It’s Wednesday evening and as the sun slips below factory roofs in Eastern Creek, a rumble is growing at the Sydney Dragway and the scent of ethanol fills the air. The weekly street meet is about to begin, a mecca for drivers from all walks of life who arrive to test their mettle on the quarter-mile strip.
Cars are parked, rolled off their trailers, engines ignited and the cacophony begins. Like dogs barking across suburbs, drivers rev their engines across the expansive car park, trundling along to be weighed and scrutinised before they’re let loose on the tarmac.
The Sydney Dragway has deen an increase in popularity in recent years.
There has been an increase in popularity since the years of Covid lockdowns and it’s not unusual for more than 100 cars to arrive on Wednesday nights. Entry is $60 (plus $50 for helmet hire) and any street car can enter including race cars, classic V8s, hot hatchbacks, supercars even the odd Honda CR-V.
At the scrutineers station, cars are checked over to make sure they meet safety standards. A rumble shakes the shed as a grey Ford Falcon resembling something from a Mad Max film comes to a stop. It belongs to Ross Bielby, a veteran of 27 years. “I’ve been racing since I was 25, started off with an XT Falcon,” he says. After almost three decades in the sport, it’s not really about competing any more for him. “We muck around, there’s no pressure, we just go out, get a bit of an adrenaline rush. That’s what I like about Wednesdays – anyone can turn up and just have a go, from motorbikes to Mini Minors to drag cars, it doesn’t matter.”
Above: Cars are examined in the scrutineers shed.
Below: Ross Bielby with his Ford Falcon.
On the track, cars line up in their different divisions, waiting to race. They make their way on to the track two by two, perform a quick burnout to warm up their tyres, then stage their car at the starting line and await the lights on the Christmas tree to count down.
Drivers start lining up to race.
Left: A driver pulls on a balaclava. Right: A Holden Monaro driver warming up his tyres.
A bright green VH Commodore hits the gas. Behind the steering wheel is up and coming drag racing talent Sammy-Jo Johnson. A former professional cricket player, Johnson grew up in the Northern Rivers region of NSW, where she got her first taste of racing at 17. It wasn’t until 2023 after retiring from cricket that she came here to Sydney Dragway. Within a year and a half she had managed to complete almost 500 runs down the track. “Everyone was like, ‘you’re a lunatic’, but I loved it. As soon as I did my first pass I was hooked,” she says. “They say that drag racing bites hard and it’s certainly bit hard.”
Sammy-Jo Johnson with her VH Commodore.
Johnson placed in the top five of her division in the previous season and hopes to be on top this year. “Yeah, we’ve got some wild goals,” she says. “The big goal would be to race in America. That would be top notch, that’s dreams. [But] I want to win New South Wales state championship. That’s number one on the list.
Sammy-Jo Johnson stages alongside a fellow racer from her Dialled-in team.
“I just think I’m ready to take the training wheels off. I’ve done enough laps now and the boys are like, yep ‘you’re sweet, you’re good to go’. “I’ve been really competitive so I just want to keep showing the boys that the girls can do it as well. That’s what I also love. I’m not all for the whole girl power thing, but I’m a female in a male-dominated sport; I love showing up and showing to the boys that anyone can do it. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re from. Put yourself in a car and go out there. It’s you against yourself.”
Back in the car park, a pair of legs jut out from underneath a bright red VY Commodore. Eden Abela is finishing some quick repairs after an axle snapped on his third run of the night.
A diesel mechanic, Abela has been around engines of one kind or another for most of his life.
Eden Abela working on his car.
“When you’re going through the tunnel, even if there’s no one in the crowd, it’s just the feeling of your car slowly starting to build up and get faster – that’s the enjoyment,” Abela says. “You can see the numbers on the time slip at the end and you can feel it in the car. When it does that, man, that’s the maddest feeling. ” With the repairs made, Abela hops into the drivers seat and shouts: “Do you want a lift? We’re goin’ racin’!”
Above: Immense torque on the drag track causes the tyres to wrinkle as they wrap around the rim.
Below: A driver collects their time slip from the pit counter after a run.
While Wednesday nights are accessible to almost everyone, for those who want to take their racing further, the sport becomes an expensive venture. Veteran Joe Sorbello says one of his three cars alone has set him back about $30,000 to $40,000. Abela says he wishes there was more sponsorship in Australia. “Sponsorship in drag racing in Australia has been a little bit lacking, he says. “I believe we should be like in America. We have an unbelievable amount of talent in this country.”
Ross Bielby lets his Falcon cool down between runs.
Even though every effort is made to make the track as safe as possible and crashes are incredibly rare, drag racing isn’t without its risks. “I had a mishap here, probably about three years ago,” says Joe Sorbello, who has been racing for over 20 years. “I lost control of the Skyline and luckily I was only doing about 200km/h (compared with his usual 260km/h). I broke a radiator hose crossing the finish line. I was in the left lane. Luckily they lined me up with a 15 second car because I’d done a U-turn and went 80 metres in reverse in the opposite lane. But I tell you what, that got the blood circulating.”
Joe Sorbello knows it’s not all fun and games at the Dragway.
In between runs, drivers drift between their cars in the lineup, striking up conversations over displacements, tyre pressures and gear changes. Most of the time it’s an open place to discuss strategy or ask advice. When a car breaks down on the starting line, drivers and crew help to get it off the track.
Left: Fluid is removed from the track after a breakdown. Right: Drivers discuss time slips in the lineup.
The team from Sik100 racing make quick adjustments after the engine shifted in the engine bay.
An announcer makes a call over the loud speaker asking if anyone has a spare valve to find the orange Torana in the car park. It’s a tight-knit group, passionate about the machines. “We’re just a small community, good bunch of friends. I guess they would have some rivalries, but it’d be friendly rivalries,” says Abela.
Eden Abela behind the wheel at Eastern Creek Sydney Dragway.
“This is the most peaceful place you can come. As soon as you put that helmet on, it doesn’t matter if you’re driving a car that runs 16 seconds or a car that runs eight or six seconds. At the end of the day, we’ve all got that same ambition to get to the end as fast as we can. I like to try and rotate the earth every time. I just don’t have enough money. If I did, I’d rotate the fucker the other way with a shitload of horsepower.”
