Drag Racing Story of the Day!

Funny Cars and Doorslammers to Race in Malaysia

by Rob Oberg

Tens of thousands of Malaysian motor sport fans will experience a taste of drag racing at Sepang International Circuit later this month when two of Australia’s leading drivers perform demonstration runs in their supercharged cars. Brisbane drivers Dean McClennan and John Payne will be featured in the on track entertainment surrounding the circuit’s annual twelve hour production race to be held on August 30th and 31st in conjunction with a national holiday.

Organized

“We’re extremely excited to have been able to put this demonstration together,” said Rob Oberg. “Through exposure on satellite TV there’s a lot of interest in drag racing through the South East Asian region and we’ve had a number of approaches about appearances over the last couple of years. Conducting our first demonstration in the region at the Sepang International Circuit with two of the best looking cars around is going to be fantastic exposure for our sport and hopefully a starting point for much more.”

Dean McClennan competes in both the Top Alcohol and Top Comp categories with his Castrol / Autobarn Dodge Avenger Funny Car and takes part in many promotional activities with the vehicle. He commented, “We put the car on show as much as possible to provide exposure for our team and sponsors. The demonstrations we’ve done like the Gold Coast Indy and the Formula GP always have big crowds but from what we hear Malaysia’s going to be even bigger. We’re really keen to see the crowd reaction when we lay down the first burnout.”

John Payne was one of the pioneers of the resurgence in supercharged sedans which began in Australia in the late eighties. His late model Corvette was always a feature at “Wild Bunch” events and then in the early days of the Top Doorslammer category. His new car, a 1963 Corvette is one of the most stunning cars to hit the drag strip in some time and is sure to be a big hit in Kuala Lumpur. 

“I think it’s good that we’ve got a sedan and a funny car going over to show them two different styles of drag car,” said Payne. “Both Dean and I love these sort of demos. The whole idea is to make plenty of noise and smoke in the burnout. Tractions always tricky so you ease on down the track in the run to make sure you put on a good show without going up in too much wheel spin.”