His older brother was the one who sparked the passion, helped him build his first serious street car and introduced him to the thrill of long-distance car events. Now, years later, Grant is passing that same passion on to his 13-year-old son, Liam — except this time, his boy isn’t just coming along for the ride. He’s the crew chief.

The pair are preparing for another Street Machine Drag Challenge presented by VPW, taking on five days of racing, road trips and roadside repairs in their silver VK Commodore. Liam has been part of the team since he was five, and for Grant, the best part isn’t just what happens on the track. It’s the time they get together along the way.

“He has earnt his title and is fondly known as ‘Crew Chief’,” Grant says.

The pair have tackled Drag Challenge together for years, with Liam getting stuck into the work rather than just watching from the sidelines. For Grant, that’s what makes the event so special.

“The bond we have formed through spending this quality time together is next level,” he says.

“For him, he gets treated as an adult by me and other entrants, and the event officials all know him and have a level of respect for him that I personally am thankful for.”

It’s not just about teaching Liam how to work on a car, either. The time together gives them the chance to talk about everything and anything, away from the usual distractions of everyday life.

“For me, I get to spend time with my best mate,” Grant says.

“I get to understand what’s in his head, how he thinks, what makes him tick, as well as talk about anything and everything, and what is said on DC, stays on DC.”

Grant’s own journey into the car scene started long before Liam came along. One of his earliest memories is heading to the Hot Rod and Custom Show at Melbourne’s Exhibition Building in his older brother’s red LJ Torana coupe, powered by a manual 308.

“I can clearly remember asking him to keep it until I turned 18 so I could buy it,” Grant says.

Given Grant is 13 years younger than his brother, that plan was never particularly realistic. But the influence stuck.

At 14, Grant got his first car, a six-cylinder VH SL/X. At 19, he sold it to buy a V8 HJ ute, where he learnt plenty about repairing broken drivelines after breaking just about everything he could.

His older brother continued to help fuel the passion, later giving Grant an LX Hatchback roller to build. In 2004, the pair entered a week-long Holden versus Ford street-car event that travelled from Melbourne to Adelaide for the Clipsal 500.

They had such a good time that Grant returned home and began building the hatchback in his shed, with plenty of help and advice from his brother.

When he read about the first Street Machine Drag Challenge in 2014, he knew it was exactly the sort of event he wanted to do.

“As soon as entries opened, we entered!” he says.

Grant completed the 2015 event alongside both his older brothers, running a manual LS-powered hatchback that managed high 11-second passes. They weren’t the fastest crew there, but they made it to the finish with a few mechanical dramas sorted along the way.

“I was hooked!” Grant says.

He went on to complete nine Drag Challenge events in the hatchback, including a weekend edition. Liam joined him in 2018, aged five, and has been part of the adventure ever since.

In 2024, Grant retired the hatchback and switched to his current ride, a silver VK Commodore. It was originally a six-cylinder manual SL, bought by his older brother in 2012 for just $450 before being handed over to Grant to build.

The VK now runs a naturally aspirated 424-cube stroker LS built by Dale Paterson Motorsport, backed by a TR6060 six-speed manual gearbox and Mantic twin-plate clutch. It also has custom extractors and a twin three-inch exhaust built by Ignite Exhaust, coilovers and a 3.89-geared nine-inch differential.

The car has run a best of 10.66 seconds at 131mph, but Grant isn’t chasing an all-out race car. He wants something he can enjoy on the street with his family before swapping the street tyres for slicks at the track.

“The package is nothing over the top or special compared to other cars out there, but it brings a smile to my face every time I drive it,” he says.

This year, Grant is back in the Unrivaled Engineering Stick Shift class for the second time, hoping to improve on his fourth-place finish last year. With relatively few naturally aspirated manual cars in the class, he knows he’ll have his work cut out for him.

“I would love to run a PB, and I am really hoping to run a 10.5 pass,” he says.

“Family street car, manual, naturally aspirated, no cage and 10.5. This year we have perfect tracks to be able to meet the goal.”

But Drag Challenge isn’t just about the numbers. Grant reckons the event tests every car, no matter how quick it is, and the week can throw just about anything at you.

“The event tests you and your car regardless of how fast you are,” he says. “It will find your weakest link, and test it.”

He’s learnt to pack plenty of spares, including serpentine belts, clutch master cylinders, wiring connectors, bolts and wheel bearings. Those parts aren’t just for the car, either — he carries spares for the trailer, too.

One night, a front wheel bearing issue left him working on the side of the road around midnight. Even with a spare ready to go, the repair took an hour and a half and meant arriving at the next destination at 3.30am.

It’s all part of the experience, according to Grant, and one of the reasons he loves the event so much.

The road trips give him and Liam time to catch up, swap stories and make plans, while the track is where they get to put all the work to use. When it’s time to race, Grant has a simple approach.

“Zone the rest of the world out, and race your own race,” he says. “Nothing better!”

But the moment he looks forward to most might be watching Liam jack up the VK and change the tyres while he checks the fluids and adjusts the suspension.

“It’s really cool watching my son work with me as a team, and as an equal more so than him just watching on,” Grant says.

For Grant, that’s the real payoff. The racing is a huge part of it, but so are the friendships, the shared challenges and the chance to see Liam grow in confidence and skill.

His advice to anyone thinking about coming along is to experience it for themselves. Drag Challenge allows spectators to get close to the cars and drivers, follow the journey and see the effort that goes into making it through the week.

“A week out and about in your ‘fun’ car, drag racing, drinking beers, have plenty of laughs and doing all with like minded people,” he says. “Can’t get that from a YouTube clip!”

Grant’s older brother helped spark his passion for cars, then helped him build the cars that took him racing. Now Grant gets to share that same enthusiasm with Liam, teaching him the skills and giving him the memories that come from working together.

This October, they’ll be back in the VK, chasing a 10.5-second pass and another Drag Challenge finish. The result matters, but the bigger win is already there: a father and son doing what they love, side by side.

Street Machine Drag Challenge, presented by VPW, runs from Tuesday 27 October  to Saturday 31 October 2026, starting and finishing at Victorian Motorsports Park. Spectator tickets are on sale HERE, lock yours in before the price rise on Friday!