The action will be hot, and the racing will be close as petrolhead “Mayhem” hits the Masterton Motorplex tomorrow and Sunday.
In what is shaping as the biggest drag race meeting of the year at the international dragstrip, the Wild Bunch will take on the Outlaw 71s in a series of races that will have the crowd on their feet.
Up to 20 cars from each class will go head-to-head over the quarter-mile, and Motorplex manager Bob Wilton expects to witness some fireworks from some of the country’s best drag racers.
The Wild Bunch cars are predominantly full-bodied supercharged cars, while the Outlaw 71s tend to be dragsters or altereds and are exclusively supercharged cars which cannot be carburetted or alcohol-powered. They must run quicker than eight seconds but slower than six seconds, and Wilton said that leads to some exciting contests.
The event has attracted some of the biggest names in New Zealand drag racing, including Tony Marsh and son Anthony in their wickedly fast Ford Maverick, Aidan Crook in a 1969 Holden Ute that hits the low seven-second barrier, Murray Hartley in his stunning yellow Ford Mustang, Gary Sinkinson in his chop top Chev Nova, and Swanny Rivers in his six-second dragster.
There will also be plenty of interest in the local drivers, starting with the fan favourite Chev Nova of Kurt Goodin from Carterton, Masterton’s Steve Carlsen in his 1965 Ford, and Gavin Green, who will wheel out his Holden Monaro, with his top doorslammer Chev Camaro cotton wooled for the season.
The first round of racing will feature a Wild Bunch car up against an Outlaw 71, with further draws to be compiled over the meeting depending on results.
Wilton expects between 160 and 170 cars for the two days of racing, which is a full competition meeting for all classes.
He is, however, hopeful that the conditions will be cooler than the sweltering temperatures that have hit the region over recent days.
“If there’s too much heat, it can make the track slippery, but we can spray methanol onto the track to cool it down,” said Wilton, adding that the recent Wellington Invasion meeting at Meremere was temporarily halted because of heat affecting the track.
Racing gets underway at the Masterton Motorplex at 10am tomorrow and 9am on Sunday.
