Top dragsters open track

Top American drag-racing stars and husband and wife Tommy Johnson jnr and Melanie Troxel will be at the official opening of Taupo's Lakeside International Dragway on January 2.

It will also be the first wedding anniversary for the couple - they were married in Indianapolis last New Year's Eve.

The official opening coincides with the inaugural race meeting on the new track, the New Zealand Drag Racing Association's summer nationals.

Lakeside is part of the $13 million redevelopment of Taupo's Centennial Park, which includes a 3.5km international road circuit for cars and motorcycles and a motorsport business park.

Promoter Gavin McLaughlin says getting the couple for the opening ceremony is a coup, even though they won't be competing.

"It's too early to consider bringing Top Fuel and Funny Cars from the US just now, but we are looking at them for next summer," McLaughlin says. "It will take a season of racing for Lakeside to get fully prepped.

"A new track needs a year's fine-tuning before you can run the 4sec, 300mph (486km/h) cars."

Troxel, 43, is the fastest woman drag-racer in the world. In her 11 Top Fuel class races this year for Don Schumacher Racing, she qualified in the top half of the field five times. She reached the quarterfinal three times, the semifinal once, and had one runner-up finish.

She finished the year with a win-loss record of 8-11 and in her career overall she is 31-37.

Her personal best was a 4.458sec, 328.86mph (532km/h) pass at Pomona two weeks ago.

Funny Car driver Johnson jnr, from Iowa, has a personal best of 4.698sec/331.45mph.

Johnson, contracted to the team of National Hot Rod Association drag-racing legend Don Prudhomme, is one of 13 drivers to have collected victories in both the Top Fuel and Funny Car categories.

He has six NHRA wins to his career record (four Funny Car, two Top Fuel).

The summer nationals feature a Jet Car challenge between New Zealand and the United States.

Oregon's Richard Smith returns here with his Warhawk jet-powered funny car and will line up against Aucklander Steve Zahorodney in a Nitehawk.

The safety margins of the Taupo track will allow the jet cars to match-race at more than 280mph (448km/h).

McLaughlin expects a crowd of more than 15,000 for the summer nationals. January 3 is reserved as a rain date.