As I sit here listening to the downpour pelt down on the iron roof of the building that is my 9 to 5, Monday to Friday prison window I can’t help but heave a big sigh of relief. And I’m pretty sure there’s thousands of Fathers Day Drags supporters doing the same. Had this deluge arrived a day earlier, Father’s Day Drags would have surely drowned and I would not be nursing windburnt lips and spending most of the morning trolling the Facebook photographers pages looking at pics of what was a wonderful day’s racing. Every drag racer will tell you that timing is everything, it would appear that on this occasion, the weather gods had been informed. So a huge congratulations goes out to all Racers, Spectators, Sponsors, Supporters, Tradies, Volunteers and the American Muscle Car Club for a wonderful day in the sun.
There was never a sign of rain…did I say never? I mean a little. There was little sign of rain that thankfully never eventuated. For three hours from 930am to 1230pm, the racers battled for the top eight spots in the USA shootout and the AUS shootout followed by an action packed lunch hour with the Burger Fuel Burnout Comp, the Burger Fuel muscle cars duel and a first ever car versus helicopter race when Wayne Grimmer in his Plymouth Cuda took on and won against the helicopter across the quarter mile.
After a moment’s pause to recover from lunch, racing commenced with the Top 8 USA and Top 8 AUS Shootout proving to be...shall I say, eyebrow raising? Mixed in amongst some solid quick racing, were a few hairy moments with one vehicle losing a wheel and another leaving a supercharger pulley on the start line. The remainder of the fields spent the next two hours battling for bragging rights in the DYO Classes followed by the Ladies Class to crown the Queen of Fathers Day Drags. And finally, the marathon that is always Fathers Day Drags was drawing to a close.
Below is a quick summary of the Results from the 2012 Father’s Day Drags event. Click here for Full Race Results.
Thrill Performance – USA Top 8 Shootout Winner – Reece Fish, 1956 Chev, 7.965 @ 187.39mph
Thrill Performance – AUS Top 8 Shootout Winner – Brett George, 1978 Premier, 11.303 @ 118.57mph
Segedins of Dominion Rd – Class A Dial Your Own Winner – Ray Fitchett, 1959 Galaxie, 13.036 @ 93.35mph
Magnum Automotive – Class B Dial Your Own Winner – David Chart, 1977 Charger, 14.113 @ 97.71mph
Mainfreight – Class C Dial Your Own Winner – Owen McLachlan, 1969 Ford Galaxie, 15.514 @ 90.39mph
Devine Clothing – Ladies Class Dial Your Own Winner – Sue Berry, 1975 Camaro, 15.838 @ 89.42mph
Burgerfuel Burnout Comp Winner – John Ryan, 1972 Chevy Nova
Continental Cars – Best Mopar – Andrew Webster, 1963 Dodge
Ford New Zealand – Best Ford – Ray Fitchett, 1959 Galaxie
Chuck’s Restoration Supplies – Best GM – Paul Rawdell, 1970 Chevy Nova
American Boats Direct – Hard Luck Award – Barry Plumpton – Holden HQ
C & M Performance – Fastest Time of the Day – Reece Fish, 7.965 @ 187.39mph, 1956 Chev
Marsh Motorsport – Fastest Car Driven to Track – Reece Fish, 7.965 @ 187.39mph, 1956 Chev
For photos from the brilliant Father’s Day Drags have a look via these links Rikki Bloemsaat Photos, Popeye Pics, Icy Photography, Kelly Reed Photography, Holeshotz and of course our resident camera man Mike Ashton on Dragpixs.
It was a dream start to the season and the Fram Autolite Dragway team much like the Racers have dusted off the winter warmers and are looking forward to another great year in the trenches. If this is a prelude of things to come, then roll on the 2012/2013 Drag Racing season.
See you at the track.
