The resurgence of Adelaide International Raceway has brought many South Australian drag racers back into the sport, the latest being Top Alcohol dragster driver Frank Intini.
Intini will be campaigning his dragster at the Aeroflow Summer Speedfest this weekend, February 23 23 and 24, bringing along a special cause for the ride.
The Duchenne Foundation (www.duchennefoundation.org.au) will take pride of place on the side of Intini’s 350kmh race car, spreading the message about Duchenne Muscular Distrophy, which affects many young people Australia wide.
“My son was diagnosed two and a half years ago, it’s a cause close to my heart and it’s a disease that mainly affects young boys but in rare cases girls as well,” he said. “Kids rarely live past 22 to 25 years old and there is no cure.
“This weekend it will be all about raising awareness of the disease as it can be a constant battle for people with disabilities to get the resources they need. We are accepting donations as well to fund more research into the disease.”
The dragster will have the faces of nine young boys with Duchenne Muscular Distrophy carried with Intini as he strives to make his comeback a successful one.
Intini last contested the ANDRA Top Alcohol Championship in November 2006 in Perth. With the travel costs hitting the budget-minded team, his appearances since have been limited to some regional venues and of course the newly re-opened Adelaide International Raceway.
“To be able to make our Top Alcohol return in Adelaide is a dream come true,” he said. “Like everybody we missed out on racing in our home town for many years; I had only just bought the dragster when the venue closed.”
Though Intini’s choice of a small block motor sees his outfit have a slight horsepower disparity to the teams he likes to call the “big boys”, he believes that could be an advantage on the unique all-bitumen, 1000 feet long Adelaide track.
“A lot of people do struggle to get down that track if they haven’t been there before but we can throw everything we’ve got at it,” he said. “Those guys with the bigger engines need to tune back the power to get through tricky sections and if the weather continues to be hot they might struggle.
“We will be there waiting to pounce if any of those guys mess up. We might not make the big torque but trust me, our motor is healthy for its size.”
Intini will be joined in Adelaide by a tough field including national champion Gary Phillips, former national champions Steve Reed and Wayne Newby, reigning event winner John Cannuli, Aeroflow driver Rick Gauci, Victorian Wayne Price and fellow South Australian stars Gary Busch and Yak Probst.
The Aeroflow Summer Speedfest runs from February 23-24 at Adelaide International Raceway.
Photo by Dave Murray
