Competitors keep their cars pristine at Summernats, Australia’s premier car enthusiast festival, but if they’re signed up for the national mullet contest, they know they’ve got to keep their hair filthy.
“I usually let it do its own thing,” says Cody Felton, who came down to Canberra for the festival this weekend from the NSW central coast with his friend Nathan Blanch. “Just brush it every now and then, wash it twice a week and that’s about it, got to keep it dirty.”
Mullet Competition entrants Cody Felton and Nathan Blanch.Credit: Martin Ollman
“Got to keep dirty,” agrees Blanch. “Just makes it frizz out nice and thick ... We just keep it clean and dirty at the same time. You know, if it gets a bit oily, you wash it, obviously. As long as it’s dry, a bit of dirt don’t hurt”.
The duo know the competition is stiff.
“I know there are some big mullets out there, it’s going to be pretty hard,” Blanch says. “There are some filthy ones,” Felton adds.
Mulletfest organiser Laura Johnson – who sports an immaculate platinum blonde version herself – roams the grounds signing up car enthusiasts with the right look for the competition, which she launched in 2018 in the town of Kurri Kurri west of Newcastle, where she was the publican at the Chelmsford Hotel before selling up last year.
But Summernats is just the start. It’s the first Mulletfest heat of the year, with several others across Australia leading to a grand final in the Hunter Valley in December. Entrants don’t pay a fee to enter in the nation’s capital, but donations are collected from spectators for the Mark Hughes Foundation in the fight against brain cancer.
There is no money in victory.
“The Mulletfest win isn’t about the prize, it’s about the glory,” Johnson tells contestants. “We aren’t playing for sheep stations, it’s all for the bragging rights”.
Mulletfest organiser Laura Johnson (far left) with some of this year’s contestants. Credit: Martin Ollman
On Friday, Canberra’s EPIC showground – which typically smells of farmer’s market sourdough or best-in-show dogs – is filled with the metallic tang of rubber and diesel as crowds gather for the first day of the burnout masters elimination championships.
Tires scream on the tarmac in front of a capacity crowd, who cheer through a haze of billowing smoke so thick you can barely see the person next to you.
Many dress in the unofficial Summernats uniform – shorts and shirts decorated like pyjamas with food (tacos, vegemite, watermelon) and accessorised with wraparound polarised sunglasses.
A steady flow of gleaming show cars loop the grounds, as drivers rev their engines or indulge in the occasional spin of their wheels, ignoring the “no burnouts” sign above.
Rows of model cars park inside sheds, so onlookers can marvel at the creativity of fellow petrol heads.
Organiser and co-owner of Summernats Andy Lopez says the festival draws in some of the keenest motoring enthusiasts in Australia.
“Seeing 2500 cars show up and 100,000 awesome people who come here to party with it, it’s a festival like nothing else in the world and it’s just an amazing four days,” he said.
The event has been running every year since 1987 and Lopez said planning for it was a year-long commitment which made the festival all the more rewarding.
“There’s a lot of great processes in place but it is a big beast to pull together. We work really hard, work with government, police, health, roads and the community have pulled it all together,” he said.
“We get people from all around Australia and also from around the world coming to Summernats. It’s a bucket list event for anyone who loves cars, whether you’re here in Australia or internationally.”
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