Can you believe it’s been 10 years already? Time really does fly when you’re having fun, and the 10th birthday of Red CentreNATS was a shindig we couldn’t wait to be part of – even if it was going to be stinking hot!

For those late to the party, Red CentreNATS descends upon Alice Springs every Father’s Day weekend, offering a four-day bonanza of burnouts, drag racing, elite show cars, show ’n’ shine and a whole lot more, right in the heart of Australia. The Summernats team works in tandem with the Northern Territory Government to make it all happen, and their alliance makes one of the coolest aspects of the event possible: the RCN permit system. Got a wild drag car or a 1000hp burnout beast that would never pass rego in a million years? Not a problem at Red CentreNATS – as long as you have a permit, you can cruise the streets of Alice Springs with impunity for the duration of the event – or even hit the Macca’s drive-through!

It’s a real highlight of the event for many, but it’s just one of the reasons entrants and punters alike have kept coming back to RCN over the past decade. Read on as we catalogue the many other delights of Red CentreNATS’ 10th anniversary event.

DAY ONE

THURSDAY 29 AUGUST

With temperatures forecast to reach as high as 37 degrees during RCN ’24, entrants and spectators were set to experience proper Aussie desert conditions for the event’s duration. Even the locals conceded it was bloody hot for this time of year. Regardless, entrants were out in force throughout, filling the streets of Alice with the kind of dreamy machines you’d otherwise rarely see in public.

Thursday was the calm before the storm, with most entrants popping through scrutineering while we counted down to the evening’s Fringe Festival in the Alice CBD. Just like at Street Machine Summernats, the Fringe Festival sees sections of road blocked off purely for entrant vehicles. A cavalcade of tough metal lined the streets next to Todd Mall for punters to enjoy, along with food trucks, live music, bustling pubs and bars, and even a mobile salon dishing out mullet haircuts. It was a ripper way to kick off the weekend.

1. Darren Booth has taken ownership of the late Gregg Foss’s XP Fairmont, which won RCN Grand Champion under Gregg’s ownership in 2016. Darren has treated the supercharged, 1UZ-swapped Ford to a freshen-up, including a brand-new interior from a Rolls Royce! He came just a handful of points short in the Grand Champion race this year.

2. It wouldn’t be a ’Nats without mullets, and there was a temporary salon set up at the Fringe Festival to provide killer ’dos for punters looking up their style points.

3. NT local Michael Gurney’s beautifully presented, Vortech-blown LS HQ Monaro didn’t get out much over the weekend, but it still polled strongly in the show judging. Michael went home with gold in Top Coupe and Top Interior, and we’re spewing he didn’t have a crack at Grand Champion.

DAY TWO

FRIDAY 30 AUGUST

Friday was headlined by burnouts, with qualifying for both the Open class and new Pro Burnout series getting underway from 5pm at the Alice Springs Inland Dragway burnout pad. Over $20,000 in prize money was up for grabs across the two classes, as well as three tickets to the Pro Burnouts at Street Machine Summernats 37.

With a high of 37 degrees, the afternoon heat took no prisoners during the Open qualifying, which was up first. There were plenty of tortured radiators and overflow bottles, and that, combined with a grippy, heat-soaked pad, meant some of those lacking power struggled to turn a tyre. The bumper field of Open-class cars was whittled down to just 20 for Sunday’s final, while the Pro class had just 10 spots on offer for the 23 cars competing.

Favourites to make a statement in the Pro qualifying included Warren Gersekowski in 1TUFHG, Ryan Pearson in HOLDON, and Rick Fuller’s LSONE VK, along with defending Red CentreNATS burnout champion Robert Cottrell in the 4DH8RS XD sedan.

All of those and plenty more impressed, with lots of smoke and bulk decibels blasting from their machines, much to the delight – despite their bleeding eardrums – of the packed crowd on the hill. One competitor who did come unstuck was Mark Siracusa and his ONIT LH Torana. Halfway through his skid, he suffered an engine bay fire that was big enough that the car had to be pushed off the pad. 

