"Weather put a spanner in the works as we like to give the competitors the most runs," said Grant Rivers.
The crowd also did not quite match the regular attendance of about 2000, but was still good given the dodgy morning weather, and Rivers was confident the local club did well from their annual fundraiser.
Out at the railway tracks waiting area, the classic muscle cars with lovingly polished chrome and hand-brushed paint jobs mixed alongside the standard-looking 1990s model cars which despite their ordinary exterior were packing a lot more power under the hood from their owner's modifications.
Wainuiomata's Dave Fishwick has been bringing his 1970 Valiant Pacer to Wanganui for the last 17 years.
"You've got to support street meets because they're disappearing, there's only really here and the Port Road Drags in Wellington," he said.
Like many do-it-yourself racers of classic vehicles, the owners' pride in their machines often gets circumvented by necessity.
As original replacement parts for the cars become more scarce, Fishwick said it is common to "look outside the square" by buying items which can be modified for specific purposes, or even getting similar components from rival makes and models "that will remain nameless" to plug the gap.
"It depends on the failures you have during the season a full rebuild or most of the time a maintenance thing ... it's very difficult."
Rivers said as well as the large local club contingent, the Wellington racers had to be thanked for their continued support turning up in numbers.
"We call them the 'Red Light City', because nearly every diver in the finals met the red light [from Wellington]"
In a repeat of last year, Wanganui's Aaron Jackson received the Ivan Jones Memorial Trophy for having the fastest run in 6.816 seconds.
Bill Anderson's 1962 Ford Falcon was the best presented car.
