anywhere from 86 to 92%. Don Green originally tuned the car, with Ron’s son Brian later taking over the reins. Fuel altereds are among the worst handling vehicles in motorsport. They are designed with too much power for the wheelbase and have a singular intention – getting from point A to B in a straight line as quickly as possible, but even that they do poorly. “I say there are no drivers of fuel altereds, only passengers,” Hope said. “Fans love them for how animated they are, the cars have personalities, and we make ourselves accessible to anyone. I think the uniqueness of them, the short wheelbase and high horsepower that provides the excitement at the hit of the throttle doesn’t hurt. We love to spend time with the fans, I am incredibly flattered that anyone would take the time to come and see us, to stand and talk with us, I am in awe of that.” After a good stretch of racing in the USA, Hope was approached for the first time about taking Rat Trap international. “I had lived in England for a time with my work in the auction industry, I was flying back and forth to make our race dates from 1999 to 2001. In 2003 we were at the PRI show and a friend of mine from England asked me if I knew about the Goodwood Festival of Speed. I didn’t, but he asked if we would be interested in appearing there.” For those who aren’t familiar, the Goodwood Festival of Speed is one of the most prestigious motorsport events in the world. Held on the grounds of Goodwood Estate by Lord Charles March, the event celebrates the history of all motorsport alongside more modern equipment. High society types mix with greasers throughout the three-day event.
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“I thought nothing would ever come of it (Goodwood), but within a few weeks I was contacted and because I happened to be in England at the time, I went and met with them. They were quite interested in having five fuel altereds there. I agreed and said I could certainly find the cars.” The new versions of Rat Trap and the Winged Express had spurred others to reincarnate their altereds, including Nanook, Pure Hell, Pure Heaven and Bradford’s, all of which went across the water with Rat Trap to appear at Goodwood. In fact Rat Trap was flown to England purely for a press day, then flown back to the USA, then put on a boat for the actual show in 2004. “Rat Trap was the centrepiece for a dinner that Lord Charles March gave on the evening prior to the festival. We had a wonderful time, and that trip created some interest with racing at the European drag strips, such as the folks at Santa Pod who have become great friends.” International interest only grew. Some years after racing in England and Germany, a call came through to the NHRA Museum in Pomona, California from New Zealand. “Tony Thacker, who was the head of the NHRA Museum, said he had received a phone call from a fellow in New Zealand who wanted a historic, nostalgia type drag car – would we be interested? I said yes, like I always do. Once again I didn’t think that would go anywhere again, but within an hour I had a call from Shelly Campbell, Rod Millen’s wife.” Millen was a well-known New Zealand rally driver who had built a festival similar to Goodwood, known as the Leadfoot Festival. Like Lord March, Millen used his own property to create a motorsport celebration based on a hill climb. Rat Trap would go on to attend the event five times, most infamously when the car steered off the road and rolled into an adjacent stream. The presence of the car in the country opened up the possibility of a race appearance, and Rat Trap has since thundered down Meremere Dragway on three separate occasions. Hope met Morice McMillin, as well as Paul Grace from Hot Rod New Zealand, and they got to race against Graeme Cowin’s rack of fuel altereds for the first time in 2017 at a Nostalgia Drags event.
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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: The Rat Trap artwork has stayed the same on the car since the version that first appeared at the 1969 Winternationals in California. A 6-71 blower is the choice for most of the AA/FAs, who run on a 6.00 index in the USA. Front suspension was a radical idea in the sixties, and the Rat Trap was the first fuel altered to adopt the system - a small effort at improving the handling and weight transfer of the famously unpredictable hot rods. Ron mans the controls in the cockpit as son Brian works on the tune up - the two work together to ensure the car makes all of its booked-in appearances.
Rat Trap would unfortunately make only one launch in anger in Australia, during Friday testing. A broken oil pump resulted in the engine kicking rods while reversing from the burnout the following day.
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RIGHT: Ron Hope prepares for his first run on Australian soil. FAR RIGHT: Ron with his wife Dianne and Australian fuel altered fanatics Graeme and Wendy Cowin.
Life at speed Ron Hope’s horsepower addiction goes way further than just fuel altereds. He is a lifetime devotee of land speed record cars, a passion he has opened up to his whole family. “I have been allowed to live a life that most can only dream about, we have amazing friends around the world, thanks to motorsports,” he said. “My son Brian, my granddaughter Victoria and myself all hold Bonneville records at over 200mph. This past year another one of my daughters and her husband got licensed. My wife got her licence and built her own car a few years ago. It is fair to say our family is immersed.” Hope has 20 grandchildren in total, and he looks forward to as many of them as possible hitting high speeds in the family’s roadster. Ron’s son Brian plays an instrumental role in the Rat Trap, tuning the car and helping to keep the workshop ticking over. The third generation has also entered the scene, with Brian’s son Michael (pictured) following in his father and grandfather’s footsteps.
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“We had great fun and we got to know the guys pretty well. About a year ago I was thinking about what we might do in Australia, so I called Morice and ran it by him. He seemed quite excited about it and talked with Graeme. Then we got to talking about the available dates and I could start to put together the four altereds that came to Australia.” With Rat Trap, Pure Hell, High Heaven and Bradford’s locked in and ready to go, Hope helped organise the shipping and made sure everyone got to the Port of Los Angeles on time. “Morice has done incredibly well in order to get this to happen. I tried to coordinate things on this side of the water as well as I could and with the cooperation of all four teams we made our shipping time. The cars were a week late in leaving the USA and that caused some concern but we were fortunate enough to be able to utilise some of Graeme’s resources and get them to the race track on time. I can’t say enough about the hospitality and kindness that we received across the board from absolutely everyone.” What many fans may not know is that there are three Rat Traps operating out of the one shop. The car built in the nineties now does show duties, and two identical cars were built for racing. That means if one car is overseas, which is happening regularly now, the other can be used to keep appearances ticking over throughout the USA. “We couldn’t get a car back in time from England once so we went ahead and built another car so we could do both. The first car had been front halved three times from various mishaps and had two roll cages put on it from turning it over a couple of times so we retired that car to show status, although we kept everything in cert. “Then we went ahead and built a third car so we still had two we could put in play. That allowed us to keep one car here (in the USA). We will run California Hot Rod Reunion while the other car on is on the water. All three are identical.” Though he is no stranger to multi-car workshops, Hope said he
was impressed by the Aeroflow stable when he arrived in Sydney. “I was amazed at Graeme’s shop. I was envious quite frankly, he is to be commended.” Getting down to business at the Aeroflow World Fuel Altered Challenge, Hope wanted to be as prepared as possible and made a test hit on Friday, where all seemed good. While there were many people happy just to see the famous Rat Trap in Australia, Hope was disappointed by his race day outing. “We unfortunately had an oil pump failure that caused all the rods to come out the right side of the motor while we were backing up from the burnout, on the first run of race day. We learned we need to take a lot of spare parts, although that said we haven’t had a rod failure in four years. It always happens at the most inopportune time. That is why we deemed it ‘unfinished business’ with the intention of returning next year. “Saturday didn’t go quite as we had hoped for the American teams, and the rain kept us from a final round, so we agreed that this is definitely ‘unfinished business’ and that requires us to come back to Australia and try and do a little better job of defending our position there. “I told Graeme he has our trophy in his shop and we need to get it, we will definitely be back, Morice and I are working on the timing and location. We are talking about something that is probably a year or more away, more likely 14 months, but we are all looking forward to a return and a much better showing on our part. “From a fan standpoint it was a success, I think everyone was quite happy except us with the teams, who weren’t quite happy with our performances and some of the challenges we encountered. We look forward to that and I have tried to encourage Graeme and the teams that we need to get them over to this side of the water for a match up over here. I don’t know how that will play out but we definitely will be coming back to Australia.” DNM
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SUPERCHARGED
SHORTY Over half a century since his first AA/FA run, Randy Bradford is still having fun on nitro. By Luke Nieuwhof. Photos by cacklingpipes.com and Joe Maday.
