Drag-racing success for Raetihi truck driver

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 11, Issue 529, 29 March 1994, Page 7

Drag-racing success for Raetihi truck driver

Raetihi man Shane Perkins is taking the dragracing world by storm. A surprised and highlydelighted Shane recently won the Wanganui Road Rodders' trophy for the fastest time in his 1974 Mazda RX4 at the Wanganui Drag Racing competition last month. In the eighth of a mile event he recorded seven wins and just one loss, with a personal best time of 7.847. In a more recent competition at Hastings' Thunderpark Dragway, Shane competed in the quarter of a mile, clocking up five wins and three losses, with a best time of 11.871 and a top speed of 112m / ph.

Shane is said to be "rapt" with the performance of his dragster which began life as the family car. Four and a half years down the track and Shane admits that it is still not finished, although the list of conversions made to it reads like something out of a motoring manual. Shane said the transplanted 340 Dodge motor is currently operating at 500hp, and even putting out an extra 200hp with the addition of specialised fuel. The vehicle is fitted with

a three speed auto gear-box, which has extra clutches and is shift-kitted. Work done on the car is fitted around his seven day a week job, with essential repairs carried out at the Auto Repair Factory in Raetihi. Travelling to meets and competition has become something of a family atfair, with wife Tracey and the couple's children accompanying him for moral support and encouragement.