DAY ONE
THURS 8 JAN

Thursday will see Street Machine Summernats 38 jump straight out of the gates and into the thick of it for the opening act of Australia’s greatest car festival.

A stack of new stuff is on offer at the ’Nats this year, and a bunch of it kicks off on Day One. There’s a Hot Wheels Stunt Show in the mix, and a brand-new Festival Zone filled with rides, games and carnival classics that the whole family or crew can enjoy.

As for car action, Thursday is headlined by the Pro Burnout Series Last Chance Wildcard Shootout at Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPIC) from 4pm, with a mental line-up of cars duking it out in one last do-or-die effort to grab a spot in the Pro Burnout Series final on Saturday.

In the Elite Hall, the Top 60 Finalists Show kicks off from 6:30pm, highlighted by the Great Meguiar’s Uncover at 7:30pm, where the sheets will be pulled off a bumper field of Australia’s best-built show machines for the first time in front of a jam-packed audience.

If you’re more about driving than watching, Thursday also marks the first of three days of the epic Enthusiast Braddon Fringe Festival from 5pm in Canberra’s CBD. A selection of approved Summernats entrants’ cars will exclusively pack the streets against a backdrop of live music, restaurants, bars and food trucks. The Fringe Festival has been super popular since it debuted a few years ago and is the perfect way to unwind after a big day at EPIC.

We’ve also got our own Street Machine VIP zone with a grandstand overlooking the Aeroflow Cruise Route, and there are new covered seating areas and chill-out zones amongst the madness. To top that off, there’ll also be overpass bridges to allow spectators to cross the cruise route with ease, so you can get where you need to be faster and the cruising can flow all day long. Winning!

Qualifying for the Haltech Horsepower Heroes dyno comp kicks off as well, as does the annual Oz Wheels City Cruise at 12pm, when a convoy of hot cars will parade through Canberra’s streets to show the locals what we’re all about.

Entrants who are looking to blaze rubber will be pleased to know there will be two Precision International Skid Rows running side by side at EPIC for ’Nats 38, just off Tuff Street. So, there’s now twice the opportunities to blaze rubber, so twice the fun! And if you’re after some juicy merch and parts for your project, the traders are open all day.

Schedule:

REGULARS

11:00am: Public gates open
11:00am: Aeroflow Cruise Route
11:00am: Heatwave Drift Pad
11:00am: Traders & Exhibitors
11.30am: Hot Wheels Stunt Show
12:00pm: Haltech Horsepower Heroes Quailifying
02:00pm: Precision International Skid Row
02:00pm: Show ’n’ Shine
02:00pm: Festival Zone
03:00pm: Dyno Exhibition
03:30pm: Hot Wheels Stunt Show
05:00pm: Enthusiast Braddon Fringe Festival
06:30pm: Top 60 Finalists Show
08:00pm: Summernats Bar DJ

DAY TWO
FRI 9 JAN

The second day of Street Machine Summernats 38 sees the action ramp up, this year with the added spectacle of the FMX High Air Show and the Aerobatic Stunt Show in the mix. Yes – stunt planes doing bloody backflips and somersaults over Summernats!

The show ’n’ shine will be back on in the main arena from the morning, with some of Australia’s best and wackiest machines on display.

Burnout qualifying for both the Open Class and Pro Burnout Series, presented by Castlemaine Rod Shop, gets underway from 11am for those keen to see some rubber sacrificed. There’ll be big prize money on the line, with 12 months of qualifying and practice all leading up to this moment for Australia’s premier burnout maniacs.

As night begins to fall, the main stage gets ready for a rock ’n’ roll festival for the ages with Killing Heidi, The Screaming Jets and The Living End all set to blow our minds from 6pm. The Summernats after-party will then help you see out the evening, so there’ll be plenty on offer to keep you grooving all night long.

During the day, the Methanol Madness cruise returns to the Aeroflow Cruise Route, the Meguiar’s Top 60 showcase will be open for all punters to see Australia’s best show machines, the Enthusiast Braddon Fringe Festival revs up Canberra’s CBD from the early evening, and the twin Precision International Skid Rows will be pumping rubber all day long! And the best bit? This still isn’t even the biggest day, because Saturday is looming large with the most packed schedule of the lot.

Schedule:

REGULARS

09:00am: Public gates open
09:00am: Show ’n’ Shine
09:00am: Festival Zone
09:00am: Aeroflow Cruise Route
09:00am: Traders & Exhibitors
09:00am: Haltech Horsepower Heroes 09:00am: Heatwave Drift Pad
09:00am: Top 60 Finalists Show
10:00am: Tuff Street Showcase
10:30am: Hot Wheels Stunt Show
11:00am: Methanol Madness
11:00am: Precision International Skid Row
11:00am: FMX High Air Show
11:00am: Burnouts Open – Qualifying
11:30am: Torque & Tea
12:00pm: Dyno Exhibition
12:30pm: Aerobatic Stunt Show
02:00pm: FMX High Air Show
05:00pm: Enthusiast Braddon Fringe Festival
11:00pm Summernats After-Party

DAY THREE
SAT 10 JAN

Just a glance at Saturday’s jam-packed schedule should give you enough of an indication of how ballistic Day Three of Summernats is going to be! Along with all the regulars we’ve already mentioned, Saturday is defined by a stack of feature events to keep you busy all day.

