The 10th Street Machine Drag Challenge has kicked off with an epic day of registration and testing at Dragway at the Bend. Despite an entry list of over 280 cars, a chunk of those where unable to make it and the field now stands at an even 250 cars. Check out the video below and then peruse some of our favourite cars we found during the day!

Thanks to our amazing sponsors: Power Plus Racing Fuels, Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse, Enthusiast Motor Insurance, Kemppi Australia, Speed Pro, Tuff Mounts, ITF Hire, Pro Street Radials, Unrivaled Engineering, HP Tuners / VCM Performance.

Heath Van der Waerden’s LX-UC Torana

Heath Van der Waerden’s 2024 SMOTY-winning and well-travelled LX-UC Torry arrived at DC on a fellow competitors trailer. “I camped on the side of the road last night, and when I went to start it this morning, it would fire.” Health laments. “It’s never had an issue before.” An increase in LPG flow is the likely culprit Heath reckons, and hopes it won’t be a game changer. Unlike many Street Machine Drag Challenge competitors, the Torry has certainly earned its stripes in running road-kays whereas straight-line racing isn’t will be fresh to this circuit racer. “I’ve only raced straight at Optima, and that’s not on race-rubber,” he laughs. “As I’ve entered the Unrivaled Engineering Stick Shift, I don’t give a shit what time it does.”

Duane Daye’s 1961 Ford Econoline

“Alcohol was probably involved in the decision,” laughs Duane Daye as we chat about his unusual choice in Street Machine Drag Challenge weapon. With the body sitting in Duane’s shed, he and mate Chris Boyle reckoned they my as well do something interesting with it. With absolutely zero testing, nor strip time, the Econoline and both pilots are up for an interesting run in the HP Tuners / VCM Performance DYO class. Sitting on a Mitsubishi Express frame, and packed with a turbo fed L98, 4L60E and nine-inch with true-trac, their hardware should handle the five-day punishment – at least on paper. But the led up wasn’t without issues, with the engine throwing rods six weeks out, and the previous trans letting go only a week or so prior. So far testing on Day 0 saw a 12.1sec run, a hectic run in a flat-nosed unit.

Harrison Dale’s 1985 Toyota Hilux Extra-cab

Competing in the PSR 9.5 Radial class is Harrison Dale’s 1985 Toyota Hilux Extra-cab – something his grandfather bought new. After being first handed down to his Dad, Justin. Having partaken in the shenanigans of 2024 Hardass 1000 and the Wilby-based War In the Sticks, Dale and Justin know what the race and drive aspect is like. Though this 150-shot NOS-fed 403ci LS3 was a fresh addition only two-weeks prior. “It’d run 9.90s in the old combo, and it ran faster than that at Wilby last week on all motor!” Justin grins. Harrison will do Licencing and test’n’tune on Day 0 then they’re hoping the Lux will PB in the low 9s. “We might turn it up to 650-shot on Day 5,” Justin enthuses, backed by a Powerglide and nine-inch.

Joel Beatson’s ’65 XP Delivery

Tuff Mount 235 Blown entry, Joel Beatson is doing his virgin Drag Challenge in his sleek ’65 XP Delivery – first featured in SM July ’24. After winning the Early Falcon Nats, then heading to Motorex, Josh took on the 2024 Hardass 1000. A few upgrades have been made more recently with the tidy long-roof now running a menthanol-fed Pro-Charged 363ci Windsor, Powerglide and nine-inch with truetrac. Last weekend Joel pumped out a 6.4sec eighth-mile at Wilby’s test’n’tune. Day 0 Test ‘n’ Tune was Joel’s first quarter, where we saw him pump out a 9.2sec and is hoping for high 8s as the week progresses.

Josh Callaghan’s XB Futura Sedan

Dragged from his grandparents paddock, Fabricator Josh Callaghan turned this XB Futura Sedan destined for the scrap heap into a Drag Challenge Speed Pro Six class contender. “It was my Grandparents car and I tried to buy it off my Grandfather when I was 16 years old. But he parked it up 15 years later and offered it to me. By then it had rusted the sills, doors – everywhere. I spent four years chopping rust out.”

