Veedubs On the Quarter Mile

Vehicles from the humble Volkswagen Auto Group are certainly not the usual suspects when it comes to drag racing, but on a few select weekends a year, they descend on drag strips around the nation in force.

In 2006, Volkswagen Magazine Australia began a VW only drag racing series that would see the Australian scene greatly strengthened.

With rounds held at Warwick Dragway in Queensland and Fuchs South Coast Raceway in Victoria, the friendly atmosphere of the 1/8 mile series attracted droves of VW devotees who would otherwise not participate in the sport.

Year after year the event has grown and in 2012, the Victorian leg has been replaced for the first time with the 1/4 mile track at Sydney Dragway.

The response to the change in venue couldn’t have been better, with a record 94 competitors in attendance and a whole heap of spectators cheering them on.

The cars entered ranged from stunning restored rides…

Right through to all out drag cars.

Dedicated track warriors like Darren Hobson’s twin supercharged Bug were running some seriously quick times and put on a great show for the crowd.

Andrew ‘Gringo’ Ermel’s 1956 Beetle managed a best of 10.94@113mph, not too bad considering it’s running an aircooled 2338cc!

Rod Penrose ran an astonishing 10.7@128mph in his circuit-racing Super Bug and looked damn fine doing it although…

We’re more interested in seeing his drag car run at Warwick!

The focus of this event isn’t the top of the field though, with everything from stockers to slammed streeters having a crack.

One of my favourites from the day was Adam Buckley’s split-window bus. This thing is tough both inside and out, with its turbo 1UZ powerplant propelling it through the traps in a swift 13.13@112mph.

Jak Rizzo’s 1971 SuperBug was another one not running a German powerplant, although he did stay with a boxer.  What you see hanging down low behind that rear apron is the bottom of a Subaru EJ20T that saw Jak running a best of 13.30@103mph.

Some stuck with the awesomeness of aircooled though and for Leigh Harris, it paid off. His ’59 Beetle may look fairly tame from the outside but the turbocharged 2007cc engine out the back certainly isn’t, shooting him through the traps in 13.11@105mph.

There were a fair few like this as well, with Cindy Hurst’s turbo Beetle showing that VW owners aren’t above taking advantage of the reputation their vehicles have. What a sleeper!

Although the field was largely dominated by the early VWs, the late model watercooled guys still represented strong.

As always, the VW Drags Showdown was a fantastic event and it was great seeing some of these beasts finally get to stretch their legs on the quarter mile. Preparations have already begun for Round 2 at Warwick Raceway and I for one can’t wait! Check out the VWMA site for more details.