In Part 1 of the Allan Porter Collection, we featured an amazing mix of early New Zealand drag racing photos from the early years of the sport, when organizing groups set up events at the unpaved Kopuku Dragway, on closed roads, or at circuit racing tracks.
In 1973, New Zealands first purpose built drag strip opened for business. Champion Dragway at Meremere is situated roughly halfway between Auckland and Hamilton, and just up the road from the relatively new Hampton Downs circuit racing venue.
With the opening of Meremere, the sport of drag racing enjoyed a sharp rise in popularity, with New Zealands second purpose built facility, Thunderpark, near Napier, hosting its first event three years later.
The images from Part 2 of the Allan Porter Collection center around the early years of Meremere. The professionalism of the sport also increases greatly in this part, along with speeds, and competition. As in Part 1, many of the cars and drivers racing during this time are likely familiar to many of you. You may even see yourselves in some of them, if this was your scene during the 1970s.