RCN is celebrating a decade-and-a-bit of drag racing decadence, balls-out burnouts, and a dead-sexy show-and-shine set under the dead heart’s shimmering sun. A lot has changed over the years, but more importantly, plenty has stayed the same.

RCN is now long-established as the premier street machining event in the Territory and continues to inspire attendees from and wide, year after year. Normally kicking off from Thursday, this year’s RCN ran directly on from the 2025 Desert Nationals – round two of the Territory Tri-Series – held on the Wednesday leading into RCN. A great addition to the programme, giving locals and interstaters alike a double dose of drag racing action over the course of the week.

Event scrutineering opened on Thursday and remains great fun for spectators as the tidy streeters and the wildest meth-burning monsters alike rumble through the Lasseters Hub, all vying for the ‘pass’ sticker that allows them to motor through the Mparntwe. As Thursday’s scrutineering closes off, there’s the Red CentreNATS Night Markets and Fringe Festival, and if that ain’t your style, the town also hosts the Aces & Eights Cruise.

The next day is more scrutineering winding up Friday mid-arvo and that’s when things get cooking, with Lasseters turned over to the Shannons Show & Shine, incorporating the Jetcor Bike Show and Finke Desert Race Show, plus the Street Machine Elite Shed. The show features plenty of tasty, tasty metal, but it’s Jim McLaren’s deep green HQ Monaro GTS (below) that dominated the entryway. Built by Anton Duval and MCR Gold Coast, it debuted at Rockynats 5 with only 150m under its wheels. Since then, it’s been hard to keep Jim out of it long enough to primp it again for RCN11.

Once inside the Elite Shed, an array of products from the entire history of Australia’s Big Three assails the eyes, along with US, Japanese and even some Pommy tin in 2025. A Tuxedo Black LX Torana SS hatch 4.2 (below) presenting as stock, aside from a set of Simmons, had us reaching for our phones to both light the built plate and Google the digits. And yep. Factory black.

Outside, the sun was setting over the Show & Shine, the cars wearing numberplates from every corner of the country, including Sean Basford’s cool AF Peter Williamson Bathurst replica Celica, Jim Guckert’s daily driven, six-speed manual, ‘six pack’ 410ci VH Charger and everything else in between.

For those who love fire and brimstone, the Open Burnout and Pro Class Burnout qualifying sessions were held at the Alice Springs Inland Dragway. The air was thick with smoke, with the slight breeze that initially wafted the powdered tyre away from the crowds dying down as the night went on, leaving a leaden haze to form a rooftop of grey cloud.

Such clouds also formed over a few of the participants, too with a few having to be pushed off the pad, including no less than four in a row. The crowd bayed and yelled, as is the way, with the quality of the cars, driving, skids and weather making it simply champagne burnout action.

After all the skidding and the sideways, the results were posted, with the following granted the chance to prep like mad for their final showdown on Sunday.

PRO CLASS RESULTS

Chris Smallmon – BLWNVY
Jono Kelly – 3FIVE5
Aiden Wernik – PUNTER
Alex Slavin – GETHLP
Jay Bouchere – RAMPAGE
Nick Cosgrove – COZZA
Nathan Sutherland – DEADSET
Trae Bouchere – WH-ORE
George Page – ONSHOW
Hayden Phipps – SHIFTED

OPEN CLASS RESULTS

Rebecca Griffin – VSAUCEY
Maison Rumble – XRCISM
Alvaro De Castro – FRESPNS
Jamie Moreton – 4NROKET
Dylan Rowley – HUNTER
Jessie Campbell – NUNYAH
Luke Taylor – GBLOCK
Jye Mullins – LITEMUP
Steven Cliff – WRANGA
Shane Hayes – HYPER8
Jake Totani – LITTLESHIT
David Totani – OLVOV
Connor Totani – LILRANGA
Xander Stewart – VX73SY
Charly Booth – HYPER8
Shaun Whelan – 4WHELAN
Tyson Smyth – KRAZZY
Bradley Moar – BIG TIME
Kieren Ison – REDNECK
Zak Giles – DIRTYBIRD

At least a few of these names will partake in the huge, $23k prize pool, and end up with a ticket into the Summernats Pro Burnout Series; for those guys (and girls) and us, Sunday is too far away.

Today (Saturday) brings a bunch of driving events, including the new-to-RCN Dirt Drag Racing at the National Road Transport Hall of Fame, grudge racing and roll racing back at the drag strip, followed by the Heavy Hitters; it’s gonna be a full day of action in the Alice!