Masterton Motorplex 2022

Welcome TO ANOTHER SEASON OF RACING AT MASTERTON MOTORPLEX

On behalf of the Members of the Board of Masterton Motorplex and all our hardworking volunteers, I would like to welcome you all to a great season ahead of drag racing at MMP.

This is a special season for us as it marks 25 years since the start of MMP. From 1997 until 2013 racing was held at Hood Aerodrome, but as the airport continued to get busier, we had to make the decision of walking away from everything we had achieved so far, or to build our own track.

We decided the latter and our rst meeting at the new track was held in 2014. It’s been a bumpy ride over the past two seasons thanks to Covid with some meetings

cancelled or poorly supported. But we are back to a full season for 2022-2023.

A highlight will be the rst ever “Mayhem At Masterton” –cancelled twice last season - which

Contents

2 Welcome

3 We’re back!

4 Photography & Motor Sports a captivating combo

6 Drag racing basics

Test and Tune Plus Outlaw 71 | 5-6 Nov 2022

8 Running with the Outlaws

11 Pro le: John Shepherd

12 Pro le: Jason Robertson & El Chapo

National Drag Racing Championships | 10-11 Dec 2022 & 18-19 Feb 2023

14 Track brings new life to Drag racing in New Zealand

16 Pro le: Ian Deboo & Crazy Horse

17 Pro le: Steve Milliken

18 No race without the starter

will see the Outlaw 71’s and The Wild Bunch go head-to-head. We are also looking forward to hosting two rounds of the National Drag Racing Championship.

As always, none of this would be possible without the volunteers, racers and crews who contribute their time and energy out of love for the sport.

I would also like to thank everyone who supports Masterton Motorplex by attending our meetings. Without you, none of this would happen. Here’s to a great season of racing at Masterton Motorplex.

Bob Wilton Chair/Manager Masterton Motorplex

Dragstalgia – Wild Bunch Wars | 2-3 Jan 2023

20 Those were the days

21 Pro le: Michael Franklin Mayhem at Masterton | 18-19 Mar 2023

22 Mayhem at Masterton –nally!

24 Pro le: Mike Reid

24 MMP Contacts

26 Pro le: Mike Wilson

PHOTO: DAVID FAMULARO

We’re back!

Covid had Masterton Motorplex down, but not out, in 2021/22 with two meetings cancelled.

MMP Chairman/Manager Bob Wilton and his Board went all out to make sure its “Red Light” meeting complied with all Covid requirements but were let down by a poor turnout of competitors and spectators.

“That didn’t get the support we were hoping for. I just think people were feeling a bit wary of coming out to public events, even though we did everything we could to make the meeting safe.”

However, none of these setbacks

stopped national records being broken and personal bests achieved, helped by the track improving over time, much like good wine.

Expect more of the same this season, with Masterton Motorplex being one of only two venues in New Zealand – the other being Meremere – to host all classes in the National Drag Racing Championships 2022-23.

MMP will host Round 3 on December 10th and 11th, and Round 8 on February 18th and 19th.

The ever-popular Dragstalgia is back for those who enjoy a good dose of nostalgia, on January 2nd

and 3rd, in company with The Wild Bunch – a great way to welcome in the New Year.

The Outlaw 71’s feature at the November 5th and 6th meeting, along with Test And Tune.

And nally, the rst ever “Mayhem At Masterton” will take place in Masterton on March 18th and 19th.

This much anticipated meeting will see the Outlaw 71’s and Wild Bunch compete head-to-head for the rst time, adding something fresh to the national drag racing calendar.

All in all, 2022/23 should be a season up with the best.

PHOTOGRAPHY AND MOTOR SPORTS A

captivating combo

If you are enjoying the photos in this programme, the man to thank is Graham Meiklejohn, of cial photographer for Masterton Motorplex.

With a life-long interest in motorsports and photography, Graham feels he gets the best of both worlds in this role, especially when it comes to getting close to the action.

But there is also a lot of work behind the scenes.

After every meeting, Graham has to whittle down around 5000 images to just 500 or so, with around 350 ending up on the MMP Facebook page, a handful sent

off to Petrol Head magazine, and others used for purposes such as this programme.

Graham rst got involved with MMP when it moved to its purpose-built track, becoming of cial photographer in 2016.

At that stage he lived in Wellington, but has since moved to Marton and comes over to Wairarapa in his motorhome and stays at the MMP track.

“You meet some really great people. They are a very friendly bunch.”

