THE inspiration for our very own Street Machine Drag Challenge, Hot Rod Drag Week is the genesis event of street-car torture, forcing entrants to drive their cars thousands of road miles to five different drag strips in five days to see who has the quickest street car in the US. The appeal of the event extends well beyond its home country, with a number of Aussies making the journey to the other side of the world each year to take part.

Hot Rod magazine followed a number of Aussies throughout the 2018 event, including several faces that would be familiar to Street Machine readers. You can see how it all went down in this video.

Harry Haig is a veteran of both Hot Rod Drag Week and Street Machine Drag Challenge. Most recently he piloted his HQ SS sedan to second overall at Drag Challenge 2018, but in 2015 over in the US, he and a few mates Frankensteined together this genuine Chevelle SS for Drag Week that year, taking the internet by storm in the process.

| Read next: Harry Haig’s twin-turbo Chevelle – the full story

Our own Mark Arblaster has been taking on Drag Week for a number of years now, but sadly the 2018 rodeo didn’t quite go to plan when a head gasket in his LS-swapped Valiant let go during the week.

| Watch next: Arby’s road trip to Drag Week

Built by Mighty Car Mods, Ben Neal’s Barra-swapped Toyota Cresta made the journey over to the US last year for his first-ever crack at Drag Week, with help from the boys from The Skid Factory. They got through the week with no dramas and consistently ran nines, an incredibly solid outing for a first attempt.

| Watch next: Aussies at Drag Week 2018 Day One video

Entries for this year’s Drag Week went on sale last week and sold out in just five minutes, so you had to get in quick. Ben Neal and Jamie Farmer are on the waitlist, while it’s anyone’s guess what Harry Haig’s plans are– he’ll probably dust off Stevo the Chevelle a few days before the event and just let him eat!