Now in its 10th year, Street Machine Drag Challenge is ready to rock, kicking off on 29 October at Calder Park Raceway.

Drag Challenge has long been all about our entrants – the guys and gals who put their cars and sanity on the line to race and drive over five days, placing their street-car credentials beyond all doubt.

And while that isn’t going to change, this year we are adding some extra features for the fans as well, bumping up the Drag Challenge entertainment factor to the max!

The biggest news is that we are adding two Rods Out burnout comps to the mix, with Rods Out #1 happening on Friday 1 November at Dragway at the Bend, followed by Rods Out #2 at Heathcote Park Raceway on Saturday 2 November.

They’ll be competing for a share of $30,000 prize money and the chance to win one of two Pro Burnouts tickets to Street Machine Summernats 37. And the winner of Open Class at each event will score a Wildcard entry to the Last Chance Wildcard competition on the Thursday of Summernats 37.

The format is simple: each entrant must do two skids, best scored single skid wins!

Entries are open now, right here. There are just 50 spots per comp.

Here’s how the two Rods Out comps will fit in with the Drag Challenge program. For Rods Out #1 at Dragway at the Bend, burnout competitors can arrive any time during the day to take in the Drag Challenge racing and get their cars ready to rock! After DC racing wraps up at 3pm, we’ll have five hours of action on the pad from 4pm until 9pm, with $15,000 in prize money and a Pro Burnout qualifying ticket to Summernats 37 for the overall winner.

Rods Out #2 at Heathcote Park Raceway will work a little differently. Because the HPR burnout pad is separate to the drag strip, we’ll run the burnouts simultaneously with the racing from 2pm to 8pm. This format worked really well at the Summernats Slam Top Fuel meeting in 2022, so we reckon it will also be a Good Thing at Drag Challenge. Again, there will be a total of $15K prize money on offer and one Pro Burnout qualifying ticket for the overall winner.

And for our spectators on the final day of Drag Challenge on Sunday 3 November at Calder Park Raceway, we’ll have a real party atmosphere, with a chrome-bumper car show, food trucks and a DJ pumping tunes in the pits. After DC racing finishes at 4pm, we’ll host a two-hour VIP Grudge Challenge, with a hand-picked crew of Melbourne’s toughest street cars ready to take on any DC racer who is keen for more!

Drag Challenge and Rods Out program

• Tuesday 29 October: Check-in – Calder Park Raceway, 9am-6pm
• Wednesday 30 October: Day One – Calder Park Raceway, 9am-3pm
• Thursday 31 October: Day Two – Sunset Strip Mildura, 9am-3pm
• Friday 1 November: Day Three – Dragway at the Bend, 9am-8pm, plus Rods Out burnouts
• Saturday 2 November: Day Four – Heathcote Park Raceway, 2pm-8pm, including Rods Out burnouts
• Sunday 3 November: Day Five – Calder Park Raceway, 10am-4pm, plus VIP Grudge Challenge