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Randy Bradford arguably stole the show at the Aeroflow World Fuel Altered Challenge. The plucky Topolino-bodied Bradford’s car looked every bit the skittish AA/FA people imagined, with its minuscule wheelbase and lack of downforce assistance. And yet there it was, pumping out 240mph top end speeds to thrill the fans in attendance at Sydney Dragway. Like many of the other fuel altered teams, Bradford has a long history of involvement with the cult-status class. “We started racing fuel altered racing in 1966, with a chassis that looks just like the one now,” he said. “The paint is exactly how it looked in 1970. We first ran a small block Chevy from 1966 to 1970, then from 1970 to 1974 we ran a 392 Hemi.” During those days of reckless abandon in the pursuit of speed around Southern California, Bradford was one of the leaders, and he pushed a best of 7.06/212mph, remembering that Top Fuel dragsters had only just pushed into the fives in 1972. “That was plenty respectable then,” he said. We agree. In 1975 Bradford quit fuel altereds to raise a family – genuinely dangerous race cars and new kids don’t go together so well. The nitro itch would return for the now Washington State-based driver in the late nineties. “In 1999 we built the current car and it is pretty much a duplicate of the original, though everything is modern under the chassis as far as safety goes.” While still burning about 90% nitro, Bradford now uses an aluminium Donovan 417ci early style motor, with a B&J two speed transmission and a Blower Shop 6-71 billet blower. That basic package is combined with Wiseco pistons, MGP rods, SCE gaskets, Webster aluminium cylinder heads, Comp cams and valve springs, a Sonny Bryant billet crank, an East West three-disc, ten inch clutch, a Browell bellhousing, and WELD Racing back wheels. Taylor Motorsports looked after all the safety while Lucas Oil sponsors the team for all of their oil products. All up it’s good for around 2800 horsepower.
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“Our car is pretty much a classic, old style car. It’s a little twitchy for sure.”
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RIGHT: Randy Bradford’s hand had to be put in a splint after he severed a tendon before getting on a plane to Australia. BELOW: A short wheelbase and almost 3000 horsepower combine for maximum racing excitement.
Since returning to racing, Bradford has stepped up the performance of his car. While they spent their first years back happily in the low sevens and high sixes, the Bradford’s Topolino is now a resident of the low sixes, with a best of 6.05. “This year was a phenomenal year. We started out the year in March at Amelia Island, Florida for the Concours d’Elegance, the next weekend was the Gatornationals display, then we came back and ran Dragway 42 in Ohio, then the Holley Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green which we won, then all the way up to Edmonton, Canada. We ran Goodguys in Seattle then the car got shipped to Australia. We normally make between eight and ten weekends and we probably put 25 and 30 runs down a year.” Taking the car across the Pacific Ocean was something totally new for Bradford. He was full of praise for the Aeroflow World Fuel Altered Challenge, the grandest show of AA/FAs ever seen outside the USA. “The event was the best one I have ever attended as far as organisation goes, the racers we were with and everything was just first class, awesome.” Bradford took a week before the event to experience Sydney, having never been to Australia before. The only hiccup ahead of was an injury to his hand shortly before he got on the plane in the USA. “I severed the ring finger tendon just before we left. The surgeon had a special brace made to keep the knuckle from moving so I could put a glove on. My left hand was in a splint, but the brace worked good.” Mechanically the team hoped for better luck and they mostly got it. Though they nicked a piston on each of their two runs, they were in career best form. “The track was good, the air was really good and I lucked out and hit the tune up right. We ran a 6.07 at 227mph and we also ran a 6.18/241mph, that was our best speed ever. We were getting really close to our best ever performance on ET too. “Our car is pretty much a classic, old style car. It’s still short and for it to run 241, I’m amazed. It’s a little twitchy for sure, but it seems like it is harder to get it shut off (in the braking area) than on the run. It feels stable at speed but when you get the chutes out and on the brakes it can be a handful!” Bradford made it to the final round and was set to compete against Chucky’s Toy for the stunning champion’s trophy until the rain intervened. He is looking forward to a much-rumoured sequel to the event next year. “We are going back for ‘Unfinished Business’ because we only made two out of three runs. We were going to the finals to represent USA against Australia. The Aeroflow people were just phenomenal with all the work they put in to the event. Morice McMillin and Graeme Cowin were just great people.” DNM
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HELL RAISER Tuner and driver-on-call Brian Hope is living out his childhood dreams of fuel altered racing in not just one, but two classic machines. By Luke Nieuwhof. Photos by cacklingpipes.com and Joe Maday.
Most kids who grow up in drag racing want to the glory of being a driver, and American fuel altered racer and tuner Brian Hope was no different. “My desire as a little kid, always, was to be a driver,” he said. Young Brian followed father Ron Hope around the drag strips of California and to the salt flats of Utah, absorbing the dynamic sights, sounds and smells of high speed motorsport. A career in the military beckoned after school where Brian was kept duly occupied for several years, but in the mid-nineties Ron began to build a new Rat Trap. “That was exciting; I was going to get out of the service and we were going to run the car. But my career took me on a different path and I had a child of my own, so I had to make sure I took care of family first and then if there was time for drag racing, I could go drag racing.” Brian tried to make it to the Rat Trap’s events where he could after the reconstruction, making about half of them and helping where he was needed. “My involvement with the Rat Trap was as a crew member. Dad enjoyed driving and there was only one seat, and the guy who pays the bills get to choose who drives!” When Ron’s team partner Don Green moved on to other things, the timing was better for Brian to get involved. He’d left the military and so took over the tuning duties and expanded the Rat Trap operation. “We took our program to the level where it is now with multiple cars travelling the world and building the cars in house,” he said. “I had embraced my job as crew chief, team manager, doing all that and quite enjoyed it.” Driving intentions were still in the back of Brian’s mind. He was at the Goodwood Festival of Speed with the Rat Trap, and got talking with Rich Guasco, the owner of Pure Hell. Guasco needed a driver, and he thought Brian would make a good one. “That definitely rekindled my desire to be a race car driver,” Brian said.
