General News
6 November, 2025
‘I survived the challenge’ says local drag racer
A new trend in motorsport is rapidly developing across the state, called ‘Drag and Drive’ with a local competitor enjoying the new concept last week.
Warracknabeal drag racing and motoring enthusiast Trevor Hunter competed in the five-day inaugural event last week, which started at the Tailem Bend quarter-mile drag strip.
The concept of the event is to have fully legal, road-registered race cars that must be driven on the road from one event to the next under their own power and cannot be trailered.
The event is operated under the auspices of ANDRA, the Australian National Drag Racing Association, the same organisation that the Wimmera Off-street Drag Racing Club, based in Warracknabeal, runs under.
After competing at Tailem Bend, the massive number of 280 competitors then motored their way to the South Coast Raceway at Portland.
From there the competitors then travelled north up the Henty Highway, overnighting in the Warracknabeal district, with about 50 cars camping at the old Kellalac cricket ground amongst numerous other district sites (including the railway station), before heading to the Sunset Dragway at Mildura overnight and to compete over two days, due to the current closure of both Heathcote and Swan Hill raceways.
The last day of competition returned to Tailem Bend.
"When you hand in your time slip each day, you get the route map to the next track and have to take a mandatory photo at each checkpoint along the way," Mr Hunter said.
With so many competitors coming through, local fuel was in high demand, and the Werrigar was running out of premium unleaded.
Mr Hunter said all the local outlets and the pub were being ‘smashed’, running out of food, “they sold out of everything".
Out of the 280 competitors, 100 were lost on the way with mechanical breakdowns, mostly with transmission issues on the transport sections between races due to towing trailers.
Mr Hunter chose not to tow a trailer and put a rack on his towbar to carry excess gear.
He competed in the 235B class, which is the width of the rear drive tyres and ‘B’ for boost class, with 10 classes overall.
Being a keen motor racing enthusiast and former mechanic, he first built his HJ Kingswood about 20 years ago, fitting a LS1 turbocharged engine and two-speed auto transmission with ‘transbrake’ and Ford nine-inch differential and engine management… amongst numerous other projects.
“I built it to be near bulletproof and reliable with plenty of power, but still ’streetable'," he said.
“I was reasonably pleased with my performance, coming ninth in class out of 30, but I survived the challenge."
He described the competition as five tracks, five days and 1500 kilometres as torture, "but a lot of fun".