After a week of racing, back road drive routes and visiting just about every watering hole along the way, the Hardass 1000 convoy lobbed back at Heathcote Park Raceway for the final two days of racing.

The Friday was the last official day of the drag and drive competition, with the option for entrants to roll over to Saturday for a separate free for all and Chicago shootout.

For those who stuck around for the Saturday, there was a free for all, followed by a quick Chicago shootout. The final went down to John Busutill and his Cougar versus Simeon Gianginis’s turbo-LS WHOSNX HSV VY GTS, which took the win.

Bruce for PM

Friday was kicked off in the best way possible, Drag Challenge veteran Bruce Howie destroying a set of rears in his XL Falcon whilst aboard John Kerr’s tow truck.

Bruce broke both the diff gears and Jerico four-speed at Wilby in the middle of the week, but repaired the car just enough to send the week off in style to open proceedings on Friday.

MORE Hardass 1000 2024: Day One & Two

Hard luck

Many of the front runners initially struggled to get power down. One sour moment was when Sam Bishop’s HZ-fronted HQ ute smacked the wall. It was a big hit, so much so it sent him from the right wall all the way across to the left. He was okay, but the poor ute was a mess.

Winner winner!

As the track started to come to, front runner Rod Lyall willed his turbo iron block LS VK Commodore to an 8.75. That gave him the top gong both overall and in the 275PSI class. Rod is a Drag Challenge regular, both in the VK and his tough LJ Torry.

“Its fucking awesome, about time,” said Rod after accepting his trophy. “I’ve had the best time, maybe because I won [laughs]. Its a good feeling. I’ve done this shit for a long time. I’ve built shit from nothing. This whole car was built by me, in my shed. My engine, my gearbox, my diff. I reckon credit to anyone who goes out and builds their own crap. It just makes me happier.”

Rodney has entered the chat

Rueben Davison’s turbo Barra XF Falcon ran faultlessly all week, right up till when the rods fell out at half-track. Luckily for him he already has a built engine ready to slot in, but that didn’t stop Harry and the boys ribbing him all afternoon for spraying the track.

Gallery of goodness!

MORE Video: Hardass 1000 invades Wilby Park Raceway

Pimpin’ is easy!

Shannon Heraud’s ’64 Pontiac was right at home in the Big Pimpin’ class, PB’ing several times to an eventual best of 14.02@97mph. Not bad for a 383 shoving a barge on LPG!

King sleeper

Benny Royal’s 1973 Toyota Corona Mark II was one of the best presented cars in the field, and the 1JZ powerplant also made it one of the quickest. He PB’d on the final day for a 9.8@137mph, finishing third in the 235PSI class.

Budget bruiser

Nathan Clarke has recently traded in his old iron block LS for an alloy L76 6.0-litre, still very much sticking with a simple, budget-conscious build for his Kingswood. A 6.50@117mph at Wilby’s eighth-mile on Wednesday and a low 10 at HPR on Friday handed him the top prize in the 235PSI class.

Big swingers

The big tyre guys in the Dick Swingers class were all Drag Challenge regulars, including Andrew Baumgartner’s HB Torana which took the win. Second went to Matt Murphy and his big-block HQ, third to Jason Vyner in his beautifully presented pickup.

That man Turner

Jamie Turner opted out of his trademark DYO-dominance we know him for at DC, chasing raw speed at the Hardass 1000. Even with no care for consistency he still managed to make the LS-swapped HQ a winner, taking top spot in the 235 ASPO class.