Eleven nitro outlaw funny cars and a nitro outlaw wheelstander took to the 200-metre strip on Saturday as part of the Drags for Wishes meeting.

They were the headline act across the two days of action, which attracted a crowd of 1500 and included amateur car and bike competitors from across Victoria.

“It was massive,” South Coast Raceway publicity officer Greg Holland said.

“It was only the second round ever of the nitro funny car series and the first one on an eighth-mile track outside the metropolitan area.

“It was a pretty big feather in our cap. It was great to see, the spectators loved it.”

Daniel Schultz in Supa Charger took the class honours ahead of Shane Olive in LA Hooker and Peter Leahy in SuperBad.

Rick Gauci, driving Nitro Express, drove the quickest pass, clocking 4.37 seconds for the 200 metres in a qualifying run. The time was less than 0.4 of a second outside the strip record, set by John Zappia as part of a doorslammer meeting in February 2013.

Holland said the Nitro Sheriff Wheelstander, driven by Greg Leahy, also had fans roaring.

“It was a massive crowd favourite, had the sparks going, the flames going, the sirens going. It was a massive spectacle,” he said.

“It didn’t just go down the track, it turned around and came back.”

The next meeting at South Coast Raceway is the Portland Gazzanats on February 15.