Where a 250ci Crossflow once sat is now a 511kW E85-drinking Barra, with BTR box and Borgy diff. “I’ve raced the local eight-mile at Wellington but this is my first-quarter; I’d be happy with low 11s,” Josh says. “I just want to have a good time and get the sticker for finishing on Day 5. I am a bit worried about the diff, but I have all of the bits to rebuild if I need to.”

Fabricator Josh built the car himself, adding VintageAir for it’s daily-driver duties. “It usually has a baby seat in the back too,” he adds. As I caught up with Josh, he was playing packing Tetris thanks to roof-rack failure enroute to Day 0.

Bruce Howie’s XL ute

Perhaps one of the most breakiest dudes of Drag Challenge and other drag and drive style events, is Bruce Howie in his XL ute. And after a two-year hiatus, Bruce reckons this year he’s nixed the goblins of all things that go bang. “I’ve upped the nine-inch to one of those big Nodular ones, with 31-spline axles, and my ‘box is a GForce G101A dogbox rated to 1000hp.” Furthermore, he’s upped to 29in tall street rubber eliminating his previous diff-swapping requirements. “The drive to The Bend was the best it’s driven, sitting on 3000rpm at 100kp/h. Now it’s been built properly-ish it’d be good to be here and have fun and not work on it,” Bruce enthuses. “It’s been great to bring different mates each year and share the experience.”

Marvick & Marcus Attard’s XW Wagon

Campaigning the XW on its first DC, Marvick Attard and son Marcus had previously tagged along on previous events. Marvick and crew member Scott will be co-racing the wags on its first straight-line adventure. Entered in HP Tuners / VCM Performance Dial-Your-Own, the factory V8 car now runs a 150-shot of NOS through a 351ci Clevo, C4 auto and built nine-inch. “We’ve already driven 1200km from Goulburn to the start. Today we’ll do the test ‘n’tune and see how we go. We want to be consistent and last – we don’t need to break any records.”

KEMPII blokes happily set-up a welder and slid under Marvick Attard’s street-neat XW wags, to fix a broken stainless exhaust.

Troy David’s PRIMED FJ ute

Red CentreNats 2018 Grand Champ, Troy David’s PRIMED FJ Ute has his first foray into Street Machine Drag Challenge, hitting it out within Hare & Forbes MachineryHouse Radial Blown class. “My goal is to run sevens daily,” Troy says. A fresh Warspeed built 427ci LS with billet turb internals sees the set up currently reach 1860hp at the rubber, with 2000hp within reach. With a previous PB of 7.9sec, the race figures are likely yet it’s the road miles that may be his achilles-heel. “I’ve not driven it much on the road other than to race at Hidden Valley,” says the NT-local. “But it’s an engineered street car so I don’t need to do much to get it ready for the drive.” The ute rolled in and copped a fuel pump issue and has lunched a couple of gearboxes of late, so spares of almost everything are on-board the stunning teardrop trailer.

Carbon Fibre bonnet is a new addition since we last featured the ute.

Nicole Willett’s, patina HG Sedan

Travelling from Brissy with her dog, Nicole Willett made the most of the trip down for her first five-day Street Machine Drag Challenge. Previously Nicole has piloted her Turbo LS1 powered HG more-door at the Drag Challenge weekend, and has raced at her local tracks of Willowbank and Warwick with a current 10.51sec quarter. This week she’s keen for a 10.4sec PB within the HP Tuners / VCM Performance DYO class. With a recent overheating Powerglide issue now nixed, a heap of spares packed and her fur baby in a kennel, Nicole feels she’s now set for the five-day adventure.

Ashley McBain’s Nissan Patrol

Ashley McBain offers BMW diesel conversions for fourbies as a crust, so it seemed reasonable to have a shop truck with the same offerings. This Nissan Patrol G60 body topping a GQ chassis has the aforementioned power-plant, backed by a 7F eight-speed auto and stock diffs. So why enter Drag Challenge? “It seemed like a bit of fun, and I like the community,” Ashely grins. “I’ll go for consistency, and I guess it’ll run a really high 12.” 275 Street Radials will slingshot the 2100kg G60 down the track within the HP Tuners / VCM Performance DYO class.