It’s been described as ‘Summernats in cowboy hats’, and that’s by no means a slight against the Kandos Street Machine & Hot Rod Show, held each year over the Australia Day long weekend in the NSW Central West town of Kandos. The biggest little show in the west is always a cracking time, with a laidback, grassroots vibe and plenty of fun to be had by gearheads of all ages.

First published in the April 2026 issue of Street Machine

It’s an event with a proud history that stretches back decades to when it was held in Kandos’s main street, but it now takes place at the awesome Simpkins Park facility in town, complete with clubhouse and dedicated burnout pad.

The 2026 running had all the regular program fixtures, including a show ’n’ shine, hotly contested burnout comp, grass events and go-to-whoa, but this year’s show was bolstered by being declared a Pro Burnout Series qualifier for the first time, with qualifying and Wildcard tickets on offer for the big dance at Street Machine Summernats 39. That’s a huge deal in burnout circles.

“It’s always been a good old-fashioned country car show run by local legends,” said Kandos commentator and burnout personality, Dave Pendlebury. “The fact that their crowd-favourite burnout competition has earned those highly sought-after Pro Burnout Series tickets was awesome; it brought competitors in from around the country.”

The skid comp is without question the biggest drawcard at Kandos, but there are so many other elements to the awesome program. At first light on Saturday, the show ’n’ shine cars began rolling in, with some of the more dedicated competitors setting up before 7am. A few standouts that seemed to stop everyone in their tracks were Garry Rosser’s WB-fronted HQ One Tonner, Jason MacKenzie’s big-block Camaro, and Mark Weekes’s blown L98-powered ’56 Chevy Bel Air. All would go on to figure heavily in the results come Sunday arvo.

All eyes turned to the back corner of the facility as a couple of the burnout big-hitters rolled in. Dom Luci’s blown and injected big-block HJ Kingswood and Kayne Grace’s Maranello Red IMPACT VL Commodore put an end to the sleepy Saturday morning vibe with the sweet sound of blower surge, turning the tyres slightly with every womp.

By mid-morning, it was time to head down the track for the go-to-whoa, which served as an opportunity for a cheeky warm-up burnout for many competitors. A few cars were there to drop a serious time, however, with Darren Bonham in his purple HT Holden the quickest by the end of the morning with an 8.01-second effort. It was tight at the top, with the best five times all in the very low eights!

After a quick stop for lunch and to set up the track, we were into Saturday arvo’s burnout eliminations, with a whopping 280 entrants lined up in the lanes to give it a crack on the pad.

The opening skid was a gender reveal, and the happy couple were overjoyed when blue smoke appeared. With that done, it was time to get down to business. There were a few new faces among the stacked field, thanks to the allure of a Pro Burnout Series spot at ’Nats 39 for the winner. By day’s end, the top 30 runners had been chosen and were ready to give it their all again in Sunday’s finals.

Saturday night entertainment kicked off with Bathurst band K’Noath live on stage, followed by a fireworks display – a treat for spectators and locals alike.

Grass events got things underway on Sunday morning, with the field divided into two areas – one side for the barrel race, and the other for the motorkhana. Between the water truck dumps, there was plenty of dirt and shredded grass flying through the air. With deep ruts forming pretty quickly, the front-runners for Best Overall Entrant (effectively the Grand Champion of Kandos) were out early to put down a good time.

Back down on the burnout pad, the Most Doughnuts in 30 Seconds competition and the big show – the burnout finals – kept the masses well entertained.

After overcoming a fuel pump failure, Dom Luci’s HJ was on song, and he walked away with the Forced Induction class win and the Pro Burnout Series qualifying ticket that went with it.

Clyntin Perry’s screaming BA one-tonner was runner-up in the Forced Induction class, while Daniel Battersby’s LS-powered Datsun 1200 ute took the win in the Naturally Aspirated V8 class. Both these lads scored Pro Burnout Series Wildcard tickets for their trouble.

After solid efforts in both the go-to-whoa and grass driving events, coupled with a bunch of silverware in the show ’n’ shine, Jason MacKenzie’s utterly flawless blown ’67 Camaro was declared the Best Overall Entrant. It was somewhat poetic, given that it was a catastrophic engine failure in the skid comp way back at Kandos 2005 that prompted Jason to rebuild the car and bring it up to such an impeccable standard.

Congratulations to all the winners – we’ll catch you there again next year!

HIGHLIGHTS:

With Kandos becoming a Pro Burnout Series qualifying round this year, some of the big dogs were lured out of the woodwork. Dom Luci was stoked to score the Forced Induction class win and Pro Burnouts golden ticket in LITMUP. “It was definitely a good time!” he grinned. “I took my family along, and it was really good for them with all the activities for the kids.”

Garry Rosser’s awesome WB-fronted HQ One Tonner (SM, Jun ’24) cleaned up in the show ’n’ shine, finding favour with the judges and claiming trophies for Best Ute/Pick-up, Best Engine Bay, Best Interior, Best Modified and Best Individual Display.

