With a population hovering just over half a million, the island state of Tasmania is one of the smaller locales that we’ve discovered the presence of drag racing in. Tasmania, the 26th largest island in the world and known as the “Island of Inspiration,” is part of the Commonwealth of Australia and located about 150 miles from the shores of the Australian continent. And while we commonly find some rather primitive competition in the world’s smaller nations, Tasmania is a definite exception. You see, as part of and with such close proximity to the continent with arguably the world’s most exciting drag racing, it really comes as no surprise that this island boasts some pretty intriguing racing machines blasting down its quarter-mile strips of asphalt.

The LAFM Dragway is the only true drag strip in the entire nation of Tasmania, carrying sanctioning from the Australian National Drag Racing Association (ANDRA), and it puts on shows that rival those of many of the strips here in the United States on its surface that may or may not run slightly downhill and back uphill in its quarter-mile configuration.

LFAM runs the usual mix of sportsman and motorcycle classes as part of its regular program, but also brings in a whole pile of badass race cars that you’d expect of the wild and crazy Aussies, including supercharged all-steel station wagons and sedans, part of the Supercharged Outlaws, that click off runs pointing nearly every direction but straight, along with some modern supercharged, Top Dragster-style ‘diggers.

Even ANDRA star Peter Kapiris and fie-second Top Doorslammer and Pro Stock racer Lee Bektash in his 400-inch Mopar are seen making hits at LFAM. And just proving their unrivaled level of crazy, these Aussies blast their machines down a virtually pitch-black race track at night, with only a few sporadic light posts providing a dark tunnel with which to blast through the darkness. 

This all just helps to confirm what we’ve long though…that the Aussies — even on the small island of Tasmania — do drag racing as good, if not better, than everyone else. If you want a show, they’ll give it to you.