CALENDAR

Hometown hero Adam Tassone is set to make his PDRC Pro Mod debut at Dragway At The Bend on February 8/9. Behind the wheel of his potent blown 1968 Pontiac Firebird doorslammer, Tassone will have the local crowd's support as he chases his first five-second run.

Tassone a builder from Adelaide raced in Junior Dragster from the mid-90s as one of the drivers of the well-known ‘Violent Rumble’ junior dragster of the era. Championship racing all but dried up in South Australia around the turn of the century, and with no racing opportunity locally Tassone moved on from the sport. That was until 2008 when his uncle – and fellow Top Doorslammer racer Pat Carbone – offered a spot on him crew and the drag racing spark was once again ignited.

 “My uncle flew me over to Perth to help him crew around 2008, and I crewed with him until 2012,” said Tassone. “Then I started to get the itch again. In 2011 I wanted to go racing again and Uncle Pat said just go and build a brand new one as the dollar was so good in the US.

“That’s how I got into doorslammer racing. It was a long journey from my car landing in 2012 and it hit the racetrack in 2017.”

The car – a 1968 Pontiac Firebird – was built by Steve Bruce Race Cars in Kansas, USA before being shipped over as a bare roller for Tassone to finish. It took five years for the car to be race ready, originally running a Proline 481X which has now been swapped out in favour of an AJPE Hemi with Noonan heads from Robin Judd’s Studebaker Top Doorslammer. The set up came with the clutch from the Studebaker which didn’t last long before Tassone made the call to Alex Makdessi from Al’s Race Glides who built a T400 with a Neal Chance converter. According to Tassone, it is the best decision he has ever made, swapping to the auto has made his racing far more enjoyable.

Tassone has been dabbling in the local NDRC Top Doorslammer events at Dragway At The Bend, but will swap to PDRC Pro Mod to build on his still limited experience behind the wheel.

I think Pro Mod is a great class and is very competitive for low budget teams like me,” said Tassone. It’s really about seat time with me, any opportunity to get behind the wheel in front of a big crowd and I’m in.

“I’ve only done 31 laps in the car so far. I’m looking forward to this event as the last few events we’ve been battling tyre shake or overpowering the track, and just trying to find that sweet spot, fingers crossed we get down without peddling next week.

“Brett Gillespie (Crew Chief) can work his magic and make the car go straight down the track, apart from all of that I’m just hanging to race one of my best mates Danny Makdessi in the Devil’s Taxi. There has been a lot of banter lately and I think we are going at it first pass off the trailer!”

Pumped up by the local South Australian crowd support as the team chase their first five-second ET also helps Tassone to keep his head in the game.

“Yeah, I get a lot of support from everyone here, it’s good but I’m not under pressure from anyone apart from myself. My biggest challenge driving a doorslammer is knowing when to lift, being sensible, and not stupid. You always tell yourself if it shakes just abort the run, but when you’re in the car the adrenaline kicks in that all goes out the window, so saying that, I think I need to mature in that department,” admitted Tassone.

“Goals for this event is definitely to run a five, that would be awesome for myself, my dad and my whole crew. It’s been a dream ever since I started building this car and after being so close running a PB of 6.007, and about a dozen 6.0s, I hope next weekend it happens.”

Tassone would like to thank if father and wife for their unwavering support and the following sponsors that allow the team to compete at the level they are at now: JCS Parts, Finacia, CAS Supreme Vinyl and Canvas, M&A Buildin Service, Adelaide Race Electrical, Rugas Café, RM Concrete, MAS Bricklaying, Core Floring, Al’s Race Glides, Custom Bodyworks, Gillespie Racing Services.