DRAG Week is hands down the coolest event on the planet: five tracks in five days and over 1000 miles cruising through the American Midwest. This year over 300 cars are taking up the epic challenge – including at least five Australian teams.

John Faraone will be making his fourth run at Drag Week with his twin-turbocharged big-block Charger. The silver R/T lookalike has developed a bit of a cult following and is arguably one of the quickest street Mopars in the world. He’s had an up-and-down run at Drag Week in the past, and we’re sure John will be looking to complete this year trouble-free.

Also having another crack are Street Machine’s own Mark Arblaster and his mate Steve Reimann, who are looking to go one better with their small block-powered Capri. The boys finished second in their class last year when they were limited to 10.00 and above because of their licences. This year they want to unlock some of the little Ford’s nine-second capabilities.

Steve Reimann’s ’63 Dodge will also be making a return to Drag Week, but with madman Harry Haig behind the wheel. The big white whale runs a push-button auto and a 500ci big-block Mopar donk. But there’s a rumour afoot that Harry and his mates have found something special buried in Kansas, and at the time of writing they were thrashing to get it ready. We don’t want to spoil the surprise but the story is that they’ve found an old big-block four-speed muscle car that hasn’t run for 20 years, and they’re thrashing to get it mobilised in time for Drag Week. Stay tuned for more news on that.

Then there are the newcomers. Brian and Dianne Jensen have followed Drag Week in the past, and this year they decided to go one better and bring their nine-second Torana hatchback over for a bit of fun. No doubt that will have the Americans scratching their heads. They’ll be joined by Greg and Geoff Trapnell, who have hauled their torque-twisting Monaro Stateside as well. The totally insane purple HQ is well known for its crazy wheels-up launches. That’s sure to get some attention from the Yanks when it gets going.

In addition to the cars, there’s also a large tribe of Aussies headed over just to follow the Drag Week circus along. We wouldn’t be surprised if there are 20 or more just along for the ride, and we’re sure they will make their presence felt. Stay tuned for more updates next week. Drag Week Day One kicks off Monday 14 September.