A shout out to FPS dragster driver Craig Griffith
Congratulations to hydraulic and hose technician Craig Griffith, who took out first place in the FPS dragster at the Spring Nationals in Auckland in November, pulling off a personal best of 6.85 seconds at 195mph.
Craig says: “It was awesome. The guy who came second clocked 7.5 seconds over the quarter mile so we were well out in front.”
Part of the IHRA (International Hot Rod Association) series, the meet backed up Craig’s sensational performance in Christchurch at Labour Weekend, winning second place in the first meet of the series.
With two meets to go, Craig now has his eye firmly on winning the New Zealand Drag Racing Championships.
“I’m gunning to take the title – I’ve always wanted to win it. Based on our performance so far, we’re in for a strong chance. A guy in Christchurch always wins it and we’ve beat him so far.”
The New Zealand Nationals will be held in Auckland in March. Watch this space!
Craig’s drag racing journey to date
Craig has been drag racing since he was 18, but for the last three years, he’s been lucky enough to secure a major sponsorship with FPS.
Craig and his supercharged dragster travel to meets across the country throughout the summer drag racing season. In February, the defending New Zealand super charged outlaws champion clocked a personal best of 7.331 seconds on his hometown track at Motueka while also taking out his class at the New Zealand Drag Racing Association’s Southern Nationals.
Craig reckons he loves the engineering side of the sport most, creating the fastest dragster possible. While it would take most drivers years to get their heads around a dragster engine, it’s second nature to Craig who started his career as an automotive engineer.
“You have to work out how to make something go fast, and not just once. The whole fuel system is similar to a hydraulic system.”
It was the exhilaration of driving at extreme speeds that first got the Motueka local hooked when he was a teenager. “I’ve always been into speed – you can’t beat the power of it,” he says.
The FPS dragster competes against cars that do under 8 seconds in the quarter mile, which in drag race speak is the ‘super charged outlaw class’. Craig reaches speeds of 270km/h to complete a quarter mile in just 6.9 seconds.
Having FPS on board as a sponsor, has been a huge help. It’s a sport that can be expensive, not just building the car from scratch and maintaining it, but travelling to meets around the country, mostly in Auckland and Masterton. Craig admits that travel costs are the “big killer”.
Work has been so busy over the last few months Craig only managed two meets in the last season, but the plan next summer is to have a crack at the NZ Drag Racing Championship title.