ANDRA Pulls The Plug On Local Drag Racing.

   ANDRA Pulls The Plug On Local Drag Racing.

By Mark Humphrey

Day 2 of the Southern Nationals presented by Essendon Chrysler in association with Fiat Professional come to an abrupt end last night when the superior brains trust at ANDRA decided the race track had become unsafe to race on. It was clearly evident with the evening session in full swing that the group 1 cars had over powered the track much in the same way as the previous night’s racing. In a somewhat baffling decision, it was decided by the all thinking Andra brains trust to shut down the entire race meeting robbing local race fans and drivers the opportunity of much needed competition drag racing in Victoria.The ground shaking Doorslammers proved too powerful for the Calder racing surface once the sun went down.

It is common knowledge that ANDRA had cracked heads with the original promoter of Calder Park in the past but one would have thought that was all behind us now. With an independent promoter doing his best to kick start the sport of drag racing in Victoria the last thing we need in Victoria is the Sport’s head representative body making knee jerk reactions to situations that could have been averted with some intelligent planning.

The decision not to let the other classes run was quite bizaar.

Ok, let’s look at the turn of events over the 2 day event. On Friday night the decision was made to cancel the rest of the nights racing due to weather conditions that had made the racing surface unsafe to race on for the group 1 cars. The issue was that the cold air had taken the grip out of the racing surface with the powerful group 1 cars over powering the track around the half way mark. It was suggested that some of the drivers had refused to race due to the nature of the track yet one of the Tremayne boys had pedalled his car safely down the track to post a strong qualifying time. John Zappia was able to put his HQ Monaro down the ¼ albeit somewhat out of shape but mostly under full throttle although I expect that if you dropped a bucket load of ice-blocks on the track Zappia would still be able to drive through them such is his driving skill. "If you dropped a bucket load of ice-blocks on the track Zappia would still be able to drive through them"

So in the end the correct decision was made Friday night as a band of rain descended on the Calder precinct immediately after ANDRA had decided to pull the plug.

Coming into Saturday ANDRA had correctly made the decision to start at 10.30 rather than the scheduled time of 12 noon. This seemed like a smart decision except for the fact that they had pencilled in the group 2, 3 & 4 categories to start off the morning session. The Doorslammers weren’t scheduled to run until 12.50 which seemed strange to say the least. Surely if there was an issue with the track when the heat went out of it, wouldn’t it have been smart to get through all the preliminaries in time to run finals before this situation re-appeared. Fans want to see the best cars on the day WIN FINALS!  Why not put the Supercharged Outlaws down the track first up as a pre-cursor to the Doorslammers. If track conditions are good then roll with the Doorslammers, if not then put another category down. Doesn’t seem like rocket science to me. By doing this they had the potential of running the Group 1 classes up to 2 hours earlier than their original scheduled time.  If the 12.50 Saturday start for Doorslammers was put in place purely for maximum exposure to fans then that decision clearly backfired as the fans that turned up expecting to see racing didn’t see a final run in any of the classes. Great brains trust ANDRA.

For Victorian drag racing fans and certainly for this writer it has been encouraging to have Peter Pisalidis throw his weight behind Victorian drag racing and promote a sport that you would expect all drivers and the governing body to back 100%. Like it or not, drag racing ruled supreme in Victoria not that many years ago and was seen as the backbone of ANDRA. Slowly but surely Calder through the efforts of Pisalidis and his dedicated staff have put drag racing back on the scene with regular street meetings coupled to some Test N Tune days. We have a competition series that encompassed the inaugural John Taverna Classic as well as State Championship rounds. Yesterday’s Southern Nationals presented by Essendon Chrysler in association with Fiat Professional should have been the jewel in the crown for Victorian drag racing but instead through no fault of the promoter has sent drag racing in Victoria back towards the dark ages.

How is it that on a clear mild Victorian night not one category final was run? Not even the hugely powerful Junior Dragsters boasting horsepower somewhere in the range of a dairy cow were able to run their finals. Fair dinkum, if ANDRA is serious about pushing the sport in Victoria they are going about it the wrong way. Easy for ANDRA to pack up their silk lined promo semi and head interstate but what about the scores of fans peed off with Calder drag racing?

If the fans (and they are so precious) made the effort to rock up to Calder surely we could have put the best show on for them! Ok ANDRA had made an error with the Saturday starting time of the group 1 category but what was wrong with running the semis and finals in the other categories. Melbourne has a good following of group 2 & 3 categories including a super strong class of Super Sedan runners.  You could just about guarantee that Shane Baxter would have put his altered down the strip at close to 200mph. Victorians have seen him do it before in conditions less favourable.

Hate to think what the total cost was to ANDRA for taking the promotional semi to sites around Melbourne over the past weeks. Whatever the combined cost was, they blew it all and some on one decision made last night.

For all the interstate racers who turned up, they definitely added to the spectacle of Victoria drag racing and it would great if some could make their way back for the State Title round in May.

                                                       What a treat to have interstate cars like these rock up to Calder.                                           

With no finals to speak of please enjoy images from the event.

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Street meets are a great way to try out drag racing and test the performance of your everyday street vehicle in a safe and legal environment.

Calder Park will be hosting ANDRA sanctioned street meets through the second half of 2013 so you can experience the thrill of Melbourne's own quarter mile.

Entry cost: $65 (includes $5 ANDRA divisional day licence)

Spectator entry: $25

To go racing at street meets, all you need is a street vehicle that passes basic safety checks on tyres, brakes, steering and liquid leaks. If you race a vehicle with a manufacture date of pre 1 January 2008 you can run up to 11.00 seconds without the need for a tech inspection or ANDRA licence. Vehicles manufactured post 1 January 2008 can run to 10.00 seconds without the need for a tech inspection or ANDRA licence. Check www.andra.com.au for specific information on safety and licence requirements.