Graham nds drag racing a good subject matter for photography.

GRAHAM MEIKLEJOHN IN ACTION

PHOTO: GLYNN HENDERSON

PHOTO: GLYNN HENDERSON

TAMARA SILK

“Sometimes you are in a position to get really close to the action, and sometimes things can get out of control, with only a concrete block between you and what is happening. You have got to keep your wits about you.”

“Sometimes you are in a position to get really close to the action, and sometimes things can get out of control, with only a concrete block between you and what is happening. You have got to keep your wits about you.”

Every drag racing photographer has their own style and Graham

prefers to get the shot he wants on the day, rather than relying on editing the photos afterwards, especially as that would mean a lot of extra hours on the computer.

“Most of my editing is cropping the images and putting my watermark on.”

Graham sticks to using a Canon as

his camera of choice.

“I’m a Canon man – always have been. Ever since I bought my rst Canon in Hong Kong in 1980s.

Taking photos at a meeting entails a long day, Graham says.

“I always stay until the very end and photograph the prize giving.”

PHOTO: GLYNN HENDERSON

ONE OF GRAHAM’S FACEBOOK POSTERS

Drag racing basics

Drag racing in its simplest terms is an acceleration contest between two vehicles from a standing start, over a distance of ¼ mile.

The main objective is to become the Eliminator winner in vehicles racing in categories.

This is achieved by the winners of each round racing and eliminating other racers until the eventual winner is found.

In these categories there are two basic forms of racing, one being “Heads Up” and the other “Handicap” racing.

Heads Up is the purest form,

where both competitors leave the start line at the same time and the winner is the rst over the nish line.

This system is normally used in Group One racing ie Top Alcohol or Door slammer.

Handicap racing is normally “Index Racing” or “Dial Your Own” (DYO).

DYO involves the racer nominating the E.T. (Elapsed Time) the racer thinks they can achieve consistently before the race.

The winner is the racer who gets the closest to their nominated E.T.

This is normally done by a racer with a slower E.T. leaving rst, using a handicap system controlled by the lights.

In theory both cars should cross the nish line at the same time.

A car that runs quicker than racer has predicted, (or “dialed”), is said to “break out”.

They lose unless their opponent breaks out by more or commits a more serious foul, such as leaving too soon or crossing the centreline.

DYO is normally used in Super Street, Super Sedan, Modi ed and Super Charged Outlaw classes.

Unlike DYO where the racer nominates their E.T., in Index Racing the E.T. is set by the national record for that class of car.

The winner is the car quicker than their respective Index, so no

breakouts apply.

The third form of handicap racing is “Fixed Index”, where the Index is xed eg 9.9 secs.

It is similar to DYO in that it operates a breakout system whereby the competitor runs

under the Fixed index.

But unlike Index Racing and DYO, Fixed Index does not have handicapped starts.

Both racers break out and the winner is the one who breaks out the least.

PHOTO: GRAHAM MEIKLEJOHN

TONY MARSH (LEFT) AND DEAN SCOTT

RUNNING WITH THE Outlaws

It’s not quite the same as being there - but you can catch the best of the Outlaw 71’s Series and New Zealand Drag Racing on YouTube.

The videos on the channel “DragClicks Cloady” are the product of many hours of hard work by Andrew ‘Cloady’ Cload.

A Dannevirke painter and decorator, Cloady supports John Shepherd in organising the Outlaw 71 class that runs throughout New Zealand. Established as a class in 2018 by Gavin Doughty and Tod Aitken, the Outlaw 71 class has attracted around 25 to 30 registered cars, and plenty of followers over the past four years.

One of the attractions of the class is that the cars are evenly matched, with plenty of side-byside nish line action. The fact that all of the competitors get plenty of track action is another factor that has drawn drivers to it.

The “71” comes from the name of the traditional supercharger that was common in the early years of drag racing (6:71, 8:71 etc).

Although still often used, there are many other combinations available for performance vehicles.

Outlaw 71 has no restriction on Supercharger (blower) size or type so long as it is considered the conventional style of supercharging. Superchargers are notoriously hard to control, and the faster they go, the harder they are to control.

Cloady lms each of the Outlaw 71 meetings plus as many meetings as he can through the drag racing season, editing around 40 hours of lm into a best-off YouTube video that is six or seven minutes long. Cloady’s love of drag racing started as a teenager when he used to go to Thunder Park in Hastings in the late 1980s.

