AUSSIE DRAG RACER KONSTANDINOU TAKES ON AMERICA

AUSTRALIAN DRAG racer Michael Konstandinou has taken on America and made a lasting impression with his Holden VN Commodore.

After a false start last year, the Australian built and modified Commodore, made its US debut in February at the renowned Lights Out event in Georgia.

Armed with a heap of locally Australian manufactured components including Konstandinou’s own ICE Ignition system, the LS based V8 engine produce’s over 1300 horsepower.

Despite being on spec tyres for the first time with just one test session under his belt, Konstandinou immediately impressed by qualifying first in the 33-car DXP Street/Limited field.

Although a damaged engine component ruled the Commodore out of further running, it laid the foundations for another strong outing at the Carolina Nitrous Nationals.

Konstandinou went all the way to the semi-finals but spun the tyres on the start line. However, he is still thrilled with the results and is ready to do it all again on May 11-13.

“Considering most of the cars in the class have been racing for several years, we are very happy to be competitive straight off the bat,” he told AUTO ACTION.

Michael Konstandinou smoking up the rear tyres in America.

“Was I surprised? Yes and no. I did it because I thought we would be competitive and show Aussies could do just as good as them.

“They had a lot more data and experience and we just arrived and did it, but that is because we have good people.

“It was not an easy thing to do. The whole thing was new to us, so it is a credit to everyone that has had input into the project.

“We were happy to achieve the results in such a competitive field, but it was only the beginning.”

The American success is the culmination of a journey which started all the way back before COVID-19.

However, countless setbacks such as lockdowns, bad luck, logistical and mechanical dramas dragged out the process and meant that the program started two years later than planned.

But for Konstandinou, it just makes the end result even more rewarding after an enormous effort from himself and a large support network of 25 people.

“Originally, I saw the rules at the end of 2019 when I was in America for business, so I came back (to Australia) and started getting everything done, but then COVID hit,” he recalled.

Michael Konstandinou behind the wheel of his VN Commodore.

“Then of course it was difficult to travel for two years and could not really do anything. We were meant to be there in October 2020 and would have made it for October 2022, but shipping delays and a hurricane meant the car did not get there on time. That was a big disappointment.

“Unfortunately, after the first qualifying session (at Lights Out) we found a damaged component in the engine that prevented us from competing further. That was hard because we had a really good chance.”

Despite the dramas, Konstandinou’s team was able to rectify the issues and come out swinging at the Carolina Nitrous Nationals.

It puts the Aussie underdog in a good position to chase some American silverware in the near future.

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