Drag Challenge
4 Feb 2022
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We have attempted to keep the rules for Drag Challenge as simple as possible, but there are some needed to ensure a safe event and fair racing. Please read and fully understand all the rules before entering, especially if this is your first Drag Challenge - the event is quite different to a normal drag meeting.
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Street Machine Drag Challenge Weekend Victoria 2022 will take place between Monday 24 October and Saturday 29 October.
We will be starting and finishing at the same location – Heathcote Park Raceway (HPR). This will allow long-distance travellers to tow to Heathcote and leave their tow vehicles and trailers in a safe location. There will be 24-hour security, but Street Machine and Heathcote Park Raceway take no responsibility for these vehicles.
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To ease congestion on Day One, we will be doing mandatory check-in at HPR for all entrants from 9am Monday 24 October. The Drag Challenge 2022 tracks will be: Heathcote Park Raceway (25 Oct); South Coast Raceway, Portland (26 Oct); Sunset Strip Mildrua (27 Oct) and back to Heathcote Park Raceway (27 & 28th Oct). Five days, five tracks, many road miles.
THE BASICS
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• The event is open to four-wheel vehicles of any year, make or model. No bikes.
• Current licence and registration are required; we may need to see these before the event starts. No dealer plates allowed.
• Competition vehicles must have functional headlights, tail-lights, brake lights, turn signals, a horn and a rear-view mirror while driving on the road. Headlights must be of OE-type design.
• Drag Challenge will run at Heathcote Park Raceway , South Coast Raceway Portland, and Mildura’s Sunset Strip. Each track has different licensing requirements. At Heathcote if your car is slower than 10.00 on the quarter mile, or you have an IHRA licence and tech, you are good to go as long as your car passes a basic inspection (battery hold down, coolant overflow, helmet, etc). If you have an ANDRA licence and tech, you will be able to get a reciprocal day licence – that is $25, but we’ll cover the cost. If your car is quicker than 10.00 it will require a day licence ($25, cost covered by SM), and will need a cage, chute, harness, etc. For cars newer than 2003, you can run down to 9.50, no cage; and for cars newer than 2013 that drops to 9.00.
Mildura and Portland will be eighth-mile and under ANDRA sanction. All cars will need to comply with ANDRA speed and ET regulations. All cars quicker than 7.00 (6.50 seconds for cars 2008 and newer) on the eighth-mile will need current log books and tech inspections, and all drivers will require a licence to match their speed and ET.
• Any type of fuel may be used, but if it’s something exotic you’ll have to find some way of carrying extra fuel safely (maximum of 200 litres to be carried, plus the car’s tank capacity). No fuel lines running from trailers.
• People caught doing burnouts or engaging in any other threatening or anti-social behaviour that brings the event into disrepute will be disqualified. There will be no warnings. If you are caught doing something illegal or dangerous, you will be disqualified and prevented from entering future events. We cruise, we race and we have fun – let’s not screw it up.
• No refunds or rollovers. Beginning this event we will no longer rollover entries to future events. We will only refund your entry if the event is cancelled (COVID, etc).
NO CAR TRAILERS, NO SUPPORT VEHICLES
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• Towing to Heathcote Park Raceway on Day One is fine, but once competition starts on Day One, the only reason your car will be anywhere near a car trailer or support vehicle is if you’re out of the competition. You will not be able to access your tow vehicle and/or trailer from the start of racing on Day One until the end of the competition on Day Five – unless you’re out. This includes on the open road, at fuel stops and at motels. No tow cars or support vehicles!
•Vehicles may not be led or followed by support vehicles of any kind. A support vehicle is one used to: supply (or with the intent of supplying) anything to help or rescue a competitor’s car, or carry anything for a competitor including luggage, tools, fuel, repair parts, spares, marquees, sleeping bag or swags, and helpers or crew. Vehicles towing just-in-case car trailers are also not allowed. We’ll give armbands to entrants and their passengers/helpers, and anyone found working on a car without an armband will get that car disqualified. Armbands will be issued on an ‘as-needed basis’ up to the maximum useable seating capacity in the vehicle. So if your vehicle is loaded up to the max and only has two seats available, you get two armbands.
