Super Street racer Michael Jennings is hoping he can keep the good times rolling aboard his 1970 Nova Chev Sedan this weekend when the Top End Nationals winner heads to Alice Springs Inland Dragway for the Desert Nationals (July 22/23).
The Valley View (SA) racer is on his first Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series ‘northern swing’ as a racer after previous trips as a crew member and got his trip off to a perfect start last weekend with victory at the Hidden Valley Drag Strip.
“We certainly had a good weekend in Darwin,” Jennings said.
“I am definitely happy to have taken the win – I have always wanted to do the Darwin/Alice trip and get that off the bucket list, and it has started off very well with the win.
“We had a small drama in qualifying, but we got that sorted before eliminations and then went on to have a good run.
“I have been to Darwin and Alice crewing before, but this is my first time racing. To take back to back wins with a win in Alice as well as Darwin would be awesome of course, but there are a lot of tough competitors in Super Street!
“At the end of the day, you are always happy when you are racing, right? So, we are just going to be taking it as it comes, and of course trying our best at every round.”
Not only is this the first time for Jennings racing up north, but it is also the first time his 1970 Nova has been on a track in around five years, with Jennings more recently racing an FJ Holden which is a replica of ‘the Exterminator’ FJ raced by Graham Elliott in the 60s and 70s.
“I have had this car (the Nova) for around 15 years, and Darwin was its first major meeting back in five years,” Jennings explained.
“I still have the ‘Humpy,’ I am partners with Graham in that, but this car has been in the shed for five years and so I decided to get it back together and go and do Darwin and Alice.
“We will probably also run most of the other Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series rounds this year, including Mildura, Portland and The Bend.
“As we get ready for Alice, I would like to give a big shout out to Ned and Karen Karanovic for taking the car to Darwin and Alice, Tony and Kay for the ride down to Alice Springs, and also to Brett Mathew of Gawler Mechanical, Grant Brokenshire of Norwood Automatics, Rodtech, and my brothers Paul and Nikolas for their support.
“We actually had a few dramas a couple of weeks before Darwin, so we were umming and ahing about what car to take, but Brett helped me out with engines and stuff to make it all possible. With all the dramas before it was a fair rush, so it was really good for it to all come together for the win.”
Alice Springs Inland Dragway’s Desert Nationals, part of the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series, will be held this weekend across Saturday July 22 and Sunday July 23. For event information, entry lists and schedules, visit www.cadra.com.au
For more from ANDRA, visit www.andra.com.au
Image thanks to Ed Forman/HighRPM