AFTER THREE decades of burning rubber and "muck raking" the mates, the members of the Wanganui Road Rodders wouldn't change a thing as they prepare for Saturday's 30th anniversary of their annual street drags on Taupo Quay. Starting in 1986, club life member Rob Sklenars has entered every Whanganui street dragsbar one, and chatting yesterday with 15-year club member Jon Lyne at his shop out on Heads Rd - the original track - the memories were following. "It was when we first started organising drags," Sklenars said. "I don't think we had any issues with running the drags from day one with the council, it was something different for Whanganui. "We tried [Heads Rd] both ways, but the runoff was the problem." Times have changed somewhat from those early years, as Sklenars glanced up at the photo portraits of his first dragster - a 1931 Model A Tudor. "Way back then, that car was one of the quickest in Whanganui. Now, it's not. The last 20 years or so he was competing in his 1934 Ford Coupe, and while "it's an eight second car," ie not one of the fastest, it has been a labour of love for all this time. "You start out with a budget and the budget goes out the window." Sklenars wouldn't change a thing, and neither would the jovial Lyne, a perennial contender for the club's annual 'Toilet' award. "Just [for] being a d**khead really, just winding people up. I'm good at it, eh?" Having owned his 1973 Holden HQ Premier for 30 years, while reminding Sklenars that Holdens beat the Fords these days, Lyne started racing in Whanganui and Levin in 1995. Now, the Port Rd Drags in Wellington join Whanganui in being the last of their kind, with the Wellington club being some of the strongest supporters from out of town, as well as Taranaki. Lyne has put a new chev V8 engine into his Holden for this event. The racing will be from 9am to 3pm down the quarter mile of Taupo Quay on Saturday. ¦The Wanganui Chronicle will be running other profiles with members of the Wanganui Road Rodders over this week.
