As published in The Western Independent in 2005. Article copyright to Luke Nieuwhof. 

Allan Dobson is a man who lives for the rush of an adrenaline hit. He merges his career in the fire brigade and his passion for drag racing into one adrenaline-fuelled rollercoaster ride.

Both involve dangerous situations but in a life built on the edge it is what he craves.

Dobson races a Nitro Funny Car at the Quit Motorplex in match races against Queensland team the Bailey Brothers. So rare is the Nitro Funny Car breed due to their expense and difficulty in