It might surprise you to learn that Street Machine Drag Challenge is often attended by drag racing novices. With a background in rallying, Tasmanian Brad Gunn was one of those quarter-mile greenhorns, but he found himself drawn to the prospect of competing in the torturous drag-and-drive marathon that is DC.

First published in the August 2024 issue of Street Machine

“I loved the idea of the challenge of making it through the five days on the road – so much so that I started following drag-and-drives religiously,” Brad says. “We entered the 2020 Drag Challenge before it was cancelled due to COVID, and finally managed to make it in 2023.”

Brad’s weapon of choice was a 1967 Mustang, which he and his wife have owned and been building since 2015. “I wanted something V8 – a cruiser I could eventually hand down to my daughter,” he says. That said, he also needed to make the ’Stang suitable for the punishment of Drag Challenge.

With that in mind, Brad had a carburetted, naturally aspirated 332ci Windsor whipped up by Warren Heath Performance. “It makes 260rwkW [349rwhp], topping out at 6500rpm, but because we don’t want to ’cage the car, that’s plenty,” he says.

As there’s no longer an operational drag strip in Tassie, Day One of DC 2023 was the first time the Muzzy made a pass at full noise. Brad and crewmate Tim Sullivan drove the Mustang all the way from southern Tasmania to begin their DC campaign at The Bend Dragway, just south of Adelaide – and they did it sans trailer!

Running in the Carnage 235 Aspirated class, the boys started their week with a 12.41@111mph. “We found pretty quickly that the converter wasn’t up to it; the 2000rpm it had was giving us a terrible 60-foot,” Brad says. “We also lost the power steering before we started, and we were both sick for the first three days as well!”

A 7.87@93mph was Brad’s Day Two best at Mildura’s eighth-mile, before the Mustang was driven in scorching heat to Heathcote Park Raceway in central Victoria for Day Three. “We found its sweet spot for cruising was around 3100rpm at 100km/h, so that worked brilliantly in our favour for the long road miles,” he says.

Heathcote yielded the boys their best pass of the week: a 12.18@113mph. Racing at Portland for Day Four was rained out, so after a long coastal drive back to South Australia, the Mustang returned to The Bend to run a 12.44@110mph.

That earned Brad the coveted ‘I Survived’ sticker that’s awarded to all entrants who successfully complete DC. “It’s framed and has pride of place in the house – not the garage!” he says. “It was a fantastic event; the camaraderie the entrants all have for each other to get everyone to the end is the best bit for me.”

While most DC entrants wrap up their week by loading up and towing home in the comfort of a plush dual-cab, Brad and Tim still had to get the Mustang all the way back to Tassie under its own steam. Just outside of Geelong, a pothole did its best to derail that ambition. “It launched the car in the air, damaged the strut tower and sent the shock through the bonnet,” Brad says. “We were lucky that fellow Taswegians Alexis Margaritis and Pete Eastley stopped and lent us a hand.”

The Mustang is now back home, with the strut tower and body currently undergoing repairs at Nath’s Auto Finishing. “My wife had already ordered us a new converter, so that’s in,” Brad says. “When we come back for another Drag Challenge, it should go 11s, which is the goal.”

BRAD GUNN
1967 FORD MUSTANG

THANKS
Scotty Cortina; Warren Heath Performance; Donald Potter at Motorsports Tasmania; Tim Sullivan; Peter at PT Motorsport; Greg Burke at Burke’s Mechanical Repairs; Nathan at Nath’s Auto Finishing.