• All vehicles must be driven under their own power during the entire Drag Challenge competition and may not be towed, trailered or pushed by another vehicle at any time. The only exception is in the event of an emergency in which a vehicle needs to be removed from the roadway, or a dangerous situation (i.e. beside a busy road). In this case, assistance may be used to move the car a short distance to a safe area – for example, to the next truck parking area. This doesn’t mean you can tow the car 50km to the next town, only tow it to a safe place. Safety is paramount. If your car breaks at the track, it can be towed back to the pits for repairs.
•A Drag Challenge phone number will be supplied to all participants. If an entrant wishes to withdraw from the competition by loading the vehicle on a trailer or using an illegal support vehicle, the number must be messaged immediately to notify staff of the withdrawal. Also message the number supplied if you have to move the vehicle for safety reasons as outlined above.
• Each competition vehicle may tow a single-axle trailer no more than 190cm high (measured from the ground to trailer top vertically at the axle centreline). This includes the height of anything carried on top of the trailer. Trailers may not contain any components that contribute to the cooling, charging, oiling or fuelling of the competition vehicle while the trailer is in motion. It is up to the entrant to make themselves aware of all road rules (including capacity limits) pertaining to safe loading and towing of trailers.
• The competitor must race the vehicle they have entered. If you show up with a vehicle that wasn’t on the entry form, we reserve the right to refuse entry. Simply put, if you break your car, talk to us about it beforehand and we can make an arrangement. Don’t show up in your mum’s Camry or a hire car. Competition cars may have multiple drivers entered (if additional fee is paid), but drivers must only drive one competition vehicle – a driver cannot race multiple vehicles.
• Entrants and crew must have a zero blood alcohol reading during competition. Entrants and crew may be tested at any time. Outside of competition hours, the legal limit for drivers is 0.05 blood alcohol concentration. No drinking and driving.
WORKING ON COMPETITION VEHICLES
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• Drag Challenge competitors may borrow or buy parts, tools and supplies from each other and may help each other with manpower. However, vehicles entered with the obvious intent of supporting another competitor with parts, tools, supplies or manpower will subject both entries to disqualification at the race director’s discretion. It is not our intent to keep friends from helping friends, but to prevent entrants from acting as support vehicles for other competitors.
• We understand friends and spectators will want to follow along, but crew/helpers may not lead or follow in separate vehicles. Everyone in a Drag Challenge vehicle will get an armband and anyone seen helping a car without an armband will disqualify that vehicle. All Drag Challenge crew must travel in an entered vehicle for the entire trip. You can swap seats with other helpers, but you can’t hitch a ride in your friend’s Camry because it’s more comfortable.
• Crew/helpers may leave a competition vehicle at any point in the journey, but if they wish to rejoin the competition vehicle, it must be at the same point at which they left it. Crew who show up at the track in any vehicle other than a competition vehicle will disqualify the competition vehicle written on their armband, unless they surrender that armband immediately.
• While you can’t have a team of helpers following along, you can enlist the help of professional businesses along the route – for example, RACV for roadside assistance, or perhaps a local transmission shop, but they will have to work on the car where it is. You can remove the parts where the car has broken down and get a lift (or Uber, or taxi) to a place where the parts can be repaired, or a mobile mechanic can come to you.
• Ordering parts or fuel and having it delivered to hotels during Drag Challenge is allowed, but will have to be organised by the entrant. There are no fuel deliveries allowed to the tracks.
• Swapping engines so that one is used for the drag strip and another for on-road drives is not allowed. The same engine block is to be used for the entire competition.
• Radial tyres, for those classes that require them, will need a manufacturer’s metric size on the tyre (i.e. 275, 235, etc). Radials or any other types of ‘street/strip’ tyres with imperial measurements (i.e. 28x9) will be put into the Outlaw class.
• All competition vehicles must run competition tyres (slicks or drag radials) on the track. No hard-compound street tyres are allowed – this is to preserve the track preparation. Vehicles found on non-competition rubber in the staging lanes will be disqualified immediately.
