The last weekend of July is traditionally Mopar Nats time and despite the appalling weather of the past couple of months the show went ahead with little disruption. Although the name of the show suggests a Chrysler theme, and there is plenty of the pentastar persuasion, all makes of muscle cars get in on the act. This gives the show its uniqueness, as chief organiser Jim Wilson explains: ‘One of the attractions of the Mopar Nats is the freedom of the event. You can bring what you like and park where you like. We don’t corral cars or tell people where to park, and that’s why it’s such a laid back event, with everyone having a great time. Sure there is a muscle car theme but that’s all - we all have the same interest in American muscle cars and the Mopar Nats is our annual bash, so everyone’s welcome without exception.’

There you have it: Mix in three days of drag racing at the country’s premier drag strip, Santa pod Raceway, with Friday and Saturday night’s free entertainment all wrapped up with a spectacular firework display and you have one of the most exciting shows on the calender. The past couple of Mopar meetings have seen a cruise from the track to a local pub and then back again… This year the organisers had to cancel the cruise due to a bout of muscle mayhem bringing the pub’s landlord into contention with the locals and the town’s police. Hopefully next year will see some type of cruise reinstated on the Friday night.

Throughout the weekend ‘The clash of the A Bodies’ took place on the strip, giving an extra edge to the racing and on Sunday a couple of  girls dressed as Daisy Duke set everyone’s weekend alight; it was a nice touch having them hand out the trophies to the lucky prize-winners. This year’s race highlights were Dave Billadeau pushing his Hemi GTX into the nines and the Voodoo hemi Runner of Holland’s Marc Herteveld covering the quarter mile in low nines. However, no one could catch the reining fastest Mopar: Ian Bishop in the Dodge Avenger hitting an incredible 7.03 seconds.

Over in the Show n Shine the area bristled with some of the finest muscle cars in the country. A ’71 six-pack Challenger rag top really caught many peoples’ attention and the orange Shelby Mustang of Paul Foote certainly looked the part. The judges had a very difficult job on their hands awarding trophies this year; however Steve Hughes won Best of Show, Best Paint and Classic American Car of the Year heat winner for his drop-dead gorgeous ’69 Road Runner.
Other notable winners were Richard Brizinski, 68 Road Runner, Participant’s Choice, Hall of Fame Inductee, Kev Bulmer and a guy who had driven his ’69 Dodge Dart all the way from Norway, a worthy winner of the Long Distance Award. The dates are set for next year, 26th to 28th July, so don’t miss it!

MOPAR EURONATS WINNERS 2007

BEST IN SHOW STEVE HUGHES 69 ROAD RUNNER, BJB 459J
RUNNER UP J. JESS 71 DODGE CHALLENGER VERT, MWV 244J
Route 66 MOST ORIGINAL MOPAR 70 Challenger vert, DYK 67 Dutch Mulholland
Route 66 PARICIPANTS CHOICE 68 Road Runner, PUD 103F  Richard Brezinski
Route 66 BEST PAINT 69 Road Runner, Steve Hughes
WINGED WARRIOR TROPHY 69 Dodge Daytona Bob Brown
LONG DISTANCE AWARD 69 Dodge Dart GT, driven from Norway
HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE Kev Bulmer
BEST EURO MOPAR  70 Vodoo Road Runner, Holland              
THE ACE CAFÉ  BEST RESTIFIED MOPAR  69  Dodge Dart Custom, Angie Brindley
CLASSIC AMERICAN HEAT WINNER 69 Road Runner, Steve Hughes,
ULTIMATE EURO MOPAR 70 Vodoo Road Runner, Marc Harteveld, Holland
SINTON TYRES BURNOUT CONTEST  Craig McManus, 1983 Camaro
MMA AWARD  Kev Bulmer

CLASH OF THE A BODIES

BEST BIG BLOCK          67 Dodge Dart, Julie Wiseman
BEST SMALL BLOCK     Kev Bulmer, Brisbane Taxi
BEST 6 CYLINDER       67 Barracuda, Stuart and Gareth Floyd
BEST A BODY               69 Dodge Dart Custom, Angie Brindley

THE TOP TEN

1      72 Rallye Challenger, PGC 718K, Roy Mitchell
2      56 Chevy, TAS 501, Nick Eagle
3      62 Dart, 251 UXR, Julie Wiseman
4      70 Challenger RT SE, SUF 969H
5      63 Galaxie, KBG 983A, Andy Smith
6      69 Camaro, DVG 127G, Steve Warnes
7      65 Chrysler 300L, YRD 297C, Jeff Mitchell
8      71 El Camino, FVG 201J
9      70 Shelby Mustang rag top, Paul Foote
10    69 Chrysler 300 Ted Berris, Belgium