After years racing in Outlaws, Alice Springs Inland Dragway President and long-time racer Andrew Cole is preparing to make the step-up to the Doorslammer bracket with his impressive self-built Corvette.
Cole was set to make his Doorslammer debut at Nitro Up North in Darwin, however thanks to the impacts of COVID-19 is now patiently awaiting the next opportunity to make his move into the popular racing bracket.
“This car represents a real achievement for me personally – I built it from scratch, I bought the body and then some pipe and ended up with all this stuff sitting in the corner. To go from that to turning it into a car that is now running low sixes is pretty cool I think,” Cole said.
“I built all of the chassis, the tanks, the seats, the panels and the suspension. Together with the crew, we have basically just built a car from nothing and that is what we are racing.
“We have always only ever been about trying to make the car go fast, and now that we have pushed the cover for Outlaws, we don’t really want to slow it down to comply. We want to just keep on pushing and pushing it, and so now is the time to make the transition to Doorslammer and see what the best time we can get out of it is.
“When I first started building the car, everything was built to Doorslammer specs anyway, so the transition to take it from Outlaws to Doorslammer hasn’t been that big of a deal because everything pretty much complied already, so we have only had to make some minor changes.
“It is all ready and rearing to go, so now we are just sitting back and waiting for the opportunity to take it onto the track.
“I would say my biggest goal with the move to Doorslammer is to run a five second pass at our home track. That is going to take a fair bit of effort – given that we prep the track it is kind of up to me to get everything right! The track will need to be as good as we can get it, the time of year will need to be right, and I will need to be in the right head space in the car when it comes time to take it down the track.
“We would love to make our Doorslammer debut at home in Alice, but we are also looking forward to the chance to take it to other tracks around Australia when we have the opportunity.
“While we wait, I have to take this chance to thank my crew for all of their hard work and support. My crew chief Dave Fendt rallies the rest of the crew every Wednesday night and Saturday to work on the car and that has been going on for years. To Dave and also Mick, Dennis, Trumby, Mark, Guido, Stew, Dan and Courtney, and also my wife Karina, I say thank you for all of their efforts.”
Cole’s long and dedicated involvement in drag racing began not in the NT, but in Victoria.
“My first involvement came about in Mildura back in 1989. I became a member of their club and helped as an official, running races at Merbean,” Cole explained.
“Then in 1995 at the old Seven Mile Aerodrome track here in Alice Springs I raced a street car and soon became part of the committee here, helping to run meetings.
“When the old track closed, I was involved with building the track we have now so we could go racing again – I am actually one of only three people that helped build the track that is still on the Committee today.
“At the same time I was racing a SS/A until 2010, when I finished building the Corvette and joined the Outlaw ranks.
“There is no doubt the sport of drag racing is a massive part of my life both on the track and off – even in those times where I haven’t been part of a committee I have still been helping out the clubs and complexes I have been a part of.”
Cole’s dedication to his role with Alice Springs Inland Dragway is hard to argue with, with the 52-year-old often wearing many hats to make sure things go smoothly.
“As President of a small club with limited assistance I have in the past been the scrutineer, ANDRA official, Tech Inspector and Meeting Director while opening and closing the complex, organising the bar and prepping the track throughout the season – all while usually trying to run my car!” he explained.
“Sometimes this doesn’t work out, like at the Red CentreNATS recently when I buggered my run up because my head wasn’t ‘in the car,’ it was too busy with all of the work I had been doing for the event.
“When I am in the car, I need to just be concentrating on racing which is 100 percent my goal for next year – not just for myself, but also for the crew. They are the ones let down when all the external factors get in the way and they are so disappointed when it doesn’t go right after all of the effort they have poured in. So, it is important that I get it right for them as well as for me.”
Unsurprisingly, Cole is passionate about drag racing in the Northern Territory.
“Racing in the Northern Territory is just fantastic in my view. Currently we have Alice Springs Inland Dragway and the Hidden Valley Drag Strip in Darwin operating and Darwin may be 1,500km away from Alice Springs, but everyone there knows everybody here and they go out of their way to accommodate us to go up there and we do exactly the same for them,” Cole said.
“It is also really great that we have the support of NT Motorsports here, the Government is really behind motorsport. When I look at other states and major cities that don’t have what we have and their local government aren’t behind them, I feel we are very lucky to have a complex like we do thanks to their support.”
For more about Andrew Cole Drag Racing, visit https://www.facebook.com/andrewcoledragracing
For more on Alice Springs Inland Dragway, visit www.cadra.com.au
