New look 400 Thunder Aeroflow Drag Racing Series to fire up in 2024

The 400 Thunder Aeroflow Drag Racing Series will have a different feel from 2024 onwards, when it makes a significant change to its season format.

The current financial-year season has traditionally ended with the Gulf Western Oil Winternationals at Queensland’s Willowbank Raceway in June, but in 2024 it will move in line with other major sporting leagues and series by holding a calendar year season.

The switch will not affect any events in the current 400 Thunder Aeroflow Drag Racing Series Super Season.

In addition to the change, the 2024 calendar itself has already taken shape with the series securing long term, multi-year arrangements with The Bend Dragway, Sydney Dragway, Heathcote Park Raceway and Willowbank Raceway, which are locked in until 2026.

The 2024 400 Thunder Aeroflow Drag Racing Series kicks off with a round at The Bend in November 2023 as a transition to the calendar year format.

After around a three month break, the first ever “Southern Swing” commences in March 2024 with back-to-back events at The Bend and Heathcote Park Raceway. 

The fourth round is the only event not locked in with confirmation of dates and a venue for the April race expected in early 2023.

Winternationals keeps its traditional June date and looms as a highlight being a compulsory round, while teams will return to Willowbank Raceway in September for the Spring Thunder.

The all-concrete Sydney Dragway hosts the penultimate round of the championship in October when the East Coast Thunder prize will be on the line.

After seven rounds the season will come to an end at the three-day 400 Thunder Aeroflow Drag Racing Series Grand Finals to be held at The Bend Dragway in November.

The South Australian venue will also host the 2023 and 2024 championship season awards at its on-site function centre.

The new Bend Motorsport Park drag strip will play a big role in the new 400 Thunder Aeroflow Drag Racing Series calendar.

400 Thunder Aeroflow Drag Racing Series general manager Jason Hedges said the new schedule will have “immense benefits”.

“When Rusty Gregory and I joined 400 Thunder, one of our first priorities was to provide racers with a stable and sustainable calendar of events that was workable from a series perspective, but also had the most potential to be successful for our partner tracks,” he said.

“The benefits of the calendar that we are delivering for 2024 and beyond are immense.

“We will be visiting the same tracks, at the same time of year each season to help the venues and the series “build the habit” of spectators to become invested, returning fans of the sport. 

“We have thoroughly reviewed weather patterns, average rainfalls and minimum and maximum temperatures of each venue at each time of year to ensure that we are maximising our chances of successful events everywhere we go.

“We have also built enough space into the calendar to ensue that the discussions we are having with other tracks and venues regarding additional events means that we can facilitate them into the calendar, without having to move any other scheduled and established race meetings.

“I would like to thank Steve Bettes and Dr. Sam Shahin from the Bend, Lance Warren from Heathcote Park Raceway, the entire Willowbank Raceway Board and Tony Beuk from Sydney Dragway for their support and co-operation in making this calendar a reality.

“I truly believe that this will provide the platform for the 400 Thunder Aeroflow Drag Racing Series, our partner tracks and our racers put our sport back in the spotlight that it deserves.”

The calendar for the 2024 400 Thunder Aeroflow Sportsman Series will be announced in the new year.

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