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CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: Pure Hell is perhaps the most apt description of the driving experience for a fuel altered. Car owner Rich Guasco (right) gives some attention to the finer details of the altered he has campaigned since the sixties. A Rodeck block burns just under 90% nitromethane. Brian isn’t given much bar the essentials in the cockpit, with his legs straddling a driveshaft that transfers around 3000 horsepower.
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Pure Hell rumbles with a 417ci Rodeck aluminium block in its 106 inch wheelbase, putting horsepower through a Lenco two-speed. The original-style altered is one of the quickest AA/ FAs in operation right now, having sashayed down the quarter mile in 5.92 seconds at 244mph. Guasco’s first Pure Hell car was a Chevrolet-powered, 92inch wheelbase Bantam roadster designed by his friend Rich Railton and built by Pete Ogden. He drove the roadster for its shakedown runs but then permanently retired from driving and focused on building and tuning. The original Pure Hell roadster was the first fuel altered to run over 180 mph and under 8.50 seconds. In 1968 the Chevrolet engine was replaced with a Chrysler and Pure Hell set a new class record of 207mph with new driver Dale Emery. Guasco and Emery set the fuel altered class on fire, eventually turning a best speed of 218 mph and a best ET of 7.27 seconds, and they solidified their reputation as drag racing legends. In 1968, tragedy struck when a road accident in New Mexico saw the tow vehicle and trailer flip, destroying Pure Hell. The remains of the car were sold off and Guasco turned to dragsters and funny cars afterwards with some success, including an NHRA Funny Car win in 1973 at Columbus, Ohio. The original Pure Hell was re-discovered in the mid-1980s, having been left outside and rusted solid. Guasco began restoring the chassis and body in 1992 for the early days of the nostalgia scene. With more horsepower than ever before and the original short 92 inch wheelbase, the car was plagued with handling problems. Guasco commissioned Dave Uyehara to build a modern, longer wheelbase version of Pure Hell (the original car can now be found in the Lion’s Drag Strip Museum in California).
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“Rich is still running the car, and he still lets me Hope’s time spent wrenching on the Rat Trap helped mentally prepare him for the test of driving Pure Hell. He expected the nasty, nitrofuelled Bantam to put up a fight. “It was what I thought it would be, challenging,” he said. “It keeps your attention for sure. When you are driving for a Hall of Famer like Rich, that is intimidating by itself. With its history of having Dale Emery driving, there was a lot of pressure I was putting on myself that perhaps I didn’t need to.” Besides a stint at the Frank Hawley Drag Racing School to get an alcohol funny car licence, Pure Hell was the first car Hope had driven. “I started in the deep end of the pool, but looking back I would say I did a good job. Of course there were rookie mistakes and challenges, but we made it. Rich is still running the car and he still lets me drive, so I must have done something right.” Since driving Pure Hell, Brian has enjoyed racing against his Dad on several occasions. That presents some logistical problems, but nothing the teams have not been able to surmount. “Racing Dad is challenging even today because race car drivers are a creature of habit, and the driver is only in charge once it lights the top bulb, everything else they are instructed what to do. So when there is someone different starting the car, doing everything, that can be distracting. As for me in the other car, I am worried about what they
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drive, so I must have done something right.” are doing to my stuff. Dad has had to learn how to be comfortable with a different person. My son Michael does things similarly to me and now he handles the duties when I am on the other car. “The best part is the part people don’t get to see, which is when we get out of the car at the top end, the high fives and the hugs that go on.” While Ron takes the wheel of Rat Trap most of the time, Brian has slotted himself into the roll cage occasionally – in fact, the car was built with his larger frame in mind. “I drive the Rat Trap when he is not available. I drove it earlier this year when he had a business obligation in Portugal. Both of the cars we have now were built for me and we make him fit with a seat pour. I always have my safety equipment with me so if something happens with Dad, be it business or health, we can just put me in the car. “If I pushed the issue with him he would let me drive always, but that is not what our program is. He is the driver and I am the tuner and it has been that way for 20 years.” Pure Hell was one of the legendary cars picked for the Aeroflow World Fuel Altered Challenge. There must have been some little devils that occupied the shipping container with the American teams, as after a great first round, transmission problems struck
Hope in the second. “I got to beat my friend in Morice McMillin in the first round, he and I are pretty close and to get to race him was fun,” he said. “I left on him and he had me covered in the middle, but I got him on the top. We went 6.33/226mph and we did enough right to get there first. “Then in the second round I had some troubles with the transmission and I couldn’t get it to go forward in low gear, so I shut it off on the starting line. We were 1-1 for round wins and losses before the rain; we have decided to go back and do it all again next year.” Despite the problems, Hope said fans were ecstatic to see the car in Australia, with some even apologising for the rain. “I told them I didn’t know it rained in Australia, all the pictures I see are sunny beaches! We had a really good time, we made it into a bit of a holiday along with a race trip. “Morice and his team did a wonderful job promoting the event and creating a lot of excitement. I haven’t heard any complaints about it and the racing was good and exciting. A lot of credit goes to Dad, Morice and Graeme Cowin for coordinating, funding and putting it all together. It took a lot of commitment from all ten teams to make that happen.” DNM
WARBIRD
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Pushing a double ton on radials beats a good surf any day of the week. By Luke Nieuwhof. Photos by Hayley Turns and dragphotos.com.au. DRAG NEWS MAGAZINE | 33
If it wasn’t for bad surf, Matthew Grubisa might have never gone drag racing. When he was 17 years old, the New South Wales Central Coast-based dent repairer got up early in the morning to hit the waves, but Mother Nature wasn’t playing the game. “The surf was rubbish and my Dad said, ‘Come to the drags.’ Ever since I went for the first time I was hooked,” Grubisa said. “I loved the noise and I’ve always loved going fast.” Grubisa first took to the track in a 14 second 1967 Ford Falcon, and things just got more serious from there. Next came a 12 second 1967 Ford Mustang, then a Ford XY ute capable of 11s. The pace stepped up with a Mark II Cortina which went 9.2s at 145mph, before Grubisa built a really serious 57 Chev, clocking in at 7.50 and 185mph in Top Sportsman. Having had his fill of sportsman racing, the next target was heads up and along came an Outlaw 10.5 Camaro which went as quick as 6.60 at 222mph and was Grubisa’s first experience with turbocharging. Grubisa had an attraction to heads up, limited tyre racing. He liked the first-to-the-stripe mentality, but the need to keep the tyre stuck meant it wasn’t always about who had the most horsepower. “I like the heads up stuff and the fastest
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car doesn’t always win. I did do the sportsman racing, but that wasn’t my cup of tea.” With the popularity of Outlaw 10.5 on the wane, Grubisa attended one of the Duck X Productions radial races in the USA. He decided he needed a car and spoke with fellow Australian Frank Marchese at the event. “Frank talked with Eric Dillard from Proline about what cars were around, then Eric gave Chris Daniels a call and asked if he would sell the car. He was open to the idea and so we went to Chris’ place in Atlanta, Georgia to have a look at the vehicle. He gave me a price, I gave him another price, and at first we couldn’t agree, but after I flew home we spoke again and we met in the middle.” The Pontiac Firebird is actually not an outlaw car. It has a three quarter chassis and fits into the Limited Drag Radial class (the only change Grubisa would need to make currently is to put the steel doors back on), but is still a three second beast. “The car has been 3.81/211mph in the USA and our current bests here are 4.020 at 199.8mph.”
