'Awesome atmosphere': Supercars drivers relish drag races

Supercars drivers treated fans to a rare spectacle at Hidden Valley Raceway’s drag strip on Friday.

This weekend’s Merlin Triple Crown features a Nitro Up North Drag Racing, with thousands lining the drag strip along the circuit’s pit straight on Friday.

Four Supercars hit the strip alongside the Top Doorslammers, Funny Cars, Top Fuel Motorcycles and Jet Dragster.

WATCH: JACOBSON VS KOSTECKI

Team Sydney’s Garry Jacobson, Brad Jones Racing’s Todd Hazelwood, Matt Stone Racing’s Zane Goddard and Erebus Motorsport’s Brodie Kostecki all took to the strip as the sun set over Darwin.

Jacobson may have lost his heat to Kostecki, running a 11.871s to Kostecki’s 11.488s, but was elated with the experience.

It comes just days after Peter Xiberras clocked a new national record of 3.74s in the Winternationals at Willowbank.

WATCH: GODDARD VS HAZELWOOD

“There was a lot of pressure,” Jacobson told Supercars.com.

“The team in the drag racing just broke the record with 3.7 seconds, and I did 11.4.

“I have a bit of work to do, but it was an awesome atmosphere.

WATCH: SPECTACULR ROLLOVER IN DARWIN

“There was a crowd atmosphere, which is something we’ve been wanting for so long in these COVID times.

“Competing in front of a crowd at any time is great.”

The resin-based compound made it tricky for the Supercars drivers to make a clean getaway, but Jacobson had high praise for Darwin’s facility.

“I bogged a bit,” he laughed.

“When I did my start, I bogged a bit; I was wanting to do another race, because I didn’t have enough throttle percentage and I was just looking after the car.

“It was a good experience, it was a very grippy surface.

“It’s a credit to how they set up their tracks. To get quick times out there, it was a great experience.”

Jacobson has commenced his weekend with times good enough for 26th and 24th in Practices 1 and 2 respectively.

While aiming to rise up the grid on Saturday, the 2016 Super2 champion was pleased to take the excitement of Friday evening into the rest of the weekend.

“It was the first time for me, and I’d like to do it again,” he said.

“We didn’t have any corners to worry about; once you’re plucking gears, you can see the fans along the sidelines, and they’re qute close.

“It was a cool atmosphere, and I’d love to do it again."