• All-wheel-drive (Nissan GT-R, Ford Territory, etc) vehicles must compete in the Outlaw categories and use competition tyres on every wheel when racing.
• Maximum tyre size in the Six-Cylinder class is a 275 radial. Six-cylinder vehicles with radials larger than 275, or slicks of any size, must compete in the Outlaw categories.
THE ROUTE, THE CHECKPOINTS
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• The on-road drive is part of the Drag Challenge competition and following the specified route is mandatory. Traffic, potholes, wet weather, wildlife and winding roads should be expected. Drive accordingly and be safe at all times. If you leave the route for any reason you must rejoin the route at the same location.
• Each day’s drive has at least one mandatory checkpoint. Each entrant is required to take a photo of their car at the checkpoint and show it to Drag Challenge officials when they hand in their timeslip the next day. Please take your photo and move on so other entrants have space to take their photos.
• Preferred hotels may be listed, but competitors are not required to stay at these hotels and may stop anywhere they wish along the way, even their own house, as long as the entire route is followed.
RACE PROCEDURES
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• Competitors are required to sign in and get scrutineered at Heathcote Park Raceway on Friday 25 March. Tech inspection and registration will be open at 10am that day (TBC).
• The top of the vehicle’s windscreen must be clear for event sponsors stickers. If there are existing stickers in place we will apply our sticker over them.
• Drag Challenge competitor vehicles should be void of large sponsorship signage. Lettering or logos must be less than 150mm tall on the side or front of the cars and are limited to a single sponsor, company or name. Signage deemed to be ‘ambush marketing’ will be asked to be removed; entrants refusing to do so will be disqualified. Retro lettering on gasser-style or vintage muscle cars is allowed.
• Signage on competitor vehicle’s rear windscreens, trailers and roof racks is open, but should not bring the event into disrepute or attract the wrong kind of attention.
• Competitors may be scrutineered at each drag strip before running. It is up to the entrant to ensure their vehicle will pass tech inspection at each track for their ET and speed capabilities.
• The track opening times may vary from track to track; check your event schedule for the running times. Adjustments may be made to the schedule pending unforeseen circumstances, but we will try to keep you informed of any changes.
• Competitors will be allowed to make as many passes as they wish each day on a first-come, first-served basis, until the race director announces the staging lanes are closed. Drag strip sessions may be divided into run groups. Times and details will be announced at the daily drivers’ meeting and may change from day to day, depending on conditions.
• Each competitor must complete each track day within the specified times to remain in the competition. To complete a track day, a competitor’s car must stage under its own power and take the green light. Entries that take the green but are unable to complete a full drag strip pass will be given an ET of 20 seconds (and a speed of 50mph) for the day. If a competitor misses a track day and is out of the running, they may be able to make exhibition runs during the remaining days of Drag Challenge if time allows.
• Any entrant who was unable to make a pass because of rain or other issues outside the control of the entrant (this does not include car breakage) or race director, but made it to the staging lanes before the planned competition time cut-off, will score an automatic 20-second time. If the day is rained out before three-quarters of the field has made one pass, we will eliminate the whole day’s competition and move on to the next track. If more than three-quarters of the field has made a pass, the results will stand.
• It is the competitor’s responsibility to hand in their timeslips to the specified Drag Challenge official before the nominated cut-off time each day. We will not chase your timeslip. If we do not have your timeslip at the end of the day, you will be disqualified. Once a timeslip is handed in, no other timeslip for that competitor will be accepted that day.
• Route maps to the next track will be provided once a competitor has handed in their timeslip. We do not supply route maps to non-competitors, or entrants who haven’t handed in their timeslip.
• If a day of racing is rained out, competitors are still required to drive the entire route, make their mandatory stops, and must check in during the specified hours at the drag strip in order to remain in competition. Here they will also receive additional information about the schedule and driving directions to the next track. If the final day is rained out, the results will be calculated from the previous days of racing.
