Two years ago, Reece Fish and Fish Family Racing ventured into the field of Top Fuel Dragster racing. Fish, who still holds New Zealand’s fastest street legal record, purchased the Bob Shepherd rail out of Australia and woke the sleeping drag racing fans from days of yonder. Suddenly, New Zealand drag racing fans had something new to get excited about.
A year later, Tony Marsh and the team at Marsh Motorsport joined the fray. Already campaigning the Tom Conway built A-Fueler, Marsh Motorsport decided to make things interesting and purchased the Jim Read Top Fuel Dragster; again from Australia.
New Zealand has long had an affiliation with nitro albeit in very small numbers; a torch that Willy White in his Nitro Funny Car had carried solo until Fish Family Racing and The Mount Shop Marsh Motorsport teams decided to make a push for the big speeds and low ETs. Across the ditch in Australia a country rich in drag racing history, White is making his mark racing in the Outlaw Nitro circuit run by none other than Graham Cowin who incidentally ran the first ever 4 second pass on Aussie soil at Calder Park.
And so the Nitro Shootout was born.
This year, at the second running of The ROCK FM 2015 Nitro Shootout, it culminated in Anthony Marsh making New Zealand motorsports history at Meremere Dragway with the first ever 4second quarter mile pass on New Zealand soil.
In the third round of the best-of-three ROCK FM Nitro Shootout against Reece Fish in his Fish Family Racing Top Fueler, Marsh took his nitromethane-burning machine to a 4.985 elapsed time at 288.27 mph (463.92kmh), making him the first Kiwi to run the distance in NZ in under five seconds. Interestingly, Fish actually won the match race, in spite of his car’s supercharged Hemi engine blowing up just before the finish line, yet still ran 5.044 seconds at a much slower 243.68 mph (392.16kmh).
Perfect track conditions albeit a little too hot with the track hitting 140°F meant at times it was tricky work for the crews but nothing was ever achieved without a little perseverance.
The supporting Nitro racers would not be outdone. Ian Wilkins on his Afterburner II Kawasaki and Athol “The Flying Kiwi” Williams battled for bike honours in the Shootout. Wilkins strung together two 8 second passes while Williams on his Top Fuel Drag Bike wasn’t mucking around, he went out on his first pass and laid a 6.443 @ 227.61mph (366.30kmh) breaking his own TF/DB record of 6.688 @ 202.35mph set in Taupo back in 2010. Williams cemented his position as the quickest and fastest biker in the land.
Dave Gauld broke the Fuel Altered record in his supercharged nitro methane-fuelled ’34 Ford coupe to a new Fuel Altered record, running a wheels up 7.56 elapsed time at 178.90 mph (288.55 kmh), beating a record set by legendary driver, Peter Lodge, all the way back in 1977. Lodge was on hand to see his record smashed.Willy White in his Nitro Funny Car had his best pass later in the day but left before the tree was activated so no times were available. What we witnessed – a strong solid flames ablaze run from start line to the traps – has us all excited for his next appearance and just a little bit curious about the numbers had he waited for the countdown.
Les Herst was plagued with issues and didn’t make it past the first round but he along with the missing Karl Boniface is a testament to what is shaping to be a revival of nitro action in the land of the long white cloud.
The always-popular Top Doorslammer class saw Robert “Bobby” Owens in his Falcon Futura break the BB/TS record with a stellar 7.341@ 188.73mph backed up by a 7.380 in earlier qualifying to take the record from Craig Brown. The finals match-up was fought between Wayne Yearbury’s wild Studebaker Coupe against Mark Bardsley’s 1968 Camaro, with Yearbury taking the win at 7.087 seconds at 182.03 mph (292.94 kph).
The Auckland Harley Davidson-sponsored Competition Bike class saw Whitford’s Bill Hamilton on his Suzuki Hayabusa taking victory from Greg Pratt on his Harley V-Rod Destroyer. Hamilton also reset his own AA/AB record to an 8.174 @ 166.50mph. (While both competitors red-lighted the start of the race, Pratt lost on having done so first. Hamilton’s winning time was a rapid 8.348 seconds at 164.59 mph (265.47 kmh).
Rounding up the records tally was Jodey Irving, in his fire-breathing 1988 Camaro. Irving smashed his own record for the SS/AA class, turning in a time of 7.719 seconds at 179.83 mph (289.40 kmh).
The NZ Hot Rod Magazine-sponsored Pro Nostalgia class brought out a wide range of old-style and historic Altered and F/E Dragsters. Ultimately, it was Putaruru’s Cameron Paterson’s Fontana-powered front engine dragster that won against the 350 Chevy-urged rear engine dragster of Glenfield-based Dave Mason. Paterson’s short wheelbase rail turned a respectable 9.727 seconds elapsed time at 134.16 mph (216.39 kph).
An all South Island final was the feature in Franklin Long Roofing Top Comp with Christchurch’s Johnny Alsop piloting his wild ’41 Willys coupe to win the class against fellow Cantabrian, Simon Fowke in his rare 1957 Chevy Funny Car. Alsop achieved a number of personal bests over the meeting and won his class, with a 6.855 second pass at 196.16 mph (315.68 kmh).
In VHT Pro Comp competition, Gavin Green, drove his immaculate HK Holden Monaro to victory in a heads-up match against the 1988 Chevy Corvette of Rex Duckett from Otaki. The Featherston farmer took the win at 7.998 seconds at 170.95 mph (275.73 kmh).
The final round of Super Comp saw two veteran drag racers lining up in their four cylinder dragsters. Ultimately it was Trevor Watson in his supercharged Peugeot-powered machine who took the honours against Phil Hirst in his injected Fontana speedway engine rail; Watson running 9.163 seconds against Hirst’s slower 11.168.
Breakages and other problems with his competition meant that Pukekohe’s Gary Bogaart had Meremere Dragway all to himself for the final round of the NZ Hot Rod Magazine Comp class. He took his street legal 1975 Ford Falcon Coupe down the famous quarter-mile course in 10.292 seconds at 133.66 mph (215.10kmh).
Lee Sherwin, driving the historic Quarter Master Escort took home the trophy in Outback 4×4 Super Sedan, beating Steve Wall’s thundering ’66 Chevelle Malibu, the Ford clocking a 9.516 elapsed time versus Wall’s 10.221. It is the third meeting that Lee Sherwin as attended and claimed top honours, the remaining Super Sedan racers have a ways to go to claw back his lead.
In Segedin Auto Parts Super Street, veteran racer, Te Rapa’s Roger Murray, driving his Ford F-150 SVT pick up jumped the start in the final against Paul Berridge in his 1973 Camaro, his red light disqualification giving the win to the Chevrolet ownerfrom Otahuhu.
Scrap Palace brings us the Modified Bike division of racing – always hotly contested, this time around it was Alan Thoresen of Hamilton riding away with the win on his Kawasaki running a 9.980 @ 140.78mph (226.56 kmh) over Jan Malcolm who went the rounds on her new Kawasaki ER6 650cc only to give it away with a red light.
Lester Pullenger took top honours in Screaming Eagles when he beat the class sponsor, Ray Pratt from Auckland Harley Davidson. The Cambridge rider took his thumping 2012 Harley through the lights at 12.574 at 102.7 mph (165.65 kph).
As always, the NZ-created Fun time Foods Junior Dragster division had a large field of competitors battling it out on the shorter, eighth-mile course. In the final, 15 year-old KeesWijdeven took home the honours against the West-Stevens’ entry, with the Pukekohe driver running an elapsed time of 9.659 seconds against the West-Stevens machine’s 9.735 clocking.
And so we look to the next few months of drag racing in Godzone with much anticipation. Get yourself to a track, you’ll never know what gold you might find under the pit trees.
Words by Peter S. Cooper & Nisa Solipo
Images by SE Photography
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