I've been very much enjoying reading the road trip threads of all the other members on here recently, so much so that it inspired me to go on a trip of my own! This weekend a couple of mates had decided that it would be a good idea to drive from Adelaide to Whyalla, 400km away, to watch the 1/8th mile drag racing and drive back again in one day. Despite being initially skeptical, I went with them and had a blast!
My journey started the night before, staying over at Rexy's place to make the early morning start easier. At 6:15am the alarm went off and Rex was less than impressed.
We got into my Bug and began the journey north to Shane's place. Once there we had some breakfast and coffee and transferred into Shane's car for the journey. The three of us strapped in and hit the road before the sun was really up.
A good splash of petrol, check of the tyre pressures and we were heading north through the countryside. We were worried that there were some grey clouds around...
And the rain started! This had us quite concerned now, as of course a decent downpour of rain at the track would wash out the event and make our trip home seem even longer!
We pulled over for a rest stop in the rain to stretch the legs and I snapped a photo of our steed for the day. It's not quite retro, but at over 10 years old it rates a mention, especially with a 5.7 litre LS1 V8 and six speed manual generating well over 225kW and cruising at 110km/h easily at about 1500rpm. The car carried us comfortably all the way to Whyalla, 400km away. And when we got there, it was raining. By this time it was midday so we went to the pub for schnitzels and pints. Halfway through the first pint it started absolutely bucketing down with rain, so we decided that it was probably time for another one. After lunch, expecting disappointment we headed out of town to find the drag strip to see if we could salvage the day by perhaps seeing some cool cars in the pits.
We finally made it to the track! At the gate we asked whether the event was still on and were told that it was. By the time we had gotten out of the car the machinery had just finished sweeping the track for water, and the first pair of Super Street cars were lining up ready to start the event! Do you reckon we were happy? The qualifying got started only an hour behind schedule at 2pm.
This was one of my favourite cars of the day, the 'Gamma Special', a Goggomobil Dart running a 1600cc VW Beetle engine with a supercharger and three-port mechanical fuel injection!
I had seen the car before at a car show but never thought I would get to see it run! Apparently the car was originally built and raced in the 1970s before going into storage and recently being rebuilt.
It's worth also pointing out at this point the reason for travelling 800km to see 1/8th mile drags. Despite being a capital city, Adelaide no longer has a usable drag strip since Adelaide International Raceway closed down several years ago. I was at AIR the last time that they ran nitro cars there, during a charity demonstration event approximately six years ago. Since then, South Australia has been completely starved of all Group 1 drag racing, so the only form of drag racing is eighth mile bracket racing at regional tracks like Whyalla.
This Dodge Challenger was absolutely awesome! It ran in Supercharged Outlaws.
Driving back at night. There was a rollover in the deep end of the track at around 7pm, so we took the opportunity to leave early. One more stop for fuel at Port Augusta, then straight back to Shane's. After dropping off Rex in the Bug, I got back home just before midnight. What a day!
My journey started the night before, staying over at Rexy's place to make the early morning start easier. At 6:15am the alarm went off and Rex was less than impressed.
We got into my Bug and began the journey north to Shane's place. Once there we had some breakfast and coffee and transferred into Shane's car for the journey. The three of us strapped in and hit the road before the sun was really up.
A good splash of petrol, check of the tyre pressures and we were heading north through the countryside. We were worried that there were some grey clouds around...
And the rain started! This had us quite concerned now, as of course a decent downpour of rain at the track would wash out the event and make our trip home seem even longer!
We pulled over for a rest stop in the rain to stretch the legs and I snapped a photo of our steed for the day. It's not quite retro, but at over 10 years old it rates a mention, especially with a 5.7 litre LS1 V8 and six speed manual generating well over 225kW and cruising at 110km/h easily at about 1500rpm. The car carried us comfortably all the way to Whyalla, 400km away. And when we got there, it was raining. By this time it was midday so we went to the pub for schnitzels and pints. Halfway through the first pint it started absolutely bucketing down with rain, so we decided that it was probably time for another one. After lunch, expecting disappointment we headed out of town to find the drag strip to see if we could salvage the day by perhaps seeing some cool cars in the pits.
We finally made it to the track! At the gate we asked whether the event was still on and were told that it was. By the time we had gotten out of the car the machinery had just finished sweeping the track for water, and the first pair of Super Street cars were lining up ready to start the event! Do you reckon we were happy? The qualifying got started only an hour behind schedule at 2pm.
This was one of my favourite cars of the day, the 'Gamma Special', a Goggomobil Dart running a 1600cc VW Beetle engine with a supercharger and three-port mechanical fuel injection!
I had seen the car before at a car show but never thought I would get to see it run! Apparently the car was originally built and raced in the 1970s before going into storage and recently being rebuilt.
It's worth also pointing out at this point the reason for travelling 800km to see 1/8th mile drags. Despite being a capital city, Adelaide no longer has a usable drag strip since Adelaide International Raceway closed down several years ago. I was at AIR the last time that they ran nitro cars there, during a charity demonstration event approximately six years ago. Since then, South Australia has been completely starved of all Group 1 drag racing, so the only form of drag racing is eighth mile bracket racing at regional tracks like Whyalla.
This Dodge Challenger was absolutely awesome! It ran in Supercharged Outlaws.
Driving back at night. There was a rollover in the deep end of the track at around 7pm, so we took the opportunity to leave early. One more stop for fuel at Port Augusta, then straight back to Shane's. After dropping off Rex in the Bug, I got back home just before midnight. What a day!
Ax GTi Turbo