By Lucy Waldron and Dean Kubler
The streets of Warwick came alive with the roar of engines last weekend as the V8 Vintage and Street Gassers rolled into town for a thrilling two-day event.
The action began on Friday afternoon with a Show and Shine at Goodyear Autocare, followed by an adrenaline-packed day at Warwick Dragway on Saturday.
Car enthusiasts and curious locals gathered at Goodyear Autocare to admire the gleaming vintage vehicles, as the event kicked off with a showcase of classic cars spilling across the carpark.
The organiser of V8 Street Gassers QLD, Flamin’ Wayne, described the turnout as a huge success.
“It was fantastic—everyone had a bit of fun, which is what it’s all about,” Wayne said.
“The staff at Goodyear were over the moon and want to be involved every time because it was such a great atmosphere.”
But the real excitement was yet to come.
On Saturday, Warwick Dragway at Morgan Park hosted the main event, where the rawr of engines filled the air as the gassers hit the track. Spectators flocked to the sidelines, phones in hand, eager to catch the moment as cars lifted off the ground and roared down the strip.
“The atmosphere was electric, with some amazing sights on the track,” Wayne said.
“There were no major breakdowns, and everybody had a fantastic time.”
Though crowd numbers were up from previous events, Wayne is hopeful that even more spectators will join in the future.
“The turnout was twice what it was last time, which is great considering the challenges with COVID and track repairs,” he added.
The next big event at Warwick Dragway is set to be even larger, with top-tier cars from Queensland and New South Wales coming to compete for significant prize money.
“This will be the biggest event of the year,” Wayne said.
“There’s already a lot of interest and entries coming in, so it’s shaping up to be huge.”
Vintage Gassers Qld have four rounds at Warwick Dragway – known as the Warwick Gassers – this year with two more to run including the massive three-day Dragfest event starting 18 October 2024, then the final round will be on 23 November with trophy presentations and celebrations.
The bracket of drag racing known as Gasser was popular in the late 60s through to the 70s, the cars were to run on pump fuel and had a very odd-looking stance with the nose in the air.
The reason was that Drag racing tracks didn’t have the sticky compounds and track prep of today’s modern tracks and also tyres were of a poor quality so traction was on the minds of the racers. To help this they lifted the nose of the car high in the air, and moved the engines far back in the engine compartments to increase the weight transfer to the back tyres creating more traction and hopefully a win.
Vintage Gassers, a rapidly growing group of nostalgia enthusiasts are still racing these beasts and building new cars to grow the bracket.
All cars are required to have a name with some very interesting and creative titles.
Gasser racing is growing incredibly fast throughout the world. It is a huge sport in America, New Zealand, Europe, and Australia. Gassers Australia is a place where all of our states come together to share photos of the sport and organise national events.
2025 is hoping to bring a test match between New Zealand and Australia. Events will be held here and across the pond.
With a growing number of spectators and participants, the V8 Vintage and Street Gassers are revving up for a bigger and better future in Warwick.
