First published in the June 2008 issue of Street Machine

For many central Australian drag racers the excitement was too much to bear. After a five-year drag-racing drought in Alice Springs, Australia’s newest strip was christened over the Easter weekend, quenching the deepest of quarter-mile thirsts. Grown men stood proud, soaking up the noise and fumes from uninhibited V8s. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to ASID — Alice Springs Inland Dragway.

Most V8 aficionados would agree that a drag-strip is as important as a local pool in an Australian town and Alice has been feeling the need for years. Back in 1992 an escalation of illegal street-racing around the area led to the formation of the Central Australian Drag Racing Association, aiming to take the racers from the street to the strip. Petitioning for a permanent strip started immediately and interim permission was soon granted to run an eighth-mile on the old airstrip.

That lasted until the power of local cars increased and the WWII runway started to lift under the stress of such excessive horsepower — in 2003 drag racing ceased at the venue. Engines silenced, dreams on hold.

Fourteen years after launching the first application, a home was finally secured and first sods of soil were turned in October 2006. Even with an injection of funds from the NT government, the new track and facilities would have never been realised without hard-working locals volunteering countless man-hours, and whenever he speaks about the club’s precarious beginnings, president Guy Watts can’t thank the numerous volunteers and sponsors enough.

To race in the fly-friendly dry heat of an autumn desert day may not be enjoyable for coast-dwelling Aussies but there was no way 64 cars and bikes were going to miss the chance to lay rubber down the greenest drag track in the western world. From as far away as Perth, Mackay and Darwin the devotees gathered to be a part of Australian drag racing history. The beers were on ice, the cars had been scrutineered and the Christmas tree was in place.

“Gentlemen, dust off the cobwebs and start your engines” seemed the most appropriate first words. Locals hurried to the staging lane to flex their muscles as soon as possible after the final words of the first drivers’ briefing disappeared into the surrounding expanse of red earth.

Saturday wasn’t without teething problems, as you’d expect from a newborn, but consistent racing was the order of the day, with practice and qualifying running well into last light, fuelled by enthusiasm and good times. As dark descended over the pits there was a buzz of personal best ETs and the promise of better tomorrow. Crews worked into the night tweaking engines and priming vehicles for race day. Local Angelique Stainer summed it up best that evening: “We’ve been waiting a long time for this. To be in my home town on a quarter-mile is surreal.”

The finals were always going to be sensational. A strong contingent of local spectators arrived early on Sunday, erecting shade in preparation for a feast of closely contested racing. The format was Chicago shootout; three rounds then finals. Early-rising officials allowed those who needed the time to complete shakedown runs, testing new set-ups that were only settled on the night before. For most it was one more run to confirm dial-ins.

The heats were unyielding battles and spectators were on their feet, straining to see who crossed the line first. Cheers and exasperation erupted throughout the crowd as the winning lane light flashed. Returning to the pits, all and sundry were applauded with gusto like homecoming heroes should be after the heat of battle. Kids ran the fence-line keeping ahead of their favourite vehicles in their own version of man versus machine.

Andrew ‘Guido’ Sutton returned home for some demo runs in his freshly repaired Top Doorslammer. The track wasn’t ready for the tremendous power of the Fabietti-powered Monaro and on one pass Andrew crossed the centreline. He was heading for the dirt at terminal speed but regained control at the last moment.

Many of the heavy-hitters suffered the same anguish, wrestling with the fresh track all weekend. ‘Yak’ and his sleek Pro Stock, ‘Strip Search’, never hit their stride but others found the magic combination of car and strip. Matt Abel from Darwin set the first track record at [email protected] in his superb silver Capri. He ran the last pass of the day as a solo untimed run but his datalogger showed a very impressive time of 6.6sec. That may be unofficial but it shows the promise in this new track. Once the lights are up, we can all look towards a time when Top Fuellers thunder down the quarter in the Alice.

HIGHLIGHTS:

1. Burnout of the weekend would have to go to Alice local Luke Miller and his 327ci Monaro.

2. Angelique Stainer received this 1974 Chrysler Lancer from her parents on her 17th birthday, ready to race with a 302 Windsor. Running at ASID was like another birthday.

3. Sam Burt from Humpty Doo has an HK Monaro streeter that runs low 11s. He won the Supercharged Outlaws championship last season at Darwin in this HK drag car.

4. Winner of Modified, Andrew ‘Southy’ Miller has owned his Capri for eight years. It runs a methanol-burning stroked 383 with aluminium heads. His winning run was [email protected], with a reaction time of 0.012.

5. Alice local ‘Poodge’ Packham’s Altered hot rod was built back in the 70s. Previously owned by Brian Hutchinson, it now runs a 351 Windsor stroked to 396ci. Usually running flat eights all day, Poodge’s best on the weekend was a 9.5.

6. Laura Kuss left the kids in Darwin to be at Alice Spring’s first quarter-mile meeting. She’s been racing for a year in her blown 383 Clevo-powered Rail. After recording a PB 7.55sec on Saturday she blew the front seal in the first run on Sunday.

7. Daniel Franklin’s XY runs a 390ci, fuel-injected Clevo. Unfortunately Daniel cherried in the Modified finals and his mates yelled out for him to keep driving to the nearest bar if he knew what was best for him.

8. Matt Able, based in Darwin, built this ’69 Capri from the ground up, chassis and all. With a 451ci Hemi, the combination’s current PB is 6.51@217mph, set in Perth.

9. Craig Knight from Darwin describes his fuel injected 350 Chev-powered Altered as “nothing too fancy” but he took home the silverware from the Supercharged finals.

10. Towing his ute down from Darwin, Michael Durea blew four tyres and had to resort to some roadside bartering with the blackfellas for more rubber. His XY ute has been in the family for seven years and has raced for three. It’s powered by a 373ci Clevo.

11. Andrew Cole’s potent 1968 Ford Cortina sports a 400ci Clevo with nitrous. Cogs are Powerglide and it’s stout enough for a best of 9.57@135mph. The Corty has been a drag car 22 years.

12. This street-registered 1965 Mustang fastback belongs to Ray Baney. The ’Stang packs a 347ci Windsor with a lumpy cam and highly developed heads. On slicks it runs 10.9s at 120mph all day.