Matthew Grubisa is a hot favourite to be the next driver into the three second zone on radial tyres.
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Up front is a Proline 481x Stage 3 with twin 102mm Precision turbochargers. A Rossler two-speed Turbo 400 transmission takes care of the power delivery. The car was built by RK Racecraft. “It is not a light weight, it’s 3050 pounds with me and a bit of ballast in it. But it works, the car doesn’t lift a wheel as it goes down the track. It is actually really great car to drive, the radial tyres make for a smooth drive over the 10.5 racing. On 10.5s you would be all over the place, but once the radial tyres are stuck you are on. The car does try and spin the tyres up the top, but that’s on Australian tracks trying to push the limits. If the car was back in the States, it would definitely be a 3.70 car.” Grubisa enjoys the driving aspect of the car, but is happy to leave the tuning to the pros. “I use Kon Michaloudakis from Wollongong Automotive Services, and Geoff Campbell Brown, those two guys are on the tune of the car. To be quite honest, I am not computer savvy, so I help with maintenance but as for tuning they do it all. They have done a great job so far, it is one of the most consistent cars in Australia. We are doing it in baby steps; we don’t want to hurt the engine.” Despite the caution, Grubisa endured a tough week at the Kenda Radial Riot, dealing with mechanical problems of all sizes. “We probably would have cracked the three second zone but we had real bad luck. It was a kick in the teeth to tell you the truth because we were pumped for that race. On the Friday night we had broken oil lines, then in the first round of the $5k shootout it broke the input shaft in the trans. I had to go and buy another transmission from another race team which didn’t impress my wife too much.” Given how rare it is to get a quality radial track surface in
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Australia, it made the dramas all the more frustrating. But with the preparation making strides just like the racers, Grubisa remains hopeful he will see that three second time card before long. “Each time we take the car to the track we move the car forward half a tenth. I dare say next year we should have the car running consistent 3.9s at over 200mph, and if it is a killer track hopefully a 3.8.” Grubisa only just missed becoming the first racer in Australia to exceed 200mph on radials, a feat he had the ignominy of watching happen alongside him as Ben Bray took the mark. “I pedalled the car twice on the run as it was knocking the tyre off and we still went 4.05/198, and he had to go 200 next to us! It was a great race though, a lot of people enjoyed it. “The Outlaw Radial scene is growing more and more with extra cars coming over. I think next year you could have a top 16 of high three and low four second cars. There is really good sportsmanship right now, everyone gets along, you can go racing through the day and have a beer at the end. I can’t say a bad word about anyone.” There’s certainly an arms race in progress right now with some of the world’s quickest radial cars ending up down under, but rather than seeking any more power (he has plenty on tap), Grubisa has invested in more spares to ensure his team has the depth to chase championships. That is his ultimate goal. “We now have a spare trans, spare convertor, a spare diff centre, spare engine parts, and we are hoping next year we can get through all the races. Even if we break we want to be able to fix it at the track. We were only a few points behind Dale Heiler coming into Radial Riot but I just had a shitty weekend, it did not work out at all how we wanted so next year we are going for it.” DNM
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UNREALISED POTENTIAL
Seeing horsepower theory become an elapsed time reality is Kenda Radial Riot winner Kyle Hopf’s obsession. By Luke Nieuwhof. Photos by dragphotos.com.au.
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Kyle Hopf has a bigger picture in mind. The owner of the twin turbo, Noonan Hemi-powered 6boost Chev Camaro saw his quickest ever time slips at the Kenda Radial Riot on September 21 at Willowbank Raceway, but following the event he seemed relaxed about his achievements, even muted. The car, driven by Hopf’s good friend Terry Seng, went within the proverbial bee’s appendage of the first 200mph run on radials in this country, hitting 199.58mph during the Friday night $5,000-to-win shootout. “To be honest it (200mph) wasn’t a goal. Our long term goal is to be running 3.7s at over 210mph,” Hopf said. “The chassis management and power delivery to achieve that is far beyond where we are now. We are trying to make the chassis happy so it can take considerably more power. That is our primary goal, and whatever increments and speeds fall in achieving that is just what will come. “The potential of the car and the engine is almost mind
blowing, since the first day we finished the vehicle we haven’t added one pound of boost or one degree of timing. There is still about 1000hp in the tune up on the same boost, then we have another 30psi we can add on top of that. I am confident the package would easily run 3.6s with this chassis and the right track.” Hopf was much happier to be a part of the first sideby-side three second contest in Australian radial tyre drag racing, a coming of age for the class. The milestone happened against Wade Wagstaff in the semi finals of the Friday shootout. “We ran our first three in testing on Friday and then backed it up with our second three against Wade,” Hopf said. “It was probably the happiest I have ever been to lose a race. To run two almost identical three second passes, and back it up with Wade, was pretty memorable. If we couldn’t run the first three in the country at least we got to be part of the first side-by-side three.”
