Queensland chassis builder Ken Lowe takes what he sees as the next logical
step and launches his Drag Racing School
There have been many drag racing schools before, but Gold Coast chassis
builder Ken Lowe has taken it one step further than before with a package
that is premised on the long term benefit to the sport and which is aimed at
producing competitive racers with an understanding of all apsects of drag
racing to make them better competitors.
The idea for the school came out of a series of conversations with
racer Roly Leahy, while on a two-day casual tow of Leahy's front engined
digger home to Queensland after Eastern Creek's rained out 1st Nostalgia Titles
in 1996. When Lowe raised the matter with Top Fuel racer Graeme Cowin
at the 98 Nationals he received the assurance that there was a market for such
a service and that the sport would benefit by it.
Lowe had a dragster he'd built to showcase the range of products and
services he could provide for customers of his Ken Lowe Race Cars
chassis business, and it seemed an ideal platform from which to launch such
an idea.
" It's not just designed as a how-to-drive school," Lowe explained. "I
wanted my graduates to go away aware of the different levels of potential
competition. I figure about 20 percent of the customers who come to my business
to have a car built have no set idea of what category they'll be racing in,
they just want to build a car. Yet there are vast differences.
"With the dragsters, I look at the racers in Competition (eliminator)
as like the nutty professors in the lab coats. They're out there sweating to
produce the maximum amount of power from a specified group of parts.
"Modified (eliminator) cars, though, are kind of like the ski boats of
drag racing. You can race on Saturday night, get up in the morning and mow
the lawn, or take the kids out, or whatever, and then go to work on Monday.
You mightn't touch the car until the following weekend. It's like owning a ski
boat.
"But in Top Alcohol it's a major emotional commitment, involving many
sacrifices.
"All of this is more than just a dollar factor, there's a lifestyle
impact, as well as a personal commitment that needs to be taken into account.
"There's a conception out there that Modified is just for beginners,
but I've raced all the way to Top Alcohol and down, and I can tell you Modified
can be a heap of fun, and I think it's better suited to the majority of potential
racers than expecting them to step straight into Comp or higher."
What Lowe plans will be a series of "schools", each with a maximum of
six students, and run over a period of three days. They will be run at
Willowbank Raceway, to allow for ready access to the racing track, not
just in the car, but in regular discussions about where the groove might be,
and how to reverse, and the many other finer parts of racing, all before anyone
sits in the cockpit. There is a set curriculum, which has to be enforced because
of the great amount of information to be imparted in limited time.
The course can also result in you obtaining your ANDRA licence
if you so desire.
"Drag racing is one of those activities that appears to be very simple
when you first describe it, but it's a lot more complex than first appearances
would indicate. The rules only tell you what you can't do, not what you can or
should do. I want people to understand the nature of the decisions they need to
make and why. They can take 20 years learning the hard way, or they can undertake
an intense three-day school and go a long way to acquiring that level of
knowledge. Even if they forget 50 percent of what we try to teach them, they'll
come out of it a long way ahead, and that other 50 percent will come to them
a lot more quickly."
Lowe has completed that demo car and fitted it out with as fine a range
of quality parts as you will find in the bracket. With its injected alcohol
big-block, Powerglide gearbox and 3.70:1 final ratio it is a regular mid-9
second racer, and for what Lowe has in mind, that's plenty fast enough.
"The car could be a lot quicker and more violent," said Lowe, "but I
don't want to frighten anyone off, and if you haven't driven a race car before,
or even if you've only been in an 11-second Super Streeter you'll find this
quite a rocket ride."
The car comes equipped with cross-over delay box and everything to make
it highly competitive, as Lowe demonstrated by going several rounds at the
Winternationals, and there's a back-up car available by lease from an
existing racer. There's also an opportunity to compete at events by leasing
the car when it's not involved in school activities.
The car is designed as a one-man racing operation, if that's how it
eventuates, limiting any potential racer's need for crew. It comes with an
alternator and a flip-up radiator over the gearbox, and by folding up your
driving suit top and putting it on the seat you can hop in, press the starter
button and drive it up to the staging lanes. You can strap yourself in, with
even a hook to hang your helmet on while you do up your belts. It even comes
with a horn to encourage unheeding spectators to step out of the road while
driving through the pits.
" I figure that maybe 20 percent of my students will go on to be long
term racers, but that other 80 percent will take their time cards and the
experience and go on to become fanatical fans, really appreciating the sport
even at the DYO (dial-your-own) level, and that can't be bad.
" I keep hearing things like, 'Oh, you can't do this sort of thing in
Australia, it won't work.' Maybe that's right, I don't know. I know there
have been previous attempts, and I don't know why they didn't proceed, but I
think it can and will work if handled the right way.
" I want to make it work because: (a) I think I can make a dollar
off it; (b) I think it will provide a service to the industry; and
(c) I think it will be a benefit to the sport I love.
" I won't be able to handle all the orders for cars or parts that I
expect will flow from it, given the other business I already have, and I know
that a lot of business will flow to my competitors, but that doesn't hurt,
and we'll all benefit in the long run. There are 18 million people in this
nation, so I can't see how I can't run at least one school every month, and
at that level it's a break-even deal, so I'll persist with that at least.
" I already have four customers signed up for my first school, and I'm
just looking forward to my first graduates. I know that when they step out of
the car at the end of their first pass and say, 'Hey that was great, now can
we go a bit quicker ?' that I'm having a success".
Students, pay attention . . .
If you'd like to consider enrolling in Ken Lowe's Drag Racing School,
you can take the first necessary step by phoning Ken on (0411) 699 535.
You'll be sent some literature, which includes a questionnaire to ensure you
meet the minimum requirements (age, current driver's licence, etc.) The complete
course will cost you $1198.
