The international Boxing Day Night of Fire at Perth Motorplex will provide a big stage for second generation jet drag racer Daniel Miocevich to make his competition debut.
Daniel is the son of Gary Miocevich, who drove the infamous Jet Truck in the days of Ravenswood Raceway and was responsible for much of the building and management of Perth Motorplex until his passing last year.
With an upbringing around jet engines, it was almost inevitable Daniel would eventually find himself behind the wheel of a thrust-powered vehicle. He said being in the driver’s seat was very different to watching from the outside.
“I have only raced street cars down the quarter mile so I wasn’t sure what to expect,” he said. “Being thrust driven, staging the car at the highest possible RPM without sliding through the beams is difficult. The acceleration on launch is absolutely mind boggling and surpassed only by the negative Gs when you deploy the twin parachutes at 450kmh. It fills your entire body with adrenaline, there is absolutely nothing like it.
“Pulling these things up is actually the hardest part of each run, you are travelling at 125 metres per second so the end of the track comes up real fast on you. If you lose a parachute or something goes wrong, you need to be really switched on.”
Miocevich will take on USA drivers Chuck Haynes and Curt White, plus South African Pieter De Wit.
Haynes said he was preparing to hand a few lessons to the younger Miocevich after racing against his father Gary for many years.
“There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t miss and think about Gary, we were best mates,” Haynes said. “I’m really proud of Daniel for continuing his legacy but I won’t be taking it easy on him.
“The sheriff is back in town and I’m going to whoop the rookie, teach him a few things and send him back to school!”
The Night of Fire will feature not just the 400kmh jet dragsters, but also fireworks, freestyle motocross and the fourth round of the WA Drag Racing Championship in a celebration of horsepower. Tickets start from $25 for general admission.
