With oil running through their veins, the loyal Summernats attendees make their way to Exhibition Park in Canberra each January for four glorious days of engine fuelled fun. The festival keeps growing, with Summernats 35 being the first time organisers have had to cap the number of car entries as over 2,700 vehicles cross the line this weekend.

CW caught up with car enthusiasts to find out what it is about the ‘nats that keeps them coming back.  

There is one thing that you are guaranteed to see at every Summernats festival – and that’s Australia’s most famous hairstyle, the mullet. Laura Johnson brings Mulletfest back to Summernats for the third year, scouting for the cream of the crop to attend the grand finals in Kurri Kurri NSW.

“Business in the front, party in the back, and what bigger party than Summernats? Canberra turns them all out and they absolutely bring the party, so we’re very excited,” she says.

Ms Johnson co-founded Mulletfest back in 2018 as both a way to get more tourism to their small town and raise funds for the Mark Hughes Foundation for Brain Cancer Research, a cause close to her heart. However, the competition’s main focus is the fun and trying to find the best mullet Australia has to offer.

“It’s celebrating the iconic Aussie hairstyle and trying to bring people together. So really, you know, just a celebration and a laugh and some good Aussie larrikinism, not taking ourselves too seriously.”

Ms Johnson’s family brought two cars along to enter the festival, while she will also lend her judging expertise to the tattoo competition and fashions on the field. For the tattoo competition, she says judges look for detail, use of colour, the story, and stage presence whereas, the fashion speaks for itself.

“To me, the pinnacle of fashion I think is really Summernats. Lots of people think race days is where you bring your A game, but I think Skid Row actually has your A game and if you didn’t bring your A game, you’ll certainly leave with it because you’re covered in rubber,” she smiles.

Switching from judging the people in attendance to those with wheels, Summernats Chief Judge Rachael Durbridge takes on the role of selecting the pick of the litter. She has six years of experience judging car competitions around the country and is excited to return to the biggest we have to offer.

A spray painter by trade, Ms Durbridge started her career when she was 15, but her passion for cars began even earlier.

“I’ve always grown up around cars because my middle brother, we hung out and that’s we what we did and it’s just in my blood. I can’t help it; like when I’m away from cars, it sucks,” Ms Durbridge smiles.

The competition is categorised by vehicle type which includes Street, Elite, and Tuff Street, then into sub-categories such as paint, engineering, and bodywork. She says she loves the happiness and excitement that flows through the festival; entrants are proud of their builds and want to share them with like-minded people.

For Ms Durbridge, Summernats has been life changing, and she believes it is one of the best events ever created. Working with the team on the show trail, she’s seen firsthand how family-friendly and family-centred the experience is, something everyone can enjoy.

“When you get to walk through the gate at Summernats, even coming through, and it’s like a ghost town to start with. But you know it’s like a hive of excitement that’s just about to happen and watching those first cars start to line up and then just, everyone is just so excited,” she smiles.

Owner of Queanbeyan Engine Service, Tim Gruber is an active member of the local car enthusiast community as many of his customers enter and attend Summernats. Mr Gruber fell in love with the atmosphere first created at the event 35 years ago.

“My Dad first took me as a youngster in 1988, seeing all the cars and in particular the noise and excitement of the burnout competition as a young boy stuck in my head,” he says.

Mr Gruber was just 17 when he entered his first burnout competition with his XY, a car he still owns. That year, Summernats 10, he made it into the finals of the burnout competition, something he was ecstatic about. He entered the next two years, before the car’s engine blew up just after he bought his first house, and couldn’t afford to fix it. That didn’t keep him away from the festivities, though.

“I went to every Summernats as a spectator after that up until Summernats 19 when I got the XY going again. I entered and competed in most of the next few years up to Summernats 25 … I came third in the burnout comp at Summernats 22 and made it into the burnout masters at Summernats 25,” he smiles.

Nowadays, Mr Gruber says he has tamed it back, still entering the festival but with a more street-friendly engine, he spends the four days cruising and soaking up the Summernats experience. From watching the burnouts to catching up with mates, a good feed in Braddon, and sharing the experience with his missus and kids, he says there is nothing else like it.

Now continuing the Summernats tradition with his son, Mr Gruber says he is grateful the festival is still around so he can experience the beauty of the cars, too.

“With the old classic cars now getting very rare and expensive you see them on the road less. At the ‘nats, it’s like another world, you get to see them all in one place and driving around everywhere all around Canberra in abundance,” he says.

Having seen the evolution of the festival which it is much bigger today, he says some of the unfortunate incidents changed the ‘casualness’ and nature of the event, which is no longer as rowdy as it once was. Now it is more family-friendly rather than the young man’s paradise it used to be.

“One of the biggest changes I noticed has been no more people cruising around in the back of utes, which gave everyone more to look at when the characters in the back were doing their stuff. I can remember when the cruising went well into the late night, whereas now it usually stops around 9pm, which does stop a lot of the problems that came with the excitement of the old days I guess.” 

While the fast cars, loud music, and burnouts are what comes to mind when Summernats is mentioned, for many it is the opportunity to catch up with friends they only see on the car show circuit. This year is bittersweet for Mike Davidson, whose 1954 Chev Coupe – named Blue Moon – is finally ready to be unveiled after six years of hard work, however, his good friend won’t be there to see it.

“I was good friends with Chic Henry and have been for 25 years and the fact that he’s not here with us this year, he obviously saw the build photos along the way … the fact that he’s not here bought a few tears on,” Mr Davidson says.

Having always loved the shape of the Coupe, it has stuck with him through his years as a car enthusiast. He has been attending Summernats since 1988 as a spectator, trader and entrant.

The car is a sports edition, originally from Oklahoma, USA. It no longer has any of its original running gear and has a number of custom tricks added to it. Mr Davidson and the team behind the build created a custom colour for the vehicle titled Blue Moon.

“The wife and I probably for three months sprayed out the samples just in and out of sun, different lights, just to get the right hue,” he says.

Blue Moon will do the show circuit for the next 12 months, then it the proud owners will take it cruising. Mr Davidson says it is a car he definitely wants to drive, as that is what it was built for.

Amongst the seasoned show goers were some fresh faces, travelling from across the country just for the festivities. CW asked what drew them in.

Stella and Nando are excited to have finally made it to the ‘nats with their sons Frankie and Anthony. Summernats is a bucket list item for the family who travelled from Perth to attend. Originally, they planned to come last year to coincide with their son’s eighteenth birthday, but Covid restrictions meant they had to postpone the celebrations.

“I want to see the burnouts, we don’t have anything like this back in WA. That’s the main reason,” Nando says.

Mason and his friends have travelled from the Gold Coast and Melbourne to spend four days amongst the tyres and tracks, most of them for the first time. Mason says he has been interested in cars since he was very young and is excited to see what Summernats has to offer.

“I’m not totally too sure what to expect, I’ve never been here. I’ve seen heaps of videos and photos over the years growing up, so it’s good to experience it in person,” he says.

Another group travelled from Melbourne; some of the friends came for the first time last year and are now bringing their mates to experience the weekend of fun.

“It feels freeing. Feels like you can do whatever you want in terms of anyone in there, it feels good to be in there,” Tyler says.

Catch some of these faces and builds among the crowd at Summernats 35 at Exhibition Park in Canberra until Sunday 8 January; summernats.com.au

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