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After Friday night’s killer runs, the weather began to interfere on Saturday. With fresh prep on Saturday morning, Wagstaff was able to run a new record, but the heat gradually got to the surface. Somehow Hopf and Seng survived to take the Unlimited Radial victory. “I think the Friday track was good, but Saturday didn’t have the super glued feeling; it wasn’t tearing shoes off. It was close to 30 degrees so they were fighting the elements. We even spun with considerable power pulled out and very rarely have we had an issue with tyre spin with this car. “(Our Saturday win) was a Bradbury, everyone else tripped over. We didn’t have an overly successful day, but we managed to get where we needed to be.” Hopf was referencing infamous Australian speed skater Steven Bradbury, who came from last position in the 2002 Winter Olympics to win a gold medal when all of his opponents crashed out on the final corner. Seng defeated Simon Kryger in round one with a 4.08/198mph but as the sun beat down on the track each pass became trickier. He took advantage of a red light from Craig Hewitt in round two and then had a win by default in round three when Dale Heiler (who claimed the overall 2019 Kenda championship) had head gasket problems. By contrast to Heiler’s woes, Hopf said his Noonan powerplant was performing flawlessly. The Camaro’s 4.9 Hemi was one of the first used anywhere in the world for a turbocharged application. “The Noonan has been pretty much faultless since it went in the car. We have never really done a single thing to it, we are at the stage now where we only check the lash every couple of passes and we virtually don’t put a spanner on it.” As well as good equipment, Hopf has made sure he is surrounded by the best people including talented tuners and drag racing veterans. “I’m really fortunate to have built both friendships and business relationships with some of the best people in the country in each field. I crew for Aaron Tremayne in Pro Stock, he is a really good chassis guy and general vehicle tuner. We have Justin and Michael from JW Automotive who are extremely smart with powertrain management and EFI tuning, and really have the Motec figured out. They are following on from the radial package that Shane Tecklenburg put in the car when he was here last year.” You’ve probably noticed now Hopf owns the car, but doesn’t do the driving. From his perspective it’s about catering to strengths and weaknesses, as well as protecting his investment in the machine. “I would like to be a really good chassis builder and tuner, rather than a bad driver,” he said. “My forte with cars is the creation and utilisation of horsepower, not so much the driving aspect. I appreciate each has its own skills but my passion is to make the car go, not to cut a light to beat someone. “Terry has hundreds, if not thousands, of passes in a small tyre radial car. One of the things I was trying to achieve was looking after the car, and controlling things like power wheelies and spinning the tyre can only come with experience. Terry is one of my closest friends, we have worked together for years and years, so it was very easy to pick him to drive the car.”
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ABOVE LEFT: Kyle Hopf brings Terry Seng into the staging beams. Hopf said he trusts Seng in the driver’s seat to protect the investment he has made in the beautiful Camaro. ABOVE RIGHT: Tyre stuck, the Noonan 4.9 Hemi powerplant and Precision turbos can really begin to wind on the power.
The Kenda Radial Riot was a step forward for the Australian radial scene, with a track that was the equivalent of a USA surface. Hopf would like to benchmark himself against the best in the world, but he understands that where USA racers have access to such a surface many times a year, Australia will likely have to settle for just a handful. “It is everyone’s ultimate goal to race against the big guns. It has become apparent to me that what we can achieve is vastly different, because of the chassis and tuning difference based on race track prep. It is not a matter of lack of knowledge in Australia, it is just that you need those race tracks to learn the chassis tuning to achieve the same ET. “All the guys at the front in America have been there for years, or they have access to knowledge to get in the ball park in a short amount of time. We have to suck it and see, try something and see
if it works.” For all the quality of performances at Australia’s biggest radial drag racing event, Hopf felt it was the sense of community that made the Kenda Radial Riot stand out. “Drag racing for us is always a really rewarding place, it is somewhere you get to share what you do with all your friends and family. It is becoming really apparent that the Kenda 660 Series is different in terms of mateship and camaraderie. I looked around the pits on Friday night after testing and there were hundreds of people standing around having a beer with each other and talking, everyone was happy, there was music playing, and virtually everyone who raced was at trophy presentations. It was really rewarding to be a part of a racing community so supportive of each other, appreciating each other and celebrating everyone’s achievements rather than just being about winning finals.” DNM
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WADE-IAL RECORD Experience in the USA quickly translated to hometown success at Kenda Radial Riot for Wade Wagstaff. By Luke Nieuwhof. Photos by dragphotos.com.au Every time Wade Wagstaff fired up his 57 Chev at Willowbank Raceway, there was expectation. The Queensland-based team had just returned from a tour of duty in the USA, where they took on the best radial events in the world – No Mercy and Lights Out. Having been as quick as 3.79/196mph, fans at the Kenda Radial Riot and Wagstaff alike wondered if the performances could be replicated in Australian conditions. “We were stressing a little, bringing the car from the States and thinking it was not going to be as good here,” he said. “We were hoping to go into the 80s but in our heads we were thinking the track was only good for a 90.” Wagstaff’s expectations were subverted thanks to the efforts of the Kenda 660 Series organisers and US track prep specialist Kurt Johnson (not the same Kurt Johnson of Pro Stock fame, in case you were wondering). “Kurt pretty much said to Justin and Scott (from the Kenda Series) what he needed to make the track as good as America. He needed a rotator, so he gave the specs and Darren at All Type Engineers made it. Justin and Scott organised to get the spray rig made and Kurt told them the amount of drums of glue he needed. Everyone was stoked with the track.” Coming straight from the famed traction of South Georgia Motorsport Park, Wagstaff was prepared to make changes to his Chev to suit Willowbank, but after initial caution on the tune up he began to wind the power back in. “Suspension wise we didn’t touch the car, it was purely power management. We played with the timing map and the dump valve timing, fuel timers, that was pretty much it. We kept chipping away at and we ran 3.82/197 at current Radial vs The World weight rules. “It did not miss a beat the whole weekend, the only spanner we put on the car was for checking lash in between rounds. We checked the bearings on Friday night and they were perfect, the car performed awesome all round.” As Wagstaff took the ET mark, Pro Slammer veteran Ben Bray claimed the first 200mph run. Wagstaff said a lock up clutch like Bray’s would
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put him over 200mph as well, but he may go chasing other areas of investment first, such as a C-rotor PSI. “We have slip up the top as opposed to Ben who can apply the lock up and bring home the speed. It would be a big change for us (to add a lock up clutch) and I am not sure how much ET it would knock off. ET wise we were stoked, we make the power early and we can apply it early.” While resetting the Australian radial record was a highlight, Wagstaff was just as happy to be a part of the first side-by-side three second race against Terry Seng. “We were thinking in the lanes this could be the first side by
side three. We had been in the threes and Terry ran his first three second pass on the run before. He came up to me and said, ‘Let’s do it.’ Terry and I were over the moon down the other end, and I think that was one of the best moments, especially for the crowd.” Wagstaff currently has no plans to return to the USA, especially if the track preparation can stay on point. “We still have the slicks and wheelie bars if we ever want to go Pro Extreme, but at this stage it is working well on the radials. It is a lot of fun, everyone gets along, and there are no rules, just do what you want and have fun.” DNM
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What is freedom? The ability to drive a five-second Pro Mod for a thousand miles on public roads might just be it. By Luke Nieuwhof.