It’ll be a big day on the main stage, starting with the Body Art Nationals contestants showing off their best ink for the punters. That’s followed by the Pit Viper Fashions on the Field to crown Summernats’ best-dressed, and the ever-popular Mulletfest, where you’ll get to judge Australia’s best business-in-front-party-out-back hairdos.

Saturday is also when the big awards are dished out, with our Pro Burnout Series champion being crowned after the final Top 10 take to the burnout pad at 5pm. It’ll be the final showdown for a shot at the $70,000 prize pool, with first place taking home $50,000! The Open-class burnouts will continue qualifying for their finals on Sunday, and in a Summernats first, the Grand Champion driving events and presentation have moved to Saturday as part of the awards ceremony.

The Tuff Street Showcase and PPG Supreme champions will also be crowned, the Rare Spares Street and Elite award-winners will be chosen, and the Street Champion driving events and awards will also take place on Saturday.

Punters will be treated to the traditional Supercruise on the main arena at 6:30pm before the fireworks display, and then DJ Chunky Dip and Peking Duk will take the stage from 9pm to see out an absolutely mammoth day at the ’Nats – and there’s still one day left to go!

REGULARS

09:00am: Public gates open
09:00am: Show ’n’ Shine
09:00am: Festival Zone
09:00am: Haltech Horsepower Heroes
09:00am: Traders & Exhibitors
09:00am: Top 60 Finalists Show
09:00am: Heatwave Drift Pad
09:00am: Aeroflow Cruise Route
10:00am: Precision International Skid Row
10:30am: Hot Wheels Stunt Show
11:00am: FMX High Air Show
11:30am: Torque & Tea
12:00pm: Dyno Exhibition
12:30pm: Aerobatic Stunt Show
05:00pm: Enthusiast Braddon Fringe Festival
05:30pm: Methanol Madness
11:00pm: Summernats After-Party

SATURDAY EVENTS

09:00am: Street Champion Driving Events
09:30am: Motorkhana
10:00am: Tuff Street Showcase & Judging
11:00am: Burnouts Open-class – Qualifying 01:00pm: Body Art Nationals
01:30pm: Pit Viper Fashions on the Field
02:00pm: Burnouts Open-class – Qualifying
02:30pm: Mulletfest
02:30pm: PPG Supreme Entrant Awards
02:30pm: Tuff Street Awards
03:00pm: Rare Spares Street Awards
03:30pm: Elite Awards
05:00pm: Pro Burnout Series – Top 10 Final
05:30pm: Street Machine Grand Champion Parade
06:00pm: Street Machine Grand

DAY FOUR
SUN 11 JAN

The final day of Summernats 38 still has a stack of action to stick around for, the biggest being the Open-class burnout finals and awards. Before that, there’ll also be the Ultimate Redemption Round for the Pro Burnout Series entrants who missed out on glory the day before.

In lieu of the traditional Grand Champion driving events and ceremonial crowning, which has been moved to Saturday, this year there’ll be a special Meet The Winner event for the Summernats 38 Grand Champion from 9am, so you can get up and close to the people and the car that scored this year’s Grand Champ sword.

The Heads-Up Go-to-Whoa finals and awards also get underway on the burnout pad from 9am, while in the dyno hall, the Haltech Horsepower Heroes combatants will throw down in one last shootout to crown the overall and class winners for ultimate horsepower bragging rights.

If that wasn’t enough, the Precision International Skid Row lanes, the Aeroflow Cruise Route, the Heatwave Drift Pad, and all the regulars that’ve been giving punters sensory overload all weekend long will still be going strong until the whole show wraps up in the mid-arvo. That’s when we’ll sit back, crack a coldie (or a ’Nats-special spicy slushie), and soak in what’ll have no doubt been one of the biggest, wildest, jam-packed editions of Street Machine Summernats to date. Bring on number 39!

Schedule:

REGULARS

09:00am: Public gates open
09:00am: Traders & Exhibitors
09:00am: Show ’n’ Shine
09:00am: Top 60 Finalists Show
09:00am: Aeroflow Cruise Route
09:00am: Heatwave Drift Pad
09:30am: Hot Wheels Stunt Show
10:00am: Precision International Skid Row
02:30pm: Summernats 38 closes

SUNDAY EVENTS

09:00am: Meet the Winner – Street Machine Grand Champion
09:00am: Haltech Horsepower Heroes Final Showdown & Awards
09:00am: Heads-Up Go-to-Whoa & Awards