Whanganui entrants have competed with distinction at recent drag racing events.
At a meet at the Meremere dragstrip, Dave Tunnel qualified well in his TPE racing Chev powered dragster and made his way through a large field to claim a final round victory in 7.0 seconds at 193 miles per hour (310 km/h).
Last weekend at Masterton saw the return of the "River Rat" Pontiac funny car of Grant Rivers and Dave Rowan after an eight-year layoff and rebuild.
Driver Rivers had two cautious qualifying runs and on his third attempt ran hard to 3/4 track before handling issues resulted in an early shutdown.
However, the 6.8sec pass was still the fastest elapsed time in the competition class.