LOCAL LIFE
MY OTHER LIFE : Craig Hewitt by Greg Martin
Psst ! The good oil is that Craig Hewitt gets high on speed .
Whoa there , gendarmes , coppers , flatfoots and the fuzz – don ’ t jump to conclusions !
The speed which gets Craig high is scorching over 400 metres in a tick over six seconds .
Craig was fleet o ’ foot when playing rugby league in his younger days but that mindboggling speed he achieves nowadays is behind the wheel of his vehicle on the drag racing track .
And no , wise guys , Craig doesn ’ t have to dress up in drag to compete in his chosen sport !
The 54-year-old Blaxland ’ s Ridge businessman has , for 20 years , been involved in drag racing which , for the uninitiated , is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete , usually two at a time , to be first to cross a set finish line .
The race follows a short , straight course from a standing start over a measured distance , most commonly quarter of a mile ( 402 metres ).
Craig ’ s current drag racer – nicknamed Red Ninja because of its bright-red bodywork with a black belt – is a 2006 Holden Monaro – the final year that the company produced the extremely popular car .
“ It came to us in 2012 as just a factory shell – but we still had to cut out a few bits , including the floor , for us to convert it into a drag racer ,” Craig explained .
Craig and his team did a tremendous job because Red Ninja had all the weapons to become one of the sports leading racers in the elite Group 1 Top Door Slammer class .
Down the years , Red Ninja , with Craig at the wheel , has risen through five classes to become one of the sports hit-shot competitors .
In March last year , Craig piloted Red Ninja in an international series against two champion drivers from the USA , Robin Roberts and Jeff Lutz – and got the bikkies !
Red Ninja ’ s whoopee-do engine – it is an engineering marvel – can produce - again with the “ mindboggling ” - 3200 horse-power .
To put that into perspective a standard FG Falcon produces 260 hp .
That power – I can ’ t write “ under the hood ” because there ’ s no hood over the huge engine – from a standing start , shoots Red Ninja over 400m in 6.06 seconds .
“ The team has been working on producing a bit more power because our aim is to sneak below six seconds for the 400m ,” Craig said .
“ We have twigged a bit with the engine and will get the opportunity to break the six seconds barrier at the big Grunge Kings meet at the Sydney Dragway at Eastern Creek on July 6 .”
They say the family that plays together , stays together , and that certainly applies to Team Red Ninja .
Craig ’ s wife , Kim , and daughters Chloe and Madison , handle the online and on track sale of Red Ninja merchandise , and his son , 16-year-old Bailey , is in charge of looking after the rear end of the vehicle .
The rear end is of vital importance as it houses the stabilisers and the two parachutes which help drop the speed of Red Ninja once it crosses the finish line .
Brother and sister- in-laws , David and Michelle Lennox , and their son , Matthew , are also vital cogs in the camp – Matthew aids Bailey looking after the rear end and Michelle lends a helping hand with the merchandise .
David Lennox is the go-to man in ensuring Red Ninja ’ s engine is primed to perform at its peak , and a couple of Craig ’ s good mates , Steve Francis and Shane Cannarso , are the experts overseeing the computer tuning of the vehicle .
Steve was born up in Captain Thunderbolt country , Guyra , but the family relocated to Sydney when he was eight .
He left his school days behind him at 16 , departing Greystanes High with his School Certificate to commence a boilermaker-welder apprenticeship in St Marys .
“ I remained at the firm after completing my indentures but at 24 , I decided to go my own way and
Craig Hewitt and his crew have their drag racer , Red Ninja , primed to break the challenging six seconds barrier zooming over 400 metres . His other life involves pure adrenalin when he is strapped into his flying machine . Photo : Kathryn Johnston . commenced my own business , CBH Steel Moulds and Fabrications , which I still operate 30 years later .”
I asked Craig did he have any other sporting interests apart from racing dragsters .
“ I started playing rugby league when I was 14 and continued playing the game through to A Grade until a growing business forced me to hang up the boots ,” he explained .
“ I started out on the wing in the early seasons but over a few years , as I got bigger , the speed diminished , and I ended up playing prop before giving it away .”
However , those legs and feet are doing OK these days inside Red Ninja , putting the pedal to the metal in ensuring the dragster flies down the track .
THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine . com . au ISSUE 170 // JULY 2024 11