Two Casey petrolheads are gearing up to take on one of Australia’s toughest street car events when the Street Machine Drag Challenge returns later this month.
Cranbourne’s Kelvin Mann and Blind Bight’s David Lorinc will both hit the road.
Street Machine Drag Challenge is one of the most punishing events in Australian motorsport.
More than 280 street-registered cars will compete across five days, racing at a different drag strip each day before driving hundreds of kilometres to the next under their own power.
Kelvin, 52, impressed on debut in 2024 with his ute, which looks every bit a Holden V8 but actually runs a 6.0-litre LS with a rear-mounted turbo set-up producing more than 800 horsepower.
He went as quickly as 9.36 seconds at 145 miles per hour during the week, before mechanical gremlins cut his campaign short on the final day.
“We made it to the last lap but didn’t cross the finish line,” Kelvin said.
“We now know it was a voltage issue that wiped the tune from the ECU, and I didn’t have a backup saved with me. Luke Foley was awesome helping me figure it out, but with no tune we were hosed.”
Kelvin’s ute, built with help from friends and finished just before last year’s event, runs a Powerglide transmission, a PWR water-to-air intercooler and a custom rear turbo system he designed with mate Brett Lowing.
He’s determined to make amends for last year’s setback and crack an eight-second pass this time around.
Meanwhile, 35-year-old David Lorinc will return for his third Drag Challenge in his VH Commodore, this time stepping up to the Outlaw Aspirated class.
After running nitrous in previous years, he’s going all-motor with a 383ci stroker Holden V8 producing 650 horsepower, backed by a Turbo 400 and a fresh nine-inch.
“We were really pushing our luck with this engine, and Holden V8s are expensive to build,” David said.
“So, we’ve gone back to just running aspo, and the goal is to run a nine with an all-motor Holden.
“Danko from Adicted Performance does an incredible job tuning the engine, and if we can run nines with a full-weight, full-interior car on all-motor, I’ll be bloody stoked.”
Once that milestone is reached, David already has plans for the next step.
“We’ll retire this combo and build a fresh one to suit a turbo, and then really go fast,” he said.
Street Machine Magazine publisher Simon Telford said Drag Challenge has evolved into one of the country’s most exciting and authentic motorsport events.
“Drag Challenge exists because we wanted to experience the same kind of adventure we saw at Hot Rod Drag Week in the US,” Simon said.
“Ten years on, it’s become the most exciting form of drag racing outside of Top Fuel, and the best part is anyone with a tough street car can have a crack.”
The 10th annual Street Machine Drag Challenge runs from Wednesday 29 October to Sunday 2 November across South Australia and Victoria.
Spectators are welcome at every stop, with wall-to-wall racing, tyre smoke and real street car action.
Visit dragchallenge.com.au for tickets and more information.