• Protesting another racer requires filling out an official protest form (available from the event director) detailing the rule infraction, submitting a $100 fee, and supplying evidence including photos or video. If the protest is proven correct, or negated by forfeiture of the protested entrant, the $100 is returned. If the protest is not upheld, the $100 goes to the racer being protested. No further discussion will be held.
• Each entrant may only compete in one car and one class. You must state your intended class when registering. Class changes are not allowed after the first day of racing. We do allow multiple drivers, but the driver must be licensed for the tech speed of the competition vehicle. The primary driver (the entrant) will be listed in the results regardless of who ran the completed times.
• The winner is the car with the lowest combined ET during the event. Quarter-mile mph averaged over the entire event will be used as a tiebreaker.
CLASSES
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TURBOSMART OUTLAW BLOWN
For vehicles that run a radial tyre wider than 275, or slicks of any size, or all-wheel drive, and with superchargers, nitrous or turbos – or any combination thereof.
GJ DRIVELINES OUTLAW ASPIRATED
For vehicles that run a radial tyre wider than 275, or slicks of any size, or all-wheel drive, and with no forced induction at all.
HALTECH RADIAL BLOWN
For vehicles that run a radial tyre ranging from 275 to 245, running superchargers, nitrous or turbos – or any combination thereof.
PACEMAKER RADIAL ASPIRATED
For vehicles that run a radial tyre ranging from 275 to 245, with no forced induction at all.
TUFF MOUNTS 235 BLOWN
For vehicles that run a radial tyre 235 or narrower, running superchargers, nitrous or turbos – or any combination thereof.
KOOK WRAP 235 ASPIRATED
For vehicles that run a radial tyre 235 or narrower, with no forced induction at all.
SPEED PRO SIX-CYLINDER
For six cylinder-powered vehicles that run a radial tyre 275 or narrower, running superchargers, nitrous or turbos – or any combination thereof.
VIBRANT PERFORMANCE DIAL-YOUR-OWN
The Dial Your Own class (DYO) is for entrants who don’t wish to compete in the ‘tyre classes’. DYO racing is all about consistency, so we will be looking for the most consistent car across the five tracks. Your quickest and slowest times from the five tracks will be used to calculate your spread; the car with the smallest spread at the end of the week will be the class winner. We will be measuring the spread down to as many decimal places as necessary to determine a result. Entrants can make as many passes in the time allowed as they like, but they must provide one timeslip to the nominated Drag Challenge official before each day’s cut-off time. We reserve the right to limit passes if weather or other factors come into play and we need to get other cars down the track.
Because we will be competing at both eighth-mile and quarter-mile tracks, we will have to adjust some times to suit. All eighth-mile times will be multiplied by 1.555 to create a quarter-mile time; this applies to Mildura only.
EXAMPLE
Racer A runs 11.520 at Heathcote Park Raceway, 7.43 at Mildura (x1.555=11.553), and 11.55 at Heathcote again. His quickest time is 11.520 and the slowest is 11.553, which gives him a spread of 0.033.
Racer B runs 10.985 at Heathcote Park Raceway, 7.072 at Mildura (x1.555=10.997), and 10.962 at Heathcote Park Raceway on the last day. Her quickest time is 10.962 and the slowest is 10.997, which gives her a spread of 0.035.
In this scenario Racer A would be the winner.
WHAT CAN YOU WIN?
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A Street Machine Drag Challenge trophy goes to the overall winner, which is the entrant with the lowest combined ET of the competition.
There will be first- and second-place trophies for each class. There may be other prizes depending on sponsor support, which may include: Quickest Without A Trailer, Quickest Holden, Quickest Ford, Quickest Mopar, Quickest Chev, and Quickest Six Overall.
We also have several clubs for entrants that achieve high levels of performance and also complete the event. These include the Seven-Second Club, Six-Second Club and 200mph Club, as well as the Four-Second Club for cars running over the eighth-mile (time must be run at an eighth-mile track). Members to any of these clubs will be awarded the prestigious red cap upon entry – one cap per competitor per club.
If you have any questions or comments, please direct them to Scott Taylor at - scott.taylor at wheelsmedia.com.au
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Good luck!
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