One of the biggest indoor hot rod shows of the year kicks off Friday with the 51st Victorian Hot Rod Show at the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton. Elite show cars, customs, classics and of course loads of rods will be on display all weekend and trophies and prizes worth a total of around $50,000 will be awarded to the best cars. The winner of the Australia’s Coolest Ride award will even win a trip over to New Zealand for the Beach Hop event. Cost of entry is $25 for adults, and $15 for kids, or family tickets are available for $50. If hot rods are your thing and you live in Victoria, this show is a must! The Street Machine team will be wandering around, drooling all over the awesome cars and meeting some owners so if you see us don’t hesitate to come over for a chat.

Over in Perth there’s another massive event happening this weekend – it’s the 30th Motorvation, and like most 30th birthday parties, this one is going to get wild. Held at the Perth Motorplex from Friday to Sunday, Motorvation includes a burnout comp, elite show cars, eighth mile no-prep drag racing, a slalom course and go-to-whoa shootout. The burnout comp has produced some spectacular skids, fires and wall hits over the years and things will be no different this time round with guys like Justen Brown in STRUGLIN, Matt Purnell in BLACKOUT and Darren Williams in DIESEL competing. Ticket prices range from $35 to $45 for adults depending on what day you go, for more info check out the Perth Motorplex website. For those that can’t make it, our mate Flinty will be there filming all the action, so look out for the videos on streetmachine.com.au

This weekend the ANDRA Australian Nationals return to Calder Park for the first time in 15 years. With Top Fuel, Top Alcohol, Top Doorslammer and more categories competing over Saturday and Sunday, this promises to be some of the fastest and wildest drag racing Melbourne has seen for a very long time. And all of the teams will be stepping up their game as the payout for this weekend’s event is over $210,000, making it the biggest prize in Australian drag racing history!

Street Machine is also off to New Zealand this weekend for Muscle Car Madness, one of the coolest car events the Kiwis have to offer. Held in the South Island town of Rangiora 30km north of Christchurch, Muscle Car Madness has a burnout comp, a heap of cool rods, customs and muscle cars on display, and it finishes with a cruise around the New Zealand country side.

Powercruise heads across the ditch to the Symmons Plains Raceway in Tasmania this weekend for some tyre-shredding action. As well as burnouts and plenty of cruising on the track, there is also a dyno and power skid comp and drag racing. Powercruise has literally everything, so if you’re in Tasmania get down to Symmons Plains Raceway this weekend.

Another big burnout comp on this weekend is the Extreme Power Fest at the Driver Education Centre Australia (DECA), Shepparton, Victoria on Saturday and Sunday. DECA has the biggest burnout pad in Australia and we’ve seen some insane tip-ins and skids at this track over the years, so this weekend’s event should be awesome. Some of the cars attending include Peter Grmusa’s insane 2000hp XR Falcon, Jay Bloss’s GEMWAR, and Jake Myers’s SICKO Mustang. Along with the skid comp, there will also be track cruising and drift demos! Spectator entry costs $35 for adults and kids under 12 are free, while a weekend pass can be purchased for $60.

The Kandos Street Machine and Hot Rod Show is also on this Saturday and Sunday at the Simpkins Park Sports Complex, Kandos, NSW. This is another big event with a burnout comp, show ‘n’ shine, dyno, go-to-woah and grass driving events. Entry for adults will cost $25 on Saturday and $20 on Sunday, while those wishing to enter their cars in the driving events can do so from $120. Camping sites are also available, more information can be found here.

What else is on:

• Australia Day Cruise Geelong, Tuesday, Geelong, Vic
• Mount Gambier Auto Fest, Friday – Sunday, Mount Gambier, SA
• Centre State Rodders Swap Meet and Show ‘n’ Shine, Bendigo, Vic
• Willowbank Test ‘n’ Tune, Saturday, Willowbank Raceway, QLD