Willowbank Raceway has formed a new association with Cruzin Magazine which will see Nostalgia drag racing at the facility under the care of Willowbank Raceway management.
The arrangement will see a new race format at the two events scheduled for 2012, with possibly a third event and an exciting new class of racing – Nostalgia Super Stock – to be introduced in 2013.
Willowbank Raceway Managing Director Steve Bettes said the changes have come about thanks to consultation with nostalgia racers and associated individuals and suppliers.
“Nostalgia drag racing has had its ups and downs over recent years but it is now set for a major relaunch at our facility under the control of Willowbank Raceway management,” said Bettes.
“The traditional dates of February and August are locked in for 2012, and will enjoy the trialling of a new format seeing the quickest cars racing in the ‘Heads up / Pro start’ format, just as it used to be.”
February’s event will be a single day affair to launch the new concept, with a traditional test and tune event to be held the Friday night also open to nostalgia racers. In August, the new format will be expanded to a two day event which will also include traders, car club shows, hot rod displays and nostalgia drag racing royalty.
“Cruzin Magazine is delighted and excited about their association with the Nostalgia Drags at Willowbank Raceway, and we are keen to do whatever we can to assist in getting the word out to our loyal enthusiasts in the Hot Rod / Classic Car and Nostalgia Drag Racing areas” said Editor of Cruzin Magazine Gavin Kelso
From February 2013, the plan is for Nostalgia Super Stock to hit the scene, featuring pre-1978 normally aspirated vehicles with manual gearboxes and clutches weighing 3000 pounds and racing heads-up pro start on a 9.50s ET cut-off to control costs.
“Nostalgia Super Stock is something we are really excited about – it will bring back to nostalgia drag racing the magnificent wheel-standing Super Stockers that were a major feature of Australian Drag Racing in the early years!” said Bettes.
Under the new format, a range of Elapsed Time (ET) cut-offs will be created, including 6.60s, 7.60s, 8.60s and 9.60s. Cars running 10.50s and slower will be grouped together based on qualifying times into smaller Dial Your Own (DYO) fields. No break outs will be allowed in any of the categories and they will all run on the Chicago Shootout format, guaranteeing plenty of runs for every competitor.
“The ET cut-off brackets will bring a controlling influence to the costs and technical rules, as all cars must slot into one of the brackets and they cannot run quicker than the cut-off,” said Bettes.
“The goal for racers in these brackets will be to build and tune their vehicle to run as close as possible to the cut-off, and with heads-up pro starts this will create incredibly close racing at an affordable cost for all participants.”
Further information on Nostalgia drag racing events at Willowbank Raceway can be found at willowbankraceway.com.au