Those who qualified would return to ASID for the finals on Sunday, and there’d also be an Ultimate Redemption Round for Pro-class competitors who missed the top 10, giving them one last chance at a Summernats 37 spot.

1. Jono Kelly had two first-gen Commodores in Alice for RCN: his infamous 3FIVE5 burnout machine, and a nicely presented VK HDT tribute that his daughters Emily and Phoebe got to cruise over the weekend. Jono finished runner-up in the 11sec bracket in the Heavy Hitter drags, and third in the Pro Burnouts final.

2. The Pro Burnout Series contenders had their fair share of casualties, the main one being Mark Siracusa’s ONIT LH Torana, which suffered an engine bay fire mid-skid that prematurely ended his run.

3. Ryan Pearson and HOLDON smoked out the pad with ease during Friday’s Pro qualifying, earning a place in Sunday’s Top 10 finals. Unfortunately, he tagged the wall near the end of his run, leaving a nice bruise on the passenger-side rear quarter.

4. Dave Cufone’s NASCAR-powered Nova screamed its way around the pad, somehow keeping the pristine black body off the concrete. He also earned a place in Sunday’s Pro-class finals, where he would go on to finish fourth.

DAY THREE

SATURDAY 31 AUGUST

Saturday is the longest and most packed on the Red CentreNATS schedule, and this year it was also the only day with events at Blatherskite Park. The elite halls there housed plenty of toughies, as well as two key unveilings. The first was a neat 1950 Mercury custom from South Australians Amanda Clarke and Daniel Van Geel, who built the whole thing in their shed at home. The second doubled as an emotion-packed tribute to the late Nigel Warr, who won the RCN Grand Champion gong in 2022. Fittingly, his family chose to unveil their stunning HQ Monaro tribute build at RCN ’24. Built by Shields Garage in WA and housing a 2500hp-capable, twin-turbo Noonan LS, it was a true crowd-pleaser with a great story behind it.

Outside the elite halls, punters could take in a veritable rolling show ’n’ shine as entrants filtered in and out throughout the day. They’d all be back in the late arvo to line up for the annual Street Parade into the town centre, offering spectators the rare opportunity to see blown, methanol-huffing machines in action on public roads. That’s the true beauty of Red CentreNATS.

The end of the Street Parade by no means brought a close to proceedings, as the Heavy Hitter drags kicked off at ASID from 6:30pm. Entrants had been there since morning for grudge and Dial Your Own racing, so those who’d got their eye in could do battle for the $10,000 in prize money on offer in the Heavy Hitters. There was variety aplenty among the contenders, with everything from 12-second street cars to seven-second Doorslammers lining up in the lanes.

Of the big players, Peter Coles won top spot in the 6.50-7.99 class in his Torana, with Doorslammer veteran Matt Abel picking up second in his evil ’57 Chev.

In the 8.00-8.99 class, Lee Povey took his second event win on the trot in a battle of the VLs against the Warr family’s Commodore, driven by Craig Glassby. 

1. Grass driving was the first of the Grand Champion driving events, and it saw plenty of hopefuls come unstuck, including Graham Hilton in his ’57 Chev. Struggling with understeer on the tight course, he took out the timing gear in the stop box on one of his runs.

2. The Saturday-evening street parade to the Yeperenye Shopping Centre is always a Red CentreNATS highlight, with wild, methanol-huffing burnout machines taking to the streets in a truly rare sight.

3. Another of the late Nigel Warr’s cars at RCN was his orange VL, which Craig Glassby from Shields Garage piloted in the Saturday-night Heavy Hitter drags to come second in the 8sec class.

4. Trevor Kehl’s WB ute impressed the crowds, thumping up and down the lanes and unleashing massive burnouts on his way to the runner-up spot in the 10sec bracket.

