6 July 2011
Two well-known drag racers returned to Hidden Valley Drag Strip on Saturday night, and they returned in fine form, taking out the top qualifying position and the win for the Outlaws bracket.
Craig Davis debuted his new 600ci Mustang for the first time at Hidden valley and flew straight to the top of the qualifying ladder. The Nitrous powered big block power plant pushing the car to a 7.221 second pass at 191mph, a full 0.8 seconds quicker than second qualifier, Dennis Baylis. Unfortunately Davis suffered mechanical problems that hindered his finals berth.
The Outlaw finals saw HVDRA life member, Butch Morrison line up in his first finals after a break from racing for several years. Sporting a traditional supercharged V8 combination, he fell victim to the high revving nitrous powered Camaro of Dieter Herrmann.
Herrmann returned to Hidden Valley Drag Strip for the first time since his spectacular crash in 2009 and he returned in fine form, taking out the holeshot win with a 8.299 second pass on a 8.20 dialin against Morrison.
In the Modified Bike bracket Dave Denner top qualified with a 8.854 at 142mph but it was Robert Harrison that progressed through the rounds to take out the win on his GPZ with a 10.79 on a 10.60 dialin.
Super Sedan saw a mixture of Modified and Sedan based vehicles in the top qualifying list. Leading the charge was Allan Arthus 1923 Altered with an 8.663, followed by Brad Baker’s Mazda RX7 with a personal best of 8.805. Interestingly none of the top qualifying contenders made it through to the finals.
The Super Sedan finals saw Wayne Harris defeat Mick Dureau. Harris running a 10.218 on a 10.17 dialin in his 1974 Holden HQ, while Dureau ran a 10.453 on a 10.35 dialin.
In other brackets, Shane Munt took out the win against Troy McGregor in Super Street, while Kel Larfield pushed his 1957 Chev to victory over the modern day Commodore of Bob Czerniawski.
Czerniawski also performed a feat that most drag racers never do in their entire career; he pulled a perfect 0.000 second reaction. Leaving the line at exactly the sam moment as the tree turned green. What made it even more special was that this was the second time that Czernaiwski has pulled it off.
In the Street Bike bracket Darren Savage defeated Brandt McGlade while rookie Junior Dragster competitor, Caitlin “CT” Burt defeated the more experienced Jodie Coles.
The next round of the 2011 Track Championship Series will be the Top End Nostalgia’s on the 30th July.