WARWICK drag racer John Loy is gearing up for the Mission Australia Dragfest on October 23-24 after competing in the Queensland team which won the State of Origin series at the Nostalgic Nationals at Willowbank.

Loy drove his LX Torana Hatchback to interstate success at Willowbank and is hoping for a top performance at Dragfest, the biggest drag racing event of the year in Warwick.

He had five passes over the two days and won four of his head-to-head races against NSW opponents.

In the State of Origin competition, points were awarded to each state for wins.

In the final, Warwick Dragway regular Tim Caswell drove his silver Fairlane against original Wild Bunch driver Benny Gatt, from New South Wales, to cap a 49-47 winning performance by the Maroons.

On the Saturday of the nationals, Loy won the Man of the Match trophy in the Origin series, which was judged on burn-outs, consistency and peoples’ choice.

He ran a personal best of 7.52 seconds for the quarter mile (400 metre) strip at a top speed of 182mph.

Loy’s next competition with the LX Torana Hatchback will be in the outlaws class at Dragfest.

Drag racing returns to Warwick on Saturday with a bracket meeting at Morgan Park which doubles as a round of the club championships. Qualifying is from 10am and racing from 3pm to 5pm.