5. Matt Abel’s ’57 Chev had heads turning every time it came through the lanes, but he was pipped by Peter Coles’ equally impressive Torana Doorslammer for the win in the 6.50-7.99 bracket.

DAY FOUR

SUNDAY 1 SEPTEMBER

The last day of Red CentreNATS was the culmination of a lot of work for many entrants, as it saw the finals of the Pro and Open-class burnouts, and of course the race for Grand Champion.

The Grand Champ contenders were first up, hitting the strip at ASID in the early morning for the drag trials. Run over the eighth-mile, each entrant got two runs to prove their worth in a straight line. From there, it was on to a quick obligatory group shot at the Alice Springs sign and then straight into the tarmac time trials.

A packed crowd cheered on their favourites, with Tom Warr in the orange HQ ute and Lee Povey’s JKLHYD VL Calais turning in neat laps, while Brent Murray had a wild moment in his Dart, with a spin derailing his time. After the rest of the field had moved their way through to round out the Grand Champion race for 2024, the judges retired to deliberate on a winner.

In the meantime, punters jumped back over to ASID for the Open burnout finals, followed by the Pro-class Ultimate Redemption Round for those who missed out on a top 10 spot during Friday’s qualifying. Justin McKinnis and his bright green MRCHOW VS ute took home top honours in the Open class, while Ryan Lofts in the OR WHAT Commodore sedan got the cherries in the Redemption Round for a spot in the Summernats 37 Pro Burnouts.

Then, with $15,000 for first place and a spot in the big dance at Street Machine Summernats 37 on the line, there was no holding back for the Pro Burnout Series finals contenders as they laid down their last skids for RCN ’24. Unlike Friday, the entrants didn’t have the luxury of cool night conditions, so each car and driver were up against it in the 34-degree heat. 

Warren Gersekowski in 1TUFHG and Scott Yates in the YATESZ Commodore both smoked out the pad, but it was Christopher Smallmon in the bright yellow BLOWNVY Commodore who took home top prize and $15,000 cash. YATESZ came in second, and Jono Kelly’s 3FIVE5 VK rounded out the podium.

After sweltering through the burnouts, many spectators headed to the Lasseters Centre later that evening for the official awards ceremony and after-party. It was here that Tom Warr was crowned the 2024 RCN Grand Champion, having piloted his late father’s ute to victory in an emotional weekend for the family. 

“It’s been a big one for us, and to do it for Dad was really special,” Tom said. “He loved this event so much, so it was great to do this one for him.”

Event organiser Andy Lopez pronounced the 10th running of Red CentreNATS a ripper success, and also paid tribute to Nigel Warr. “He said it was his favourite event because he loved to just come here and act like a yobbo with his mates, and that’s what it’s all about,” Andy said.

“We can’t believe it’s been 10 years already. I suppose it’s the mark of a great party when you can run it for so long and it feels so quick, so here’s to another 10 years!”

Entries are already open for Red CentreNATS 11, taking place 5-7 September next year, and you best believe we’re already counting the days. See you there!

Captions

1. The Grand Champion contenders strutted their stuff down ASID over the eighth-mile, the first of two driving events for them on Sunday.

2. Lee Povey’s JKLHYD VL Calais took home the People’s Choice award, placed high in the Grand Champion points, and won the 8sec class in the Heavy Hitters drags.

3. Twelve competitors threw their hat in the ring for a shot at the 2024 RCN Grand Champion, including three former champs in Brent Murray’s Dodge Dart, the Warr family’s HQ ute and Darren Booth’s XP Fairmont.

4. 2023 Grand Champion winner Brent Murray let it all hang out in the tarmac trials but came unstuck halfway through his timed run with a big spin. He still finished off the run in the style to the cheers of the crowd.

5. Justin McKinnis and his MRCHOW VS ute beat 19 other diehards in the Open class burnouts to take home first spot.