By Adam Brockman, Midland-Kalamunda Reporter
BALLAJURA teacher Kirsty Cunningham knows all about the thrills of speed, racing a 260km/h dragster at Perth Motorplex.
Cunningham is a passionate advocate of road safety and is keen to promote the message that the drag strip is the only place to race legally and safely.
“I tell the kids if you want to race, take it to the track,” she said.
“The kids study dragsters as part of their technology and enterprise class so I can show them all the parts of the car designed to make it fast as well as safe.”
Cunningham has become a hero to her own Year 4 class, saying she even got requests for autographs after taking her dragster in for a high kiloWatt version of show and tell.
Cunningham only stepped into the dragster this year, which competes in the modified category.
She has already reached the semi-finals in just her second event and has set her eyes on a top three finish for the season.
“It’s a lot faster than my last car, my personal best so far is 262km/h and we’re still only taking it softly as I learn about driving a dragster,” she said.
“I don't think that kind of speed hits you until you release the parachutes and slow down.”
She would eventually like to compete in the competition category.
“Really, the car could run in that class now. But we’re going to wait until I have some more experience and am confident in the car,” she said.
Cunningham will be competing this Friday and Saturday night at Perth Motorplex, which is hosting the ANDRA Pro Series Top Fuel Championship. Racing begins from 6pm on both nights.