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When Wellsford drag car racer Jonathan Gregson says he’s going to do something, it pays to listen.
Last year he said he intended to break the national record for D-class dragsters, and at Meremere Dragway on April 10 he did it, carving .008 seconds off the previous record, which had stood since 2013, and increasing the speed record by 4mph.
The old record was 9.453 seconds at 136mph. It now stands at 9.445 seconds at 140mph. Gregson was racing in a front-engine dragster, powered by a naturally aspirated 166 cubic inch, four cylinder, Fontana engine. Coincidentally, the car was formerly owned by the previous record holder, Cameron Patterson.
Clinching the record was no mean feat, as Gregson had to race the circuit twice and finish the second run within one percent of the record-breaking time. The car was also carefully scrutinised after the feat to ensure it met all the legal specifications for its class.
Gregson now has his eyes firmly fixed on the national championship series, which starts in November. Over the six month season, he will compete in the modified class in eight locations around New Zealand.
In the meantime, he will be busy this winter building a new air scoop system, which he hopes will see him go even faster next year.
There are also plans to one day build an altered, powered by a twin-turbo LS motor, to run low seven second passes in the next couple of years.
Last year, Gregson was named Rookie of the Year at the NAPA Auto Parts Dragway Comp Series.
When not on the track, the 21-year-old works as an apprentice precision machinist at ITSS Engineering in Warkworth. He also comes from a long line of drag car races, as both his father and grandfather raced in South Africa.
