Drag meeting spoilt by rain

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34149, 10 May 1976, Page 3

Drag meeting spoilt by rain

(By )

JOHN FRIDD)

Rain—the drag racing fanatic’s worst enemy—ruined the Pegasus Bay Drag Racing Club’s final meeting of the season at Ruapuna yesterday.

A large number of street machines turned out and most attempted a few runs, but times were well down on previous meetings and the star attractions — two altered T-bucket dragsters — did not run.

Ron Collett kept his Chevmotored dragster — holder of the New Zealand altered record — in the pits, as the menthanol fuel it uses turns to water in rain and could seriously damage the engine. The run was to be the last in the machine’s present form — Collett is building the motor into a full-blown rail over the winter.

Barry Barnes also failed to run in his T-bucket, as he had borrowed a much more powerful motor for the meeting and it would have made the short wheel-based vehicle impossible to control on a greasy strip.

Gary Cairney, of Christchurch, posted the fastest street rod time in his ’37 Ford street rod when he blasted down the quartermile strip in 16sec, about

two seconds down on his usual times. Dave Gallagher was second in his ’34 Ford. The fastest time for street cars went to Peter Hale in his Corvette Stingray. He recorded 15sec. Tony Thorpe (Dodge Challenger) was second.

Many of the drivers had trouble putting horsepower on to the track through slick drag tyres and slid about the course.

Only the more experienced drag bike riders attempted the run, and Lindsay Williamson recorded the fastest time of the day — about 14sec — on his special Suzuki 750 dragster. His times are usually about lOsec on a dry track. Earl Nunn (Kawasaki 900) was second fastest.