He has been a follower of the

sport ever since, and was a member of the crew for his brother Mike who competed in the Super Sedan class just before Andrew started lming. From when he rst started going to meetings, Cloady used to take photos.

But noting the large number of photographers that attend meetings, he decided to focus on lming them instead.

In his fourth season of lming at Masterton Motorplex, Cloady captured a nasty accident on video. His lm was used in the post-accident investigation and after that he became the of cial videographer for Masterton Motorplex.

This led to Cloady focusing more on the angles being lmed, so if an incident does occur, the footage

PHOTO: GRAHAM MEIKLEJOHN

PETER SCHIMANSKI

can be pulled apart to nd out what occurred so measures could be taken to prevent something similar happening again. Over time Cloady has become particularly focused in the Outlaw 71s.

“I thought there was something signi cantly different about them – another level of racing with their blown alcohol motors hitting 180 miles per hour.”

Cloady doesn’t just capture the racing action on track.

“I like to bring in the human factor – the pain and grit that the driver and crew go through,

which is never brought up. Other videographers and photographers get the dramatic shots but they don’t get the story behind them.”

Cloady travels to meetings around the country as part of a posse of Outlaw 71 cars and crews.

“I bought a van so I can sleep at the track and get to know the guys.”

Apart from the racing, it is the camaraderie and atmosphere that most appeals to Andrew.

The majority of the guys are baby boomers who were drag racing in the 1970s, so most of them carry an American Graf ti feel to them.

“They are competing like they did in the old days – the same with The Wild Bunch. It takes you back to when drag racing rst got going.”

Cloady feels privileged to have been accepted into the company of the close-knit crews.

“They are a tough breed who call a spade a spade. And if you piss them off, they will let you know. They have a good sense of humour. If you don’t have a thick skin, you are not going to last too long around them.”

PHOTO: GRAHAM MEIKLEJOHN

PHOTO: GRAHAM MEIKLEJOHN

ANDREW CLOAD

GERALD SMITH (LEFT) VERSUS GARY SINKINSON

JOHN SHEPHERD

John Shepherd has been involved with drag racing for 30-odd years. In 2014 he decided to get a blown car to run in the Super Charged Outlaws class.

“Then not long after that, a group of enthusiasts broke away and started Outlaw 71.

“This class holds more bene ts for the driver and the race fans. This year we will be mainly running the big block powered Volkswagen, and hopefully have its handling issues sorted.

“It’s my second year of steering the Outlaw 71 class, and hopefully get a handle on it.

“The big one this season is when

the Outlaw 71s lock horns with the Wild Bunch boys and girls at the Mayhem At Masterton meeting in

March. My team this year is still the McVeigh family - Herb and Brittany, and Carol and Phil Blumont.

JOHN SHEPHERD (CENTRE) AND TEAM WITH BIOHAZARD

JASON ROBERTSON & EL CHAPO

Last season was Masterton’s Jason Robertson’s rst behind the wheel, achieving a 7 sec pass in his rst year driving, with plenty more goals to achieve this season.

“Our family runs two cars during the season, this one and a Top Alcohol dragster which my brother Jordan drives, called ‘Dirty Deeds’, both of which our dad Neil has the lead crew chief and tuner duties on.”

El Chapo was previously the Buck and Collett Altered driven by Glen Collett, bought in 2021, which runs in the Super Charged Outlaw and Outlaw 71 classes.

Its specs include a Keith Black 526 Cube Hemi running a 3 speed Lenco, and Lencodrive

Transmission with a Fowler F11 14-71 Supercharger sitting on top. Plus a 125-inch wheel base Bucks

Chassis Works-built Chassis with a Topolino Fibreglass Body which has been wrapped.

GRAHAM MEIKLEJOHN

TRACK BRINGS NEW LIFE TO DRAG RACING IN NEW ZEALAND

Like so many gures in the drag racing fraternity, Tony van Helmond rst started following the sport when he was a teenager, going to meetings when he was a teenager in the late 1970s.

A racer back in the day, these days Tony is one of the Masterton Motorplex board members which he joined about 15 years ago.

He started at MMP helping with scrutineering when meetings were held at the air eld.

Tony is also an NZDRA Tech Inspector, doing safety inspections on all competition cars.

His job on race day is the NZDRA Area Steward whose duties include overseeing, scrutineering, observing licence runs, ensuring all rules and safety procedures are followed, carrying out all accident and incident investigations and

reports, and generally helping where needed, including track preparation.

