JON Mitchell’s stunning purple Dodge Challenger was one of the tidiest cars on Drag Challenge this year. Powered by a thumping 512-cube atmo big-block and running low 10s over the quarter, it proved that it wasn’t just a good-looker.

Like a lot of the field, Jon and the Challenger weren’t able to escape some mechanical gremlins. A broken tailshaft yoke ended play early at Mildura’s Sunset Strip on day three, and the guys just missed out on making a pass at Heathcote the following day after patching up the rear end with some parts from a six-cylinder Chrysler. Jon did manage to race at Calder though and was happy overall with how the car performed over the five-day torture test.