Garth Hogan
Garth Hogan is a typical/atypical racer. He is typical in that he was interested in cars, speed and involvement at a very young age and couldn’t wait to get his driver’s license when he turned 15. He is atypical in that he has been a drag racer, a dry lakes racer, an oval track racer, owner of a performance equipment wholesale/retail establishment, owner of a racetrack and he is an active airplane pilot (specializing in but not limited to, old Warbird aircraft).
Garth began his drag racing career in an injected, small block Chevrolet powered dragster in 1974. Finding good parts and reliable information in New Zealand has never been easy but when Garth entered the sport it was nearly impossible. Much of his performance information came from publications such as Hot Rod and Car Craft Magazines and a lot was simply trial and error. It was partly because of his efforts to find good, reliable parts that Garth founded his Pioneer Auto Parts business.
Always seeking to go quicker and faster, in 1976 Garth partnered with Grahame Berry in a Ford Capri bodied Fuel Funny car with firstly a 392 and then 426 power in which he became the first New Zealander to run 200mph. In 1982 he moved on to a KB powered Top Fuel dragster. Like all dedicated racers, over the years Garth continued to field new cars with improved and better parts and in 1987 he became one of the first racers outside the U.S. to post a sub-5 second E.T. with a 5.90 E.T. at 238.09 mph. Later that season he ran 5.68 at 242mph which at the time was the quickest time recorded outside America. While Garth worked with and listened to numerous people over the years, but he credits two American’s with providing him with his best and most lasting and helpful advice and friendships early on in his career. One was Venolia Piston Co. owner and top-notch racer, Joe Pisano and the other was Carl Olson, NHRA’s Vice President of International Relations, President of FIA and legendary drag racer.
In 1972 he began importing and selling VHT paints on a part time basis and was successful enough to begin adding other major performance parts brands to his import list as time passed. He took the big plunge of opening his performance parts company, Pioneer Auto Parts the following year and began traveling back and forth between New Zealand and the US buying parts for the store, better parts for his race car and learning more about how to make his equipment better and faster.
To add to his racing activities, in 1988 he purchased and revamped Thunderpark Raceway located near Hastings, New Zealand. To complement and help promote Thunderpark, that same year Garth opened the doors on a new drag racing newspaper, Strip Talk.
In 1994 he expanded his automotive activities to include airplanes, obtaining his pilot’s license and in 1996, his first airplane, a pre–WW2 Tiger Moth biplane followed by a Yak 52 and then a P40 Warhawk. In addition to owning and flying them, in 1998 he founded Pioneer Aero Restorations to restore old war bird planes.
Around the same time, he was also appointed as New Zealand’s representative on the FIA Drag Racing Commission, a position he held for 5 years working closely with Carl Olson who was the Commission’s President
Today, he is retired from racing, has sold his businesses and is enjoying some leisure time attending various automotive and airplane events but along the way he established some enviable records including but not limited to:
Apart from a brief period in 1979 held the outright New Zealand Drag Racing record, bettering it continuously over the years, from 1978 thru to 2007….29 years
Won NZ Top Fuel title 7 times.
Member of the Australian 5 second Club
His XF/BFR Ford Flathead HiBoy Roadster set a new record for the class at Bonneville of 170+mph in 1998 and then raised it during 3 more trips to Bonneville to over 189 mph with a best of 193+mph in 2008.
