Ash Marshall was an early convert to drag racing, racing a variety of sports and production cars in events organised by CAMS, but it was his exploits in the AA/Fuel dragsters he imported from the US in the 1960s that made him a legend in local drag racing circles. In 1969 he became the first Australian to break through the 200 mph barrier to cement his place in the sport’s history in Australia. Now living in retirement in the US Ash talks to Australian Hot Rodder about his racing career.

Magazines have always played a pivotal part in spreading the word on hot rodding, and Australian hot rodding magazines have been a major influence on the local scene. We track the early history of some of the local magazines through the early era of the hobby.

Barry Fletcher was still a teenager when he began building his improved Model A roadster ‘Henrietta’ back in the late 1950s. A trip to America in the 1960s opened his eyes to hot rodding there and on his return he started up Flyscher Enterprises to supply local hot rodders with parts and accessories for their cars and finally built the ’32 roadster he’d always dreamt of owning.

It was only natural that after young guys built their first hot rods that they race them, on the street at first, then at more organized meetings at places like Pakenham, the first drag strip in Australia, and then at Riverside Dragway at Fishermans Bend on the banks of the Yarra River in Melbourne. From those humble beginnings drag racing spread all over the country with tracks springing up in almost every state