SUPREME UTILITY

ANTHONY SPADAVECCHIA'S FRESHLY CONCOCTED XW UTE SMASHED OUT MID-EIGHTS ON ITS WAY TO WINNING THE SPEED PRO SIX-CYLINDER CLASS AT DRAG CHALLENGE 2025

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AS WE write this, the 10th edition of our full-fat, five-day Street Machine Drag Challenge event has been run and won, and while some racers this year are now well established in their classes or familiar names to long-term DC followers, there were plenty of newcomers keen to upset the applecart. Enter Anthony Spadavecchia, who came, saw and conquered the Speed Pro Six-Cylinder class on his first crack!

Anthony's no stranger to drag racing, though he's more used to piloting a tube-chassis, carbon-bodied Mustang to 7.90s in Top Sportsman, as opposed to the all-steel XW Falcon ute he used to run mid-eights at DC. He and a carload of mates got their first taste of Drag Challenge tagging along as spectators a few years ago, and Anthony came away with a pressing urge to build a suitable drag-and-drive car to take the event on himself.

The perfect candidate was already sitting in his shed. Once Anthony decided the X-dub would be his DC steed of choice, he set about whipping it into shape to withstand the rigours of five days of drag-and-drive, although he's the first to admit that he may have handled the project a little arse-backwards.

The ute's shell was delivered to All Street Panel in Adelaide, where the 50-year-old duco was stripped back to reveal a lot of decent steel and a bit of rust in the usual spots. The All Street team cut out the cancer, straightened the panels and laid down a coat of Graphite Grey paint from the FG Falcon catalogue. George from All Street also took care of several major fabrication and assembly jobs around the ute, including mounting the fuel tanks, building the rollcage and knocking up the snazzy centre console.