Records and person bests were the order of the night at Round 4 of the Track Championship Series at Hidden Valley Drag Strip on Saturday with Scott MacLean piloting his Top Alcohol Funny Car to a new track record.
MacLean started the night with a shattering 5.723 second pass 251.20mph but he didn’t stop there. He went one better running another personal best and resetting the TA/FC ET and MPH records with a 5.685 second run 251.95mph.
“We have been working on the combination all year in preparation for the national ANDRA round in August and it is coming together well” said Scott MacLean.
“We have a good crew and some great local businesses behind us and we look forward to giving the Darwin community a local to barrack for in two weeks’ time.”
Matt Abel also pulled out a new personal best in his 1957 Chev Top Doorslammer, topping out with a 5.866 second pass at 247.16mph. While he was not able to back up the pass for an official record it does make him the quickest Doorslammer to run at Hidden Valley to date.
But back to the Track Championships and it was a mixed affair with at least two finals awarded based on unusual circumstances.
Outlaws had a familiar finals list with Dieter Herrmann set to take on Todd Knight for the third time this year. Herrmann made it 3 wins from 3 finals after Knight jumped the start and red lit. Knight ran a very respectable 7.622 second pass at 182.28mph in the naturally aspirated Pontiac but that red light handed the win to Herrmann, even though he had mechanical problems that forced him to roll through with a 29sec pass.
Modified Bike was another final that didn’t go according to plan. Leith Darrach received the automatic win with a 9.624 at 154.05mph pass after his opponent, Clive Mainland was forced to accept the tree but then back out of the race due to an oil leak.
In Top Sportsman veteran Allan Arthus took out his first win for the season against newcomer Paul Newman. Arthus finished with 8.176 second pass on an 8.12sec dialin in his 578ci V8 Altered. Newman also finished with a stout 8.808 second run with an 8.70 dialin.
Super Sedan was an extremely close race between Dwight Brieffies and Daniel Foreman. Brieffies was pushed just a little too far, running faster than he planned with an 8.908 second pass on an 8.92 dialin, giving the automatic win to Foreman who finished with a 9.852 on a 9.84 dialin.
Super Street was a repeat of Round 1 of the Series with Shaun Boyer again defeating Troy McGregor while in Street Bike Mark Tattingham has extended his points lead with a win over Josh Schuit.
Street Car competitor Bob Czerniawski has also taken a lead in his respective class after coming runner up to Gary Baker. Baker finished with a 14.141 on a 14.05 dialin.
The ANDRA Drag Racing Series will be held at Hidden Valley Drag Strip and feature Top Alcohol and Top Bike from 16-17th August.
Photo by Ed Forman/highrpm.com.au
JUNIOR DRAGSTER WINNER – DARCY MULLER
JUNIOR DRAGSTER RUNNER UP – MITCHELL SPERRER
STREET CAR WINNER – GARY BAKER
STREET CAR RUNNER UP – BOB CZERNIAWSKI
STREET BIKE WINNER – MARK TATTINGHAM
STREET BIKE RUNNER UP – JOSH SCHUIT
SUPER STREET WINNER – SHAUN BOYER
SUPER STREET RUNNER UP – TROY MCGREGOR
SUPER SEDAN WINNER – DANIEL FOREMAN
SUPER SEDAN RUNNER UP – DWIGHT BRIEFFIES
MODIFIED BIKE WINNER – LEITH DARRACH
MODIFIED BIKE RUNNER UP – CLIVE MAINLAND
TOP SPORTSMAN WINNER – ALLAN ARTHUS
TOP SPORTSMAN RUNNER UP – PAUL NEWMAN
OUTLAWS WINNER – DIETER HERRMANN
OUTLAWS RUNNER UP – TODD KNIGHT