The 10th running of the Red CentreNATS Grand Champion was always going to be special regardless of who was in contention, but this year the stories behind the entrants in the running are just plain awesome.

Tom Warr took home the top honours in his late father Nigel’s 1974 HQ ute. Nigel won the Grand Champ top gong here in 2022 in the same car, and the family returned this year to carry on that legacy. Along with Tom contesting this year’s Grand Champion, the family also unveiled a stunning HQ Monaro of Nigel’s built by Shields Garage in his honour.

Finishing just behind the Warr family HQ was Darren Booth in his XP Fairmont, a car which won Grand Champ here at RCN in the hands of the late Gregg Foss in 2016. Darren has treated the 1UZ-powered Ford to a tidy up and a new interior pinched from a Rolls Royce.

Running in third was Lee Povey in his tough VL Calais, who also finished in first spot in his Heavy Hitters class.

Brent Murray was in the mix from the outset in his imposing EVL68 Dodge Dart. Having won Grand Champion here both in 2019 and last year, he drove the wheels off the Dart in pursuit of a back to back crown.

And we can’t go on without mentioning Kevin Jones and his ‘78 HZ panel van. He’s one of just a few to make it to every Red CentreNATS since it began 10 years ago, and he was smiling from ear to ear during all the driving events. 

The format for this year’s Grand Champion was tweaked slightly, now spread out over Saturday and Sunday. Once show judging was completed, entrants had to get down and dirty on Saturday afternoon for the grass driving events. 

Although it looks simple, the combination of tight turns, slippery grass, dust and the need to remember the layout provides challenges, and with some cars having been just finished, contestants learn alot about their machines very quickly. 

Brent Murray threw his ‘68 Dart around in the dirt like it was nothing. He did unfortunately overcook one of his runs and take out a cone, but the crowd loved it all the same.

Tom Warr performed well in the HQ ute, using the big rear meats to good effect to gain some much needed traction on the slippery grass and dirt. 

Graham Hilton’s ballsy ‘57 Chev also struggled on the slippery grass, pushing through the brakes and even taking out the timing sensor at the finish line on one run.

Several of the entrants including Brent Murray’s Dart and Lee Povey’s JKLHYD VL Calais contested the Heavy Hitter’s drags on Saturday night, before we were back at Alice Springs Inland Dragway on Sunday morning for the Grand Champion drag trials.

The trials were run to the eighth-mile, one car at a time, with each contestant getting two runs to show their burnout and straight-line potential. All got through without any major dramas, with EVL68 and JKLHYD showing their mettle in the territory they do their best work.

From the drag strip, it was a quick stop over for the obligatory photo at the Alice Springs sign, before the convoy headed to Lassetter’s carpark, closed off for the Tarmac Time Trial. This is the third and final driving challenge in the race for Grand Champion, so entrants tend to hang it all out to go for gold.

Much like the grass driving, the time trial is tight and technical. Brent Murray went for a hail mary, thumping the throttle with plenty of smoke to impress the crowds. It was all going well until a spin mid course derailed his time. 

Tom Warr delivered a smooth and precise performance, as did Lee Povey in JKLHYD. Unfortunately, Mitchell Rando’s SEQUEL EH Premier stripped the drive belt off its blown LS when the water pump pulley let go, but he still completed his lap.

Tom and the Warr family’s victory was announced at the after party back at Lassetter’s at the end of an emotional weekend for them and the Shields Garage crew, a perfect capper on 10 years of Red CentreNATS.