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Hundreds of America’s fastest street cars, and some of Australia’s, were deployed on to four race tracks and a thousand miles of public roads yet again for Hot Rod Drag Week. The event was run on the east coast of the USA for the first time, taking competition to some legendary tracks including Virginia Motorsports Park, Cecil County Dragway, Atco Dragway and Maryland International Raceway. Just over 350 cars made it through scrutineering and prepared to take on the gruelling five day event. Monday got off to a wet start in Virginia with competitors restricted to just one run each, as morning showers delayed the race start. Conditions got warmer at each track, getting up into the mid thirties on the Celsius scale at Maryland, until a cool change allowed for some ‘Hail Mary’ runs on the final day back at Virginia. Five Australian cars competed this year, with only one being shipped across – Ben Neal’s Ford Barra-powered Toyota Cresta. The Australian Barra motor is earning a cult following worldwide right now – and racers such as Neal can take credit for that. Originally part of the Mighty Car Mods team but now the star of his own YouTube channel, Neal’s ‘Eight Second Cresta’ is known the world over. He even had a fan come from as far as Detroit to check out the flying four-door. At least year’s Drag Week, Neal impressed with his professional attitude which saw the team first in the staging lanes on most days and finishing the week – no small achievement for a debut at the event. This year Neal took on an additional challenge, building a motor for Ben Paganoni to go into a fox-body Ford Mustang the team purchased in the States. The workload increased when engine troubles struck both the Cresta and the Mustang before the event even began. The Cresta dropped a valve while it was being backed off a hoist in a stroke of bad luck for Neal, while Paganoni’s Mustang suffered some bottom end damage. Neal put the team’s lone spare motor into the Cresta, while the bottom end of the Cresta’s Barra went into Paganoni’s Mustang. Paganoni must have been wondering if Drag Week was cursed for him, as last year he missed out on the event while his Ford ute was stuck in a shipping container somewhere on the east coast of America. Come race week, things got on track and the pair performed almost flawlessly. The only major hiccup was on day two at Cecil County Dragway, where Paganoni’s Mustang started to misfire before a run, and then wouldn’t start. After hours trying to find the problem, and being on the verge of calling a trailer to withdraw from the week, a faulty MAP (manifold absolute pressure) sensor was finally found. Paganoni’s final average of 8.835 and best of 8.677 seconds gave him the honour of having the quickest six cylinder average for the week of any Drag Week racer. The team were hoping to turn up the boost on the final day but couldn’t get the car to go over spring pressure, which was around 27psi.
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CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Ben Paganoni was early in the lanes each day, and the preparation paid off. Brenton Gault and father Ross enjoy their annual get together with the family’s 55 Chev. Ben Neal on the road in his internet famous Toyota Cresta.
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CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: Harry Haig has refined what looks extremely unrefined into an 8.5 second car. One of the best things about Drag Week is seeing awesome cars in unconventional settings, like Bryant Goldstone at a Dash In petrol station. Robby Abbott (centre) helps the Swedes with their nitrous Ascona. Ben Paganoni prepares for launch in his Barra-powered Mustang.
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“The whole Drag Week experience has been pretty good, it’s had its ups and downs,” he said. “It started off rough, we were concerned we weren’t going to be able to start the whole week itself.” Neal finished the week with an average of 8.924 and a best time of 8.615 seconds, enough to claim third place in Modified Power Adder. “Just finishing after the last two weeks has been surreal,” Neal said. “Drag Week itself hasn’t been too bad but the week leading up to Drag Week was something else.” Harry Haig was back once again in the cult favourite Chevelle known as Steve-o. There were no major changes for the twin turbocharged big block Chev this year, with Haig instead focused on fine tuning what he had. His major problem on day one was avoiding the wet weather, with the amount of holes in the Chevell’s body leaving Haig concerned about the car dripping water on to the track. But he got down there, and was able to get on the road for the next track. On day three Haig went perilously close to not making a run, with a new fuel pump having to be installed. He was one of the last drivers to record a time at Atco, but the big Chevelle stayed solidly in the eights. Day four proved just as much a headache; this time a new front wheel was required. But on both occasions of mechanical need, the Drag Week community came through. It was impressive to see that as soon as Haig called out for spare parts, a fellow racer was at their pit area in minutes to help. Haig finished the week on a high, with a new personal best of 8.583 at 158mph, and a week-end average of 8.658. As busted-ass as Steve-o looks, the car was impressively consistent with a one tenth of a second spread across the week’s five time slips. Haig finished third in the Street Race Big Block Power Adder class. Joining Haig in America for the first time was son Corty. Having joined his Dad for Street Machine Drag Challenge in Australia before, Corty was familiar with what the whole deal was about. He was driving the Chevy Malibu wagon known as ‘Malibu Stacy’, together with engine builder Robby Abbott. The quietly spoken Corty had to get used to running on slicks and using a transbrake, but by the end of the week managed to run a 10.235. The car was running the big block Chev it was meant to have last year, which got stuck in a shipping container before the event. “My best memory would be meeting all the new people, the Swedes, all the American Drag Weekers, I haven’t met a bad one yet,” he said. Abbott was doing some racing as well, but was kept busiest in the pits and on the road, with his engine building skills coming in handy to assist a huge number of teams. He was on board with the Barra boys to help them with their pre-event engine dramas, he kept the Swedish Ascona running and he made sure the Malibu and the Chevelle got through all five days as well. Quietly going about their business were father and son team Ross and Brenton Gault. Ross lives in California and reconnects with Brenton once a year to hit up Drag Week in the family’s 55 Chev. The shoebox had some weight reduction since last year’s event thanks to a fibreglass bonnet and bumpers and hopes were high for some low 10 second runs. Last year the team was held back by a fuel issue and unfortunately the problem persisted into this year, limiting them to an average of 10.878 and a best of 10.540. Interestingly it was still enough for them to finish eighth in the popular Street Race Big Block class. “We do have a little fuel issue but we can’t complain,” Brenton said. “We didn’t have any real issues on the road so it was a pretty successful week.”
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CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE LEFT: One of the checkpoints for the week included a nuclear power plant as a backdrop. Racers can’t be too precious about their cars, with many of the checkpoints including gravel parking lots. Craig Groebner unleashes on Atco Dragway - he later did an even better trailer skid past the front gates of the track. Some racers rely on a roof rack only, chasing one of Drag Week’s coveted mini-awards - Quickest Without A Trailer. Humming along on the open highway on the way to the next track.