Tony is also involved in the governance and growth of the sport of drag racing and has been a NZDRA board member for the past four years.

Tony says drag racing is going through a renaissance in New Zealand and believes Masterton Motorplex has a lot to do with this.

“After Thunder Park in Hastings closed, and before MMP, there was nowhere to race.

“MMP has started to draw crowds because of the quality of the new track which is getting better all the time, and has brought more competitors into the sport.

The National Drag Racing Championship is coming along really well, Tony says.

“MMP has started to draw crowds because of the quality of the new track which is getting better all the time, and has brought more competitors into the sport.”

PHOTO: GRAHAM MEIKLEJOHN

The Championship is supported by both New Zealand’s drag racing bodies – NZDRA and IHRA New Zealand.

The organisations went their own ways back in the early 1990s but there was a desire within the sport for racers from the two bodies to compete in combined national classes. After a successful trial run with Group 1 cars, the series now includes all classes.

Notwithstanding the interruptions of Covid, the series has been going really well, Tony says.

While the NZDRA and IHRA continue as separate entities, drivers from both organisations compete together over nine rounds, with Masterton hosting the Central Nationals Round 3 and 55th New Zealand Nationals Round 8.

“The joint series is the best of both

worlds, with everyone getting to race everyone.”

Tony’s own taste is for the nostalgia cars, particularly the front engine cars that used to race from the 1950s to the 1970s. Tony owns a supercharged front engine dragster with his son Andrew Neiman who drives the car.

“I don’t know why. They just appeal to me. It’s just personal taste.”

NZDRA AREA STEWARD AND TECH INSPECTOR TONY VAN HELMONDANDREW NEIMAN IN CAR WITH TONY WITH ARMS FOLDED

PHOTO: GRAHAM MEIKLEJOHN

IAN DEBOO & CRAZY HORSE

Ian DeBoo is coming from Blenheim, Marlborough for three meetings at Masterton Motorplex this season including Round 8 of the Nationals in February.

Ian will bring with him 35 years of experience and his son Dylan, his partner in the Mayhem Racing team. Ian has won the National series three times and been runnerup three times.

Crazy Horse, a 1923T Altered, was built by Graham Berry for John Agnew in the late 1970s.

Ian bought it in the 1990s, and over the years has made many changes including adding a supercharged engine around four years ago.

With a best time of 7.2 @ 188 mph, Ian will be competing in the Super Charged Outlaw class.

Crazy Horse’s specs include a Chrome molly Chassis, 114” wheel

base, Solid rear end, torsion bar front end, 590ci BBC, 1071 super charger, 11.2 to 1 compression, 4500 stall converter, power glide trans, 9” diff with 4.1 to 1 ratio, 33x15x15 slicks.

PHOTO: GRAHAM MEIKLEJOHN

STEVE MILLIKEN

Some people like the easy route, and some people like a challenge. Steve “The Glove” Milliken is de nitely the latter.

Not many people choose their rst purpose-built race car to be a blown injected centre steer Altered. The Altered had its share of success, but Steve’s new ride is its polar opposite.

For one, it has doors and his seating position isn’t perched up high in the centre, rather down at ground level (and she sits super low) tucked in behind the tiniest of windscreen, obstructed in part by the monster 1471 huffer that rises from the bonnet of the classic 34 Chevy Master bodylines, albeit squished and wedged for

34 CHEV MASTER SEDAN

aerodynamic advantage.

Sourced out of Perth, and previously branded “The Hitman”, Steve’s latest ride is by far one of the sexiest, and has dipped as low

as 7.1 already.

And that’s just the start of things to come with the aim ultimately to put her in the 6’s at over 200.

34 CHEV MASTER SEDAN

The Starter NO RACE WITHOUT THE STARTER

If it is adrenalin you like, then there is no place where it is thicker than at the starting line at Masterton Motorplex.

And there among thick of it is of cial Starter Colin McCarthy.

When the cars come up to the starter line, all Colin can see are a pair of eyes, but having been a driver himself, he knows what they are going through.

Colin has been involved with MMP since it rst started holding meetings at Hood Aerodrome in the mid-1990s.

Back then Colin raced a 57 Chev in the Super Street class. As time went on, he also started helping on the track, rst as a sweeper at the nish, and later supporting of cial Starters Paul Rose and Danny Reiri.

Then the Saturday morning of one meeting, Danny got a call that his son Nick had been in a road accident, so all of a sudden Colin was the Starter for the meeting.

