18 fastlane
TAMWORTH STRIVING
AHEAD WITH PLANS
FOR NEW DRAG STRIP
When the Tamworth Drag
Racing Association was
established in 1990, the
club aspired to build a
drag strip right there in
the country town.
While land has long been ear-marked for
the new 1/8th mile international-spec drag
strip, it has been a lengthy journey for the
club’s dedicated group of members.
Now, Club President Matt Edwards says he
is pleased to confirm they have received
approval of the necessary Development
Application (DA) from council.
“We have had the land there ready to go
for a long time in the Tamworth Motor
Sports Complex, but it has been a big
task to get the DA across the line so it
is pretty exciting to now have that step
completed,” Edwards explained.
“We have teamed up with the local sports
car club to help get it over the line and we
are now working together on lobbying for
the funding necessary to make the track
a reality.
“This will be no easy task either, but we
are one step closer to seeing Tamworth
having its only purpose-built 1/8th mile
drag strip and we are really happy to now
be focusing on this next step of gaining
funding.”
While the club may have been working
hard at making its dreams of building
its own drag strip a reality, that hasn’t
stopped them from keeping drag racing
fans and competitors happy over the
years.
“In 1992 we started running events on
closed public roads – as far as we know,
we are the only ones in the country to
have ever had a Top Fuel dragster on a
public road!” said Edwards.
“We had everything on-deck over the
years – from modified and sports cars to
Top Alcohol Altereds and Nitro-fuelled
Bikes as well as the Wild Bunch, as they
were called then, including the likes of
Victor Bray and Ben Gatt.
“We ran those events until around 1994
and then in the year 2000, we started
running at the Gunnedah Airport where
we continue to run today.
“We hold four events on the air strip each
year – weather permitting of course – and
we will continue to do so as we search for
the funding for the 1/8th mile track.”
An event was held as recently as August 11
and 12 at the Gunnedah Airport, with more
than 60 racers turning out to compete in
the two-day event.
“It was a great weekend and we are
already getting ready for the next one –
our last event of 2018 – which will be held
across October 20 and 21,” Edwards said.
“Once again the event will feature test
and tune racing on the Saturday before we
get into qualifying and racing on Sunday.
“As the last event of the year we are expecting
a good line-up of ent