Renowned skidder Clyntin Perry hails from just up the road in Gulgong and leveraged his home-pad advantage well, chucking his wild ONGROG BA tonner around with consummate skill. When the smoke settled, he’d claimed runner-up in the Forced Induction class, and with it a Wildcard seeding for the big dance at Summernats 39.

The go-to-whoa is always a hotly contested affair at Kandos, and Darren Bonham absolutely greased it in his HT Holden, stopping the clocks with a blistering 8.01sec run to claim the win.

Dean Grima ain’t afraid to travel, regularly hitting the road in his 202-powered SIK6 VK to attend Kandos and countless other events all over NSW. The car has had a big birthday since Dean appeared as a Young Gun in the March 2020 issue of Street Machine.

Chris Webster and his MAMOTH F100 are Kandos regulars. Sporting a well-fettled Clevo, C4 and 9in combo, the Effie features a bunch of subtle body mods and is draped in Foolish Yellow paint, which earned it the Best Standard Paint trophy on the day.

Bathurst bloke Danny Board brought a couple of toys along to Kandos, with this stunningly restored HT GTS 350 Monaro a deserved winner of Best Coupe/Tudor in the show ’n’ shine following a monumental 20-year rebuild!

We featured Danny Board’s super-cool VK Blue Meanie cab-chassis back in the August 2017 issue of SM. Thanks to the Harrop-blown LS1 up front, Danny had a beaut time chucking the VK around in the grass driving events.

Country skid comps always have a strong contingent of aspirated six-bangers lining up to bang tyres, and Logan McDermott had a great time making clouds in BIG TEZZ, its straight-piped Barra proudly ringing out across the valley and powering it to a win in class.

No matter where you looked at Kandos, Jodie Blackley seemed to be in the thick of it in LSTONKA, whether chilling in the show ’n’ shine, tearing down the strip in the go-to-whoa, or obliterating tyres in the skid comp. She was justly rewarded for her efforts with the Best Overall Female Entrant award.

Back in 2005, Jason MacKenzie lunched the motor in his ’67 Camaro in the Kandos burnout comp, prompting an eventual ground-up rebuild, with stunning results. Kandos 2026 was a far more triumphant affair for Jason and the Camaro, claiming the coveted Best Overall Entrant gong, along with Best Pro Street, Best American Classic, and Best Custom Paint – what a haul!

It’s hard to go past a shoebox Chevy, and Mark Weekes’s example is a stone-cold stunner. The ’56 sedan packs a Magnuson-blown, LS3-headed L98, backed by a 6L80E trans. It’s a beautifully turned-out car, and claimed trophies for Best Retrotech and Best Sedan.

There was a solid field of all-motor skid fiends at Kandos, but Daniel Battersby was judged the strongest, with a killer effort in the finals in his LS-powered Datto 1200 ute. A short wheelbase is a definite advantage on the tight Kandos pad!

RESULTS

AWARDS

Best Ute/Pick-Up: Garry Rosser – HQ One Tonner
Best Engine Bay: Garry Rosser – HQ One Tonner
Best Coupe/Tudor: Danny Board – HT GTS Monaro
Best Modified: Garry Rosser – HQ One Tonner
Best Individual Display: Garry Rosser – HQ One Tonner
Best Pro Street: Jason MacKenzie – ’67 Camaro
Best American Classic: Jason MacKenzie – ’67 Camaro
Best Retrotech: Mark Weekes – ’56 Chev
Best Van/Station Wagon: Thomas Martin – WB Holden panel van
Best Muscle Car Pre-1978: Lee Platt – Chev Bel Air
Best Modern Classic Post-1978: Jayden Khoury – VK Commodore
Best Sedan: Mark Weekes – ’56 Chev
Best Interior: Garry Rosser – HQ One Tonner
Best Standard Paint: Chris Webster – Ford F100
Best Custom Paint: Jason MacKenzie – ’67 Camaro
Best Mural: Brenden Stapleton – Holden Crewman
Best Club Display: Rylstone Kandos Street Machine Club
Hard Luck Award: Jess Tuck-Lee – VS Commodore ute
Dare To Be Different: Allan Byrne – Holden Rodeo
Police/Security Choice: Daniel Battersby – Datsun ute
Young Gun: Bradley George Battersby
Most Doughnuts in 30 Seconds: Andrew McManus – Falcon
Go-To-Whoa: Darren Bonham – HT Holden
Motorkhana Barrel Race: Clive Ryan – Falcon
Motorkhana: Phillip Ferguson – AU Falcon
Encouragement Award: Jay Sotuyo – VN Commodore
Best Overall Female Entrant: Jodie Blackley – LSTONKA

BURNOUTS

Forced-Induction
1. Dom Luci – LITMUP
2. Clyntin Perry – ONGROG

Naturally Aspirated Eight-Cylinder
1. Daniel Battersby – LSDAT
2. Brenden Stapleton – TISDA1

Naturally Aspirated Four/Six-Cylinder
1. Logan McDermott – BIG TEZZ
2. Daniel Spano – JOKER

BEST OVERALL ENTRANT
Jason MacKenzie – ’67 Camaro