Drag Challenge veteran Alysha Teale had just three weeks to pull off what seemed almost impossible: rebuild the Holden HQ she’d owned for 16 years after a crash at Sydney Dragway and get it ready for one of Australia’s toughest street-car events

She walked away from the crash unhurt, but her beloved car was badly damaged and  her plans to compete in VCM/HP Tuners Dial Your Own competition at Street Machine Drag Challenge presented by VPW next week were suddenly in doubt. For most people,  that might have been the end of the story. For Alysha, missing the event was never really  an option. 

With her husband’s engine, parts donated by a family friend and a serious thrash in the  workshop, Teale is now racing the clock to get HER HQ back on the road, even if it  means swapping her beloved old-school V8 for an engine she never thought she’d run. 

The Western Sydney racer has been part of Drag Challenge since its beginnings in 2014,  earning a reputation as one of its most dedicated competitors and a regular contender  in Dial Your Own. After missing last year’s event for her wedding, she was determined to  return in 2026. 

Then, with just three weeks to go, things took a turn. 

Alysha’s HQ suffered a major failure when the crankshaft snapped, sending the car into the wall at Sydney Dragway. Thankfully, she walked away unhurt, but the car she’d owned for 16 years was  in a bad way. 

“Yeah, obviously devastated because that car’s been part of my life for 16 years,” Alysha  said. “It is like, it’s my baby.” 

The immediate shock quickly gave way to a familiar question for anyone who has ever  been determined to make it to Drag Challenge: how on earth was she going to get there? 

Alysha remembers the order of her thoughts after the crash. 

“As soon as I got out of the car, I thought “it’s ok, I’m  okay.” The second thing was, oh, my God, look at my car. And the third thing was,  how am I going to do Drag Challenge?” 

With the event looming, there was no time to dwell on it. The plan became simple: find  the parts, get the car back together and make the trip to Victoria. Alysha and her husband would tackle most of the work themselves, with help from  friends and a couple of crucial offers that made the comeback possible. 

Her husband had an LS engine and Turbo 400 gearbox sitting ready for his own HQ  project. Rather than wait for her original small-block Chev combination to be repaired,  Alysha decided to borrow the setup and get on with it. There was just one catch. 

“Well, I’m not a fan of the LS,” she said. 

Alysha has always preferred old-school V8s, from their looks to their sound, and the LS  isn’t a long-term change of heart. But with Drag Challenge calling, she was prepared to  do what it took to get there. 

“I’m old school through and through. But beggars can’t be choosers, I want to go to Drag Challenge. I’ll do it by any means necessary.” 

The engine is understood to be close to standard, with a slightly larger cam, Stephen from Shift right was kind enough to go over the engine and box and source any parts we needed including a carburettor manifold to keep the fuel system changes to a minimum. It’s a  practical solution that should make the swap more straightforward and save precious  time. 

Help also came from family friend Uncle Glenn, who offered up a donor car for the chassis,  front end and body parts needed to get HER HQ back on its feet. 

“So if it wasn’t for him, my husband’s engine, and Stephen’s help, none of  this would have been happening,” Alysha said. “So very, very thankful and lucky.” 

Right now, the new chassis is in and the engine is sitting in place. Wiring, fuel lines and  brake lines were still on the list, with the hope of having the car running by the weekend  and getting a test in before heading to Drag Challenge. It won’t be a polished show car when it rolls into Victoria. The priority is simply to have it  running and driving, even if the front end is a different colour and the repairs are still  obvious. 

“Don’t care what it looks like as long as it’s driving,” she said. 

For Alysha, making it to the event is about far more than chasing a trophy. She has  competed in every Drag Challenge until missing last year, and the event has become a  major part of her life. 

“It’s the atmosphere, it’s the people, it’s the camaraderie,” she said. “It’s  everything about the event.”

She’s also found a place in Dial Your Own, a class that allows cars with vastly different  performance levels to compete against each other. Alysha remembers the introduction  of the category and being convinced she could win it. 

“I remember when I found out, the first words out of my mouth were, I’m going to win  that.” 

And she did. Three wins, three seconds and one fourth is a spectacular record in one of the hardest-to-win DYO events on earth. She even came second in the post-event DYO Shootout at Calder in 2015. (Which may have been the year Alysha drove home to Sydney and straight into the gates for Sydney Dragway for even more racing!)

That competitive streak hasn’t disappeared, even with a new engine combination and a  rushed rebuild. She’d still love to be in the mix this year, but the first job is getting the car  there and making it through the week. 

“Honestly, the goal is just to get there,” she said. 

Alysha’s usual crew has been part of the Drag Challenge journey for years, and she’ll be  travelling with Stephen Micallef from Shift Right this time around. Friends have offered help with  the rebuild, and she’s keen to make the most of the support that has helped turn a  seemingly impossible situation into a realistic plan. 

“Honestly, just like I said, just being there is a success because that in itself is a feat for  heaps of people,” she said. “And then winning would be the icing on the cake.” 

Missing last year’s event was hard enough. When she realised she couldn’t attend  because of her wedding, she admits there were tears. The Street Machine team also  made a sticker recognising her remarkable attendance record, a gesture that meant a  lot. 

“Yeah, that was amazing. It honestly blew us away, that. That was a really  cool wedding gift!” 

Now, after a crash that could have ended her Drag Challenge plans before they began,  Alysha is back in the workshop and focused on getting HER HQ ready for the road. 

She hasn’t really had time to process the crash itself. The focus has been on the rebuild,  the deadlines and making sure everyone who has helped her gets to see the car make it  to the event. 

“We’ve got to make the effort worth it! I can’t let these people that helped me down, I’ve got to make them proud,”  she said. 

For Alysha, Drag Challenge has always been about the racing, the people and the  shared determination to keep going when things don’t go to plan. This year, she’ll be  arriving with a different engine, a patched-up HQ and a story that’s a little more  dramatic than most. 

But if there’s one thing her record has shown, it’s that getting to the start line is half the  battle. And this year, that comeback might be the biggest win of all.

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 onsale HERE, lock yours in before the price rise next Friday!