The lowlight of Drag Week 2019 was a heavy crash involving Sweden’s Magnus Frost and his Proline-powered Opel Ascona. Frost’s car blacktracked early and never settled, eventually turning right into a slide and the hitting the opposite wall, crunching up the front of the short wheelbase Ascona, which had clocked a 230mph run the previous day. The Swedes did not let the accident end the party however, keeping their nitrous ‘OG’ Ascona going while cruising with the Aussie Chevelle team for the week. They earned the Spirit of Drag Week Award for their positivity in the face of the adversity. As far as highlights though, it had to be Tom Bailey’s five second blast, the first Drag Week car to ever smash through the barrier. There are people who will say that Bailey’s 1969 Camaro is no street car. He’s reticent in using the term himself to describe what he says is a Pro Mod through and through. The truth is that Bailey’s Camaro, and past Drag Week winners such as Jeff Lutz’
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Camaro and Larry Larson’s Chev pick up truck, straddle across both genres. They are streetable Pro Mods. Cruising the back roads of Delaware through the coastal marshes, I watched Bailey’s Camaro navigate the bumps of the road with trailer in tow, headlights illuminating the road ahead. The motor wasn’t roaring, a muffled turbo tone only hinting at the power held underneath the carbon fibre front clip. It was hard not to see the Camaro as a street car at that time as it indicated around corners, stopped at red lights and refilled at rural gas stations. The internet is an easy place to get worked up about what is and isn’t a street car, but when people physically witness Bailey and engine builder Steve Morris knocking down the road miles, opinion changes. The Camaro known as ‘Sickseconds 2.0’ first appeared at the 2015 running of Drag Week but had never lived up to its full potential. The car won on debut with an average in the high sixes, but in 2016 the car hurt a piston and cylinder on day one and could not
return. 2017 was even worse as the car broke a rod on day two. In 2018 Bailey rested 2.0 in favour of his original Project Six Seconds Camaro, which had last appeared at the 2014 running of the Drag Week. 2019 would prove to be a different affair, and one which would create history for street cars. The mechanical problems disappeared and Bailey was able to concentrate on getting the Camaro from A to B. Tyre shake was his greatest enemy, but the team were able to conquer the quarter miles with runs of 6.21, 6.83, 6.18 and 6.27 on the first four days. Then came day five, as the parade of street machines, hot rods and drag cars returned to Virginia Motorsports Park, prepped by renowned track specialist Tyler Crossnoe, and there was little doubt Bailey and Morris had five seconds on their mind. An early pass of 6.07 was a new personal best for the team and the quickest run ever made at Drag Week by a car to complete the week, yet Morris threw his wheelie bar wrench in frustration. They would have time
for just one more shot at the track. Bailey had the last car in the lanes as conditions cooled and the sun dropped, and it was his time to make history. The car left softly but poured on the power at mid track. The Camaro steered left, with Bailey having to give an ever-so-slight pedal to stick the tyre and get it back into the centre of the lane. He flashed through the finish line for a 5.998 at 250mph, starting wild celebrations around VMP as the number appeared on the readout boards. The first five second pass of Hot Rod Drag Week was official. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, Hot Rod Drag Week should be on the bucket list for every drag racing fan, there is no other event like it. But if America is too far away, Street Machine’s Drag Challenge in Australia is just as good an experience – make sure to check it out in November. Thanks go to the team at Street Machine for having us along for the ride, same time next year? DNM
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THE RIGHT
SPIN
There’s a new player in the boost game. Centrifugal superchargers look very much like turbochargers to the untrained eye, as they share the concept of an impeller drawing air into a housing for it to be compressed. In fact, a centrifugal supercharger and turbocharger can both be called centrifugal compressors. The difference comes in how the impeller is turned. A turbocharger takes advantage of exhaust gases, using otherwise wasted air velocity to rotate a turbine wheel, which in turn spins the impeller. A centrifugal supercharger dispenses with the exhaust arrangement in favour of a belt drive, linking to a pulley on the crankshaft. The term ‘centrifugal’ is used to define the way the air is compressed ahead of being flowed into the motor. Once the impeller has done its work and pulled in the air from outside, the supercharger uses an internal diffuser to convert the high velocity of the incoming air to high pressure. Now you have a supply of what we know as boost, compressed air for the motor to take advantage of. Of course, the more air you can supply to a motor, the more fuel can be burned. And at the end of the day, any supercharger is just a glorified air pump. If you were to write a list of pros and cons for various ways of providing boost, a centrifugal supercharger would sit somewhere between a turbocharger and the more familiar positive displacement superchargers, such as the GMC-style blowers seen on Top Fuel or Pro Alcohol dragsters. Lag is a weakness for turbochargers, as the turbocharger needs to wait for the exhaust gases to spool the turbine wheel. Positive displacement superchargers on the other hand are directly linked to RPM because they are physically driven by the crankshaft. A centrifugal supercharger does not have the long lag of a turbo, but does suffer from more lag than its positive displacement cousins. While turbos take some time to reach peak boost, they will ultimately deliver greater amounts of air to a motor. As the motor’s RPM grows, so does the velocity of the air rushing past the turbine wheel, which allows more air into the motor, so more fuel can be burned, so the RPM increases – this would all happen in an endless loop if you allowed it. A centrifugal supercharger is limited by crank speed.
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These Top Dragsters are both using centrifugal superchargers, with slightly different interpretations. Above uses a shorter belt drive and places the unit in front of the motor, where it draws air from behind the cockpit. Below places the unit to the side with a longer drive belt, then uses pipework to draw air in from the scoop. Both use a ‘blow through’ arrangement.
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Parasitic draw is the lost energy it takes for the motor to turn a supercharger. A turbocharger does not draw power from a motor to turn because for all intents and purposes it uses what would otherwise be wasted exhaust gases. Belts on superchargers are different. The big superchargers seen on Top Fuel motors take hundreds of horsepower just to turn over. A centrifugal supercharger will use less power from the motor than a positive displacement blower, but still has a small parasitic draw. This efficiency, combined with linear boost, is particularly attractive for racers. From a practical standpoint, centrifugal superchargers have a lot of advantages for engine and car builders. They are physically smaller than a positive displacement supercharger and can be mounted more flexibly. Where a positive displacement blower needs to be on top of most motors (a prime spot for heat soak), a centrifugal supercharger can be moved to where it will provide the best performance, or most convenience, for a team. The ease of mounting also means intercoolers are more easily fitted to help cool the intake charge. Centrifugal superchargers have become increasingly popular across a wide variety of classes. They have taken off in the NHRA’s Top Dragster bracket, proving to be the most consistent way to get the boost needed to run low six second passes. NHRA also recently allowed some Pro Mods equipped with centrifugal superchargers to make some exhibition runs at the US Nationals – the combination is expected to be approved for competition in the class next year. Even some Nitro Harleys are using centrifugal superchargers right now. If it wasn’t already obvious, there are a lot of ways to go fast in drag racing – you just have to find the right flavour for you! DNM
Jason Grima might have been quiet on the Australian Pro Stock scene lately, but it was all building to something grander. By Luke Nieuwhof. Photos by Hayley Turns. 56 | DRAG NEWS MAGAZINE
Australian Pro Stock racer Jason Grima has sought a new test of his drag racing mettle, shipping his 2007 Ford Mustang across the Pacific to compete in NHRA’s Competition Eliminator. There was little fanfare; Grima’s presence on running sheets at NHRA events even caught us by surprise. But for Jason and brother Jonathan, getting on to the track on the other side of the world was the result of imagination and a plan. “I always had dreams of racing in the USA,” Jason said. “My brother Jonathan came and say me one day and said, ‘We’re not racing here anymore, do you want to go there?’ When the
opportunity arose I jumped on it.” Grima considered his options. He had two cars which would fit the bill, a 2007 Ford Mustang and a later 2010 version, which won the Australian Pro Stock Championship in 2013. In the end, Grima didn’t take his 2010 car because of its significant sentimental value. “The 2007 car has been a pretty fast car down low, and it was reliable,” he said. “The 2010 car is the championship car so I wanted to keep it at home; it is the trophy car. It is complete and it will never be sold. You know, I’ve even still got my (Super Sedan) Jaguar after all this time.”
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Jason (left) and brother Jonathan are adapting to the arena of NHRA Competition Eliminator, where mechanical precision and .500 sportsman tree skills both need to be on point for a chance at a coveted Wally trophy.
A 40 foot shipping container was ordered to fill with the car and any equipment that might come in handy, and then Grima needed to look for somewhere to send it. “I arranged to get a warehouse where we could keep everything in St Louis, Missouri. I ordered a motorhome, a trailer and all the other equipment we needed. We needed a number of trips back and forward to get it sorted out.” Grima took the opportunity to make some upgrades to the car such as a fresh front clip, and he was able to start testing late last year. He kept the 400 cubic inch combination familiar to Australian Pro Stock teams and originally intended to compete in the NMCA’s small block Pro Stock class, but when that bracket folded he made the switch to NHRA Competition Eliminator. There the car fits neatly into B/Altered. “We’ve had to get on top of the fuel first, as Sunoco SR18 is what we have to run. The car is running 85 pounds heavy with our 400ci motor in, so we are in the process of building a new motor at 415ci to max the weight of the car. So far we have gone .66 under the index while overweight, but to be up there with the other guys you need to be .70 or .80 under.” Making a shift to NHRA Pro Stock may have seemed like an option, but Grima said he doesn’t have the manpower or the resources to start a whole new engine program right now. “It may change in the future, but for now we are staying in Comp. We have looked at some other categories; we may purchase another car.” There was much to get used to in Comp for Grima. Though he is a former sportsman racer, the sportsman tree in the USA is different, with half a second between lights as opposed to the four tenths in Australia. “Sometimes you are waiting, another guy had a nine second index. I’m used to the pro tree on 0.400 heads up racing, so I’ve had to learn again. “Comp has very interesting combinations: altereds and dragsters, four cylinders and six cylinders, even blown alcohol. The people are interesting and I’ve found Comp Eliminator drivers are really welcoming.” So far Grima has raced at four events. His first race was at Indianapolis Raceway Park for a sportsman meet, where he had to adapt to the different air conditions of the USA. “That was pretty trying and the conditions were hard, we had a
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109 correction factor which I have never raced in before so we were having problems with the tune up and we didn’t fare too good, I think .32 under or something. Then we went on to Joliet and conditions were tough again, but we went 52 under there and we made it through the first round. After that we went to Beech Bend, Kentucky and we got the carburettors rectified and the car ran a 7.01, then 7.000, so we were .66 under.” A return to Indianapolis beckoned but the circumstances were different. Grima would now be competing at the US Nationals. There he ran well early, but was caught out on the tree in round one. “I qualified seventh out of 52, we were impressed with how we went. I just cut a red light pretty badly in the first round. It’s something I have to adapt to as a driver.” Grima confessed that the pressure of competing at the biggest drag racing event in the world was hard to overcome. “It got to me at the US Nationals, in my driving. If I had it all over again I would have been more relaxed. I’ve driven in big moments before, but I am a fish out of water at the moment because you are in somebody else’s backyard and racing on their turf. I need to get my A-game together.” Despite the adrenaline of the moment, Grima said his first events on American soil had been marked by welcoming friendliness in the pits. “From when you walk in the gate and the guy parks you, the officials, the fellow racers, it is everything I was anticipating would be there, actually it has exceeded that level. To run at Indy in my first year of racing, I am pretty stoked. “I’m racing with professionals and whenever we need anything people are ready. Drag racing is a job there. When you need something done by somebody, they have a job to do, they aren’t weekend warriors.” Grima is planning on finishing the season by racing at the Las Vegas national and divisional event double in October, before making the short drive to Los Angeles for the NHRA World Finals at Pomona Raceway. After that the car will go back into storage in Missouri and Grima will wait out the American winter in an Australian summer. “I only plan to race in America at this stage. I didn’t go and invest all that money for a year or two and unless health or financial difficulties get in the way we will be there next year.” DNM
AEROFLOW WORLD FUEL ALTERED CHALLENGE
SNAPSHOTS
Rain might have eventually beaten this awesome event, but that just means it will all have to happen again next year! Photos by cacklingpipes.com and Joe Maday.
Aeroflow World Fuel Altered The Gassers almost stole the show at the and side-by-side burnouts Challenge with high flying wheelstands that brought the house down.
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Graeme Cowin with NHRA legend Steve Gibbs. Gibbs is the former director of competition for the NHRA but now runs the Nitro Revival events in the USA.
ped his New Zealand d burnout almost tip un d ro an st ls fir ee d’s wh ul r Ga fou Dave ck on to all ba it t go he t bu er, ov based Fiat Topolino e pass. was able to make th
eo tries l Messin heir u a P s a g area, ed for t e brakin eds are renown h t in t e ps lter y of it! ts way u . Fuel a Agro ge e car to a stop here was plent th dt to bring us handling an o v ie misch
High Heaven is on e of the most origin al fuel altereds runn now. It was rescue ing right d by Shawn and H ughie Callen, who nitro duties. returned it to
Dave McGaw rides out a hu ge crash at th Altered Challe e Aeroflow W nge. McGaw ha orld Fuel s been one of most dedicate Supercharged d supporters in Outlaws’ Sydney over th e years.
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of recording the first tending in the hopes at s er wa n so he at M Chris but for now the barri wheels in Australia, o tw on ss pa d on sec five remains untouched.
Steve Costa hangs the front end high in the Blaster Gasse r. The 57 Chev earned the award for best wheelstand of the event - you can see why in this photo!
Joe Kurtovic was burning nit ro for the cackle portion of the show, with his hot rod making all the right noises - he just nee ds some nitro in his dragster now!
e first Australian -close to becoming th -so oh nt we 2 6.0 li’s g a New Zealander Joe Signorel der (Rod Harvey bein lin cy six a th wi es into the fiv of course).
Shane Olive has his racer eyes on as he prepares for a pass in Graeme Cowin’s Psycho III.
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Ezio Cacciotti fogs in the start line in Green Fing. The Plymouth Fury is powered by a blown 350ci small block Chev.
Darren Bazarnik could have very easily fit in wi th the AA/FAs if he was burning a little nit ro. His car was built to replicate Rat Trap - the team used a scale mode l to get everything right!
the manager of the behind the scenes as ts or da eff n’s illi cM M Morice d programs delivere nny Car and Hot Ro Fu tro Ni w tla Ou w Aeroflo memorable event.
Psycho III leaving a bunch of clutch dust behind on the start line as it slides into the run. k, part of Team e butterflies in Berzer th up s en op he als W Justin Challenge. w World Fuel Altered flo ro Ae e th at a ali Austr
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