“It was a steep learning curve. I’ve kept on ever since.”

At rst Colin tried to both race and be the Starter at meetings but

found that impractical and so left racing behind.

“I didn’t mind the switch. It is quite good as I’m not breaking anything anymore, so it isn’t so expensive.

“I still have the car at home and will probably eventually sell it. It is street registered and I use it for cruising with the Ram Rodders.”

As Starter, it is Colin’s job to make sure that the cars coming up on the track are ready to race.

He brings the competition cars up in pairs - although some cars do bye runs, ready for the burnouts.

The cars have two minutes from the start of the Burnout to where they have to be in pre-stage,

PHOTO: DAVID FAMULARO

PHOTO: GRAHAM MEIKLEJOHN

STARTER COLIN MCCARTHY

SIMON FOWKE IN TOP ALCOHOL

which is two white lights.

As they come back, Colin checks the track for uids or parts that may have fallen off cars.

Once in Pre-Stage, the cars have ten seconds to Full Stage (4 white lights) before the computer takes over for the green light.

Around this point, the intensity gets the better of some drivers, who nd themselves unprepared when the light turns to green. These are usually the novices, says Colin.

A bone of contention can be when a car stalls at the start. Under the rules, the car will then need to self-

start ie use an ignition key, rather than another starter mechanism. This rule includes junior dragsters and motorbikes.

If the driver can’t start, they are disquali ed. This may mean sitting out the rest of the day’s races,which can be very frustrating for drivers and their crews who have made a big effort to get to a meeting.

“You do get some irate drivers, but they don’t know the rule book like I do. Nine times out of ten though,

the drivers are bloody good.”

Novice and inexperienced drivers get a half-hour brie ng at the start of each meeting, but the information can be a bit much to all take in in one go, says Colin. There is always a lot of adrenalin at the start, he says.

“Especially when the big boys go down. There is tension in the air, de nitely. You hope they don’t crash but that is always a possibility.

PHOTO: GRAHAM MEIKLEJOHN

SHANE CRAIG

THOSE WERE The days

If you grew up in the 1950s and 1970s, you probably think they were the best of times to be alive.

If you were into drag racing then, then even more so.

For these old heads, as well as younger boys and girls, Dragstalgia with the Wild Bunch on January 2nd and 3rd is an opportunity to step back in time for just the price of the entry fee.

Nostalgia drag racing started in the mid-1980s when old racers started racing their front-engine dragsters, funny cars and super

stockers again. The cars raced are a mix of restored originals and recreations of older cars. Normally these types of cars compete in the same categories as everyone else.

“Dragstalgia is where all sorts of old racer cars can come out, because at this meeting there will be a class for them. Often at other meetings there simply won’t

be enough cars in their class to compete against. Some cars only come out once a year because they don’t t into classes at other meetings

“This is an opportunity for them to stand out, and for spectators to see cars they would otherwise never see.

PHOTO: GRAHAM MEIKLEJOHN

EDDIE TRYBULA

MICHAEL FRANKLIN

1966 PONTIAC GTO

Few cars evoke memories of the past or could have come straight from a previous place in time like Michael Franklin’s absolutely bitchin’ 1966 Pontiac GTO.

Back in the heyday of Wild Bunch in the early 90s and beyond it was the alcohol breathing standardlooking steel bodied street cars on steroids that de ned the class and Michael’s ride not only emulates that but looks as though that’s exactly where it originated from.

Going on 35 years on and off in the sport these days, Michael

has spent the past dozen or so morphing the Pontiac into the 7 second essentially stock frame rail (back halved) fan favourite that

brings crowds to the fence every time it res into life through the custom owner built zoomies.

1966 PONTIAC GTO

Mayhem AT MASTERTON - FINALLY!

It should be a case of third time lucky for Mayhem At Masterton. The rst event of its kind in New Zealand drag racing history, Mayhem At Masterton had to be cancelled twice last season due to Covid restrictions.

This season it is booked in as the grand nale of the season for Masterton Motorplex, taking place on March 18 and 19.

The Wild Bunch, who will be taking on the Outlaw 71s at Mayhem, did manage to sneak in one meeting last season which took place at Masterton Motorplex last January.

Wild Bunch organiser Ryan Sheldon was pleased with the turn-

out for that meeting with 23 cars entered, and just a couple of late scratchings.

Ryan estimates there are around 30 Wild Bunch cars in total in New Zealand, with a few lost along the way during the season due to breakages and carnage at the tracks.

This will be more of a problem this season, Ryan predicts, as parts have not only become much more expensive but also slower to come into the country.

“Most parts aren’t sourced locally. They usually come from the United States or Australia.

“They are not just taken off the shelf. They are custommanufactured and not only are there issues with shipping and

the manufacturing process, but manufacturers are having trouble sourcing the material for parts, such as aluminium.

“It used to take three or four weeks to get a part. Now it takes six or seven months.”

The original Wild Bunch were average road cars that were “modi ed on steroids” with whatever their owners could nd.

“Back in those days you made do with the parts you could nd locally. Thirty years ago, it was impossible to get parts from the United States because it was too costly and too time consuming.”

The Wild Bunch today is a specialist class with competitors having to meet certain criteria, the most essential being that the cars

PHOTO: GRAHAM MEIKLEJOHNGEORGE MCCUTCHEON OF THE WILD BUNCH

MAYHEM

need to have doors that open and close.

Ryan, who always remembered the original Wild Bunch from his youth, decided to revive the class with the rst meeting in 2019 attracting just eight cars.

“A few of my mates had similar sorts of cars that are not necessarily competitive in the higher performance-based classes.

“We just wanted to get back to having fun, putting on a show, and

go pretty fast along the way.”

Ryan is careful not to over-expose the Wild Bunch and only holds three or four events in a season.

“We don’t want to saturate the market. We want people to look forward and want to be at each of those select events.”

The Wild Bunch will be making their rst appearance of the season at MMP on January 2nd and 3rd, returning for Mayhem At Masterton in March.

“We are going to create a lot of match-ups beforehand,” says Ryan.

“By then we will have stats on how the cars have been performing, so it shouldn’t be too hard to gauge who is close to whom.”

This is going to create a bigger spectacle, closer racing and also some intense rivalries, Ryan predicts.

“We’ve got a couple of rivalries going already. We all know each other already, but we don’t normally get the opportunity to race each other.

“I’ve known people for 20 years in different classes who I have never raced before.

“It’s going to be an enjoyable, fun couple of days.”

Ryan will be turning up with a new car.

He sold The Joker to an Australian buyer and has replaced it with “Old Familiar”, which is one of the original Wild Bunch cars from the 1990s done up with new speci cations.

“We just wanted to get back to having fun, putting on a show, and go pretty fast along the way.”

PHOTO: GRAHAM MEIKLEJOHNMURRAY HARTLEY OF OUTLAW 71

RYAN SHELDON

MIKE

No matter what poll you run or who you ask, one car and one name comes out on top, or is the rst mentioned whenever the words Wild Bunch are uttered

By a big margin it’s the 55 Chevy called Rat Attack, formerly built, owned and thrashed by none other than Mr Chris Tynan and now with its second-only owner, Mike Reid. Over the best part of four decades

55 CHEVY RAT ATTACK

it’s been built and rebuilt, tagged walls and broken all manner of shit.

But it’s probably made more laps than any car in the country and continues to, most recently with Chris back behind the wheel laying down what could only be described as a pass only one person could have made. And no real surprise the 7.0 at 199 was made in his old “of ce.”

Mike’s gone as slow as 7.1 in the Chev and with the 500+ cube Chev donk making serious power

now while he shifts the four speed Lenco behind it, (the old school way with levers), then a six second pass in a “Legend” is just around the corner.

One thing is certain though, the skid will be impressive no matter who is behind the wheel.

And exactly who that is at Wild Bunch Wars, well your guess is as good as mine, but it will just be good to see it out there again getting amongst it.

PHOTO: LANCE FARROW PHOTOGRAPHY55 CHEVY RAT ATTACK

Masterton Motorplex

MIKE WILSON

Drag Cars come in all shapes and sizes, and from the blue oval stable probably one of the more commonly used is the Ford Capri.

Small and compact, in the early days more than one found their way on to a basic set of chassis rails to form the basis of the early Funny Cars that graced dragstrips both here and across the Tasman.

Over time most of those early cars have disappeared, but a whole new generation hase seen the advantages offered by the two-door coupe rst built in the 1960s.

1969 FORD CAPRI

Mike Wilson is one such person. Having rst purchased his Capri in 2000, it has undergone several chassis and engine combos and evolved as most drag cars do, into the methanol slurping beast you will

see trying to twist itself inside out at Wild Bunch Wars.

PHOTO: RIXSTA PHOTOGRAPHY