HUNDREDS of rubber-tanned skid buffs gathered along the burnout pad to get a glimpse of their favourite cars and drivers during the Summernats 33 Last Chance Wildcard Shootout yesterday.

A lucky selection of blown and injected builds lined up to fight it out for one of four Burnout Masters spots and a chance of taking home the ultimate title.

Tyres started frying at 4pm with Hayden Wilby in NUTOUT, a VT Commodore shipped from New Zealand. Hayden christened the pad with a thick cloud of smoke over the grandstands.

Johno Murphy was the first competitor to set the pad on fire in his TUFF20 Corolla, getting the crowd riled up and ready for the carnage that followed.

New Zealand’s Chris Daley smacked the wall at the far end of the track in his SYCO UTE HQ, but he kept the rubber spinning until he became lost in smoke. A sudden rise in temp and screams from the crowd signalled that he had caught fire.

As coloured smoke from SYCO UTE lingered in the air, Todd Stewart in his UNFAZD 540-cube HJ laid down a solid run.

Last year’s Burnout Master, Jake Myers, in the infamous S1CKO ’66 Mustang, put on a skid for the crowd, followed by Andrew Lynch’s LYNCHY Corolla and Adrian Cuthbertson’s SKIDMA, both of whom were clear crowd favourites.

Adrian pumped up spectators with a great run in his SBC-powered Sigma, before he and his co-pilot celebrated a successful skid by chucking his shredded tyre over the barrier.

The husband-and-wife team of Brad and Britt Kilby in the HAMMERTIME Daihatsu flew across the pad, piloted on this occasion by Britt. A tight tip-in and impressive speeds saw the little LS-powered machine pirouette up and down the entirety of the pad, making big smoke.

Harry Seaman’s HAZARD VK showed the crowd that you don’t need a blown big-block to rip a killer skid, getting the job done with a supercharged 202.

Shannon Heraud put fire crews to work after his TUF253 Escort caught alight, following a near miss where he almost hit the wall while skidding back towards the startline.

Smoke once again turned to fire as American guest and YouTube star Cleetus McFarland hit the wall in his big-block TOAST Camaro shortly after a powerful take-off. After a solid hit into the barriers, flames consumed the rear of the car, making TOAST truly live up to its name. Cleetus and his team had to push the beleaguered Chevy off the track.

More havoc then followed in the form of FEAR. Fred Watson’s Monaro did an impressive burnout across the entire track, before he hit the wall head-on, bringing the day’s action to an immediate halt.

The Last Chance Wildcard Shootout will continue today, with HANFUL, Mark Schwarz’s HQ GTS Monaro, taking the pad at 1pm as the final competitor.

Stay tuned for the results and more epic action from Street Machine Summernats 33, as the four wildcard winners will be announced and back on the track on Saturday and Sunday to compete for the title of Burnout Master.

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