Street Car Showdown: NZ’s Fastest Street Cars Brought Out New Zealand’s Big Dogs

It doesn’t matter where you go in the world, people love fast street cars. The island nation of New Zealand has its own vibrant racing culture, and a group of racers got together to host their own street car shootout at NAPA Auto Parts Dragway Meremere. The NZ’s Fastest Street Cars event brought out some tough rides, all racing for more than $12,000 in prize money.

NZ’s Fastest Street Cars came to life thanks to a dedicated group of gearheads who wanted to enjoy the same style of racing they see on social media in other countries.

“We watch a lot of the American racing on YouTube and other outlets. A few of us decided we wanted to try and have our own event here. So, we started a Facebook group to gauge people’s interest, and it basically exploded with people saying they would participate. The event is put on by volunteers, and any money collected goes back to the racers,” explains Daniel Southall.

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NAPA Auto Parts Dragway Meremere was fully on board with bringing the event to the facility. The event was limited to 36 cars since it was part of another program happening at the track.

Rules were kept simple: competitors had to be capable of running 9.99 or quicker, have a current warrant of fitness (required to drive on the streets in New Zealand), possess proper vehicle certification for any modifications, and pass tech for the elapsed time they planned to run. The classes were split into 9.99 to 9.00, 8.99 to 8.00, and 7.99 or quicker. Each round featured random chip draws to determine matchups.

In the Unlimited class, Reece Fish laid down both the quickest and fastest run in his 1956 Chevy with a 7.255 at 196.97 mph. Ajay Chapman was able to pick up the win over Fish in the Unlimited final. The 8.00 to 8.99 class delivered some great racing, with Mike Carlton’s 8.14 at 168 mph defeating Mike Bari’s 8.70 at 158 mph in the final. Roger Binnema ran a 9.06 to win the 9.00 to 9.99 group after Justin Weir ran an 8.99 and broke out.

There are already plans for another NZ’s Fastest Street Cars event in 2027. Based on this year’s success, the next edition is expected to be even bigger and better.

Photos by Lance Farrow Photography