If you haven't already heard it – or smelt it – Summernats is well and truly underway in the capital. Tens of thousands of car enthusiasts have made the annual pilgrimage travelling from near and far. While many were having fun, some people took it a bit too far with ACT Police keeping a close eye on the crowds.
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00:00The gift of grief.
00:03Well, I've got to try not to cry. It's a legacy.
00:07Yeah. You know, it's a...
00:10It was blue. They kept us together. Not that we needed it.
00:14Before Sam Fennick died, he started restoring his LJ Tirana.
00:19Excellent man. Top load. Gentleman.
00:22Happy to talk to anybody, help anybody. Family man.
00:26The professional drag racer from Western Sydney
00:29died in a crash at a racing meet near Brisbane in 2023.
00:33Almost two years on, Sam's loved ones have unveiled his legacy
00:37at this year's SummerNats.
00:39Let's race. That's what he'd say. Let's go race.
00:41It did have a test run in May at his son's wedding.
00:44It meant everything, yeah.
00:46Me and my brother drove to the church, obviously,
00:49and that was pretty cool.
00:51Luke Bond's 1957 Chevrolet was another highlight for RebHeads.
00:55Driven entirely with hand controls,
00:57it allows him to put pedal to the metal at the touch of a fingertip.
01:01It is a little bit difficult because you can only steer with one hand,
01:04so it makes it a little bit hard.
01:06If drag racing isn't your thing,
01:08maybe the mullet competition or watching the burnouts is.
01:12I like the noise. Yeah.
01:14Seeing the cars skid.
01:15For some, it's like a religion.
01:17I just come out, you know, I guess it's...
01:19If you're a car enthusiast, this is like the pilgrimage you make.
01:22Fantastic. This is our third year here
01:24and it just keeps getting bigger and better every year.
01:26But the fascination was lost on others.
01:29What's your favourite thing about cars?
01:31Food. Oh, food. OK.
01:33The best part about it is eating.
01:35With temperatures hitting the early 30s today,
01:37these car fanatics are cooling down their engines any way they can.
01:41Got to keep my hydration up.
01:43How often do you get slushies up?
01:45That's a question you don't want to ask.
01:48But on everyone's lips is how closely security will be watching
01:53after a brawl between crowd safety guards and patrons last year.
01:57We've got a team of around 40 people that work through here.
02:00This centre runs 24 hours a day.
02:02We've got nearly 50 CCTV cameras around the venue,
02:06sort of helping us identify not just problems,
02:09but where things might need a bit of assistance.
02:11So there'll be several hundred security guards out on ground today.
02:14Also on patrol, ACT Police,
02:16who have issued more than 20 move-on notices,
02:1940 traffic infringements and have seized two cars since Thursday.
02:23It remains unclear how many people have been charged with offences.