21 February 2011
Top Fuel standout Andrew Cowin has punctuated a hot and steamy day of Nostalgic action at Willowbank Raceway with a blistering record-surpassing pass aboard his Cowin family Nitro Express Nostalgia Nitro Funny Car at the weekend.
Cowin’s third and final pass during Saturday’s round of the NITRO! Magazine Nostalgia Drag Racing Series saw the 31 year old travel the quarter-mile in 5.88 seconds at 239.61 miles per hour, edging out the previous Australian ‘quickest’ Nostalgia Nitro Funny Car mark of 5.89 seconds, which he set in November of 2010.
“It is just so much fun to drive this Funny Car, it’s a different experience completely, and it was really cool for us to be able to show up and run the quickest ever pass in Australia with the 5.88 second pass,” said Cowin, who was in action at the weekend thanks to World Classic Muscle Cars.
“The crew did an awesome job all day long, if it wasn’t for the crew we wouldn’t be able to run as quick as we did, and it was just so much fun.
“Racing the Nostalgia Nitro Funny Car is just so different and its great for us to do in between the Top Fuel Racing, its a lot of hard work and keeps everyone on their toes, and they are just so fast…I completely love them and really look forward to getting back into it again.
“We love coming to Queensland too, the fans are just awesome, and the traction is always so good, even thought it was so hot on Saturday the track was really great and we could really go after the results, and we were able to run even quicker than we did in November in Sydney.
“It’s safe to say we can squeeze another tenth from the car but at the same time we are still learning with the Funny Car, hopefully we can run a bit quicker every time, but then again that is the plan every time you go racing anyway isn’t it. I am really looking forward to get back into it, I just love it.”
Cowin and his Nostalgia Nitro Funny Car was just one of 180 Nostalgia entries at Queensland’s premier drag racing facility at the weekend.
Taking to the track were racers from a wide variety of racing brackets, with Jason Donnelly (Nostalgia Outlaws), Brad Wooldridge (Gas), Kerry Boyde (Junior Fuel), Peter Rauchle (Vintage Gas), Mick Roche (Hot Rod), Jimmy Lau (American Muscle), Shane Molloy (Aussie Muscle), Pedro Smith (Classic Motorcycle), Jake Pearce (Outlaw Bike), Ken Moss (Six Banger) and Wade Wagstaff (Outlaw Hot Rod) all taking event wins for their brackets. For further results please see below.
For more information on the weekend’s Nostalgia event please visit http://www.nostalgiadrags.com.au/ or http://www.willowbankraceway.com.au/
Willowbank Raceway will be a constant hub of activity over the coming months, with Nostalgia, Pro Street, Sportsman, Top Fuel, Top Bike and Pro Stock Motorcycle racers all set to head to Queensland’s premier drag strip.
The weekend’s Nostalgia action will be followed quickly this weekend by the opening round of the 2011 Queensland Street Car Magazine Eighth Mile Drag Racing Series on February 26.
March will then see the return of the Pro Street Shootout on March 12, before ANDRA Pro Series drag racing hits the Ipswich quarter-mile across March 25 and 26, bringing with it Top Fuel, Top Bike and Pro Stock Motorcycle action.
April will then get underway with the all-new Queensland Auto Spectacular, to be held at Willowbank Raceway on April 10. All the while, test and tune events, bracket events and street series events will be run as usual, seeing Willowbank Raceway a hub of constant activity.
Willowbank Raceway’s official website – http://www.willowbankraceway.com.au/ – is the place to go for more information on ticketing and upcoming events, including the season-ending Castrol EDGE Winternationals.
The Queen’s Birthday long weekend event will take place across Friday June 10 – Monday June 13. Featuring all of the ANDRA Pro Series brackets as well as the Rocket All Stars Racing Series making their final fights for their championships, fans are guaranteed non-stop action.
For more information and calendar dates please visit
www.willowbankraceway.com.au
RESULTS: NITRO! Magazine Nostalgia Drag Racing Series – February 19 at Willowbank Raceway
Nostalgia Outlaw
Winner: Jason Donnelly
Runner up: Paul Messineo
Top Qualifier: Peter Leahy
Gas
Winner: Brad Wooldridge
Runner up: Stuart McLaughlin
Top Qualifier: Andrew Wagstaff
Junior Fuel
Winner: Kerry Boyde
Runner up: Randall Mohr
Top Qualifier: Zachery Peirano
Vintage Gas
Winner; Peter Rauchle
Runner up: Darren Cahill
Top Qualifier: David Gall
Hot Rod
Winner: Mick Roche
Runner up: Charles Cameron
Top Qualifier: Mick Roche
American Muscle
Winner: Jimmy Lau
Runner up: Greg Wardle
Top Qualifier: Greg Wardle
Aussie Muscle
Winner: Shane Molloy
Runner up: Carlos Blanco
Top Qualifier: Carlos Blanco
Classic Motorcycle
Winner: Pedro Smith
Runner up: Tony Grant
Top Qualifier: Tony Grant
Outlaw Bike
Winner: Jake Pearce
Runner up: Mitchell Batchelor
Top Qualifier: Michael Mitchell
Six Banger
Winner: Ken Moss
Runner up: Dean Callcott
Top Qualifer: Ken Moss
Outlaw Hot Rod
Winner: Wade Wagstaff