Yesterday, after a monster drive back to Calder Park Raceway in Melbourne, weary travelers were treated to a late start for the final day of racing on Street Machine Drag Challenge. Kicking off at 3pm would see cooler track temps and better-rested racers hoping to wring every last tenth out of their battle-worn cars. They’d need all their wits if they were to climb their way up the leaderboards and with seriously close competition in many classes the opportunity for a shake up was ever-present. The quickest classes of Radial Blown and Outlaw Blown were back onto 1000ft competition, while the rest of the surviving field would run quarter-mile.
John Ricca had been keeping the V8 boys sweating all week in his RB30-powered Holden VL Commodore BT1, and after laying down a 6.64 at 158mph for a cumulative total of 34.673 seconds, he found himself not only as Quickest Six-Cylinder but in Fifth place overall. With talk of a six-pot class next year, it would be hard to argue against John’s seven-second capable VL as a future top contender.
Adam Rogash was perhaps still not up to form but had been giving it his all throughout the week in the ALLSHOW Commodore and put in a 6.51 at 166mph for a total ET of 34.047 seconds. Lorenzo Gullotto had found his groove over the week and with a steady climb up the leaderboard ran a 6.47 at 167mph to tie his week together. A cumulative total of 33.906 seconds would see Lorenzo finish in Third place overall, as well as taking home trophies for Quickest LS engine and Longest Distance Travelled – Lorenzo came from the dead-opposite side of the country to race this week.
Coming into the day with only 0.22-seconds between them, Frank Marchese and Harry Haig would have their work cut out for them to see who would take home the win and the Australia’s Quickest Street Car jacket. Both would break beams a handful of times during the day trying to get every last drop out of their cars and it would turn into a classic Holden vs Ford battle.
Trading blows, both Frank and Harry ran well into the mid-sixes, but as the sun dropped and the staging lanes emptied, Frank came through with a 6.369 at 171.95mph. In one final push, Harry swung around and rushed down the staging lanes only to find a critical steering injury would stop his final attempt to regain top spot. With a 6.49 at 171mph as his best of the afternoon, Harry would finish with a cumulative ET of 33.374 seconds and take home second place, and Quickest Chevy.
That would mean Frank Marchese with a total of 33.224 seconds in his Ford WX Fairmont would be crowned Australia’s quickest street car for 2018 in a down-to-the-wire finish. Jumping up on the hood and throwing his fists in the air, Frank was rapt with the result after over 1300 km (800 miles) of road traveling and five straight days of mid-7s on the track. Frank’s shopping-cart of trophies would include Overall Winner, Quickest Ford, Quickest ET (7.36 seconds) and Fastest MPH (192.06 mph).
When you think about it, it’s astoundingly impressive to be able to do such a feat, let alone in an all-steel, four-door ‘70s sedan! This is a car packing a 450-cube Ford small block and twin 88mm turbos all under the hood, running on leaf springs and 275 radials. No trick fabrication, no overt drag racing attire – you could run a 7.3 seconds (as Frank did this week) and go pick up the groceries straight afterwards without a single person batting an eyelid. That’s insane!
Riding along for Street Machine Drag Challenge is an eye-opener when it comes to seeing the ingenuity and grit the Australians have for running hot numbers and cruising tough, street-registered cars. You have to remember there are incredibly strict road laws in the country and track facilities are often nowhere near American standards, and yet there are plenty of cars running 7s and traversing the country on bumpy highways with ease. Honestly, what is cooler than that?
We’ve battled both rain and searing heat, dust storms, cows, bumpy single-lane highways, and millions of flies, and we’ve emerged out the other end of Street Machine Drag Challenge victorious. Who knows who will take home the Australia’s Quickest Street Car title next? A few stalwarts weren’t competing in 2018, so next year we may see even bigger numbers, faster competition, and a few knocks on the six-second door!
1. Frank Marchese – Ford XW Fairmont – [email protected] (33.224 total) – Radial Blown
2. Harry Haig – Holden HQ sedan – [email protected] (33.374 total) – Outlaw Blown
3. Lorenzo Gullotto – Holden VL Commodore – [email protected] (33.906 total) – Radial Blown
4. Adam Rogash – Holden VK Commodore – [email protected] (34.047 total) – Radial Blown
5. John Ricca – Holden VL Commodore BT1 – [email protected] (34.673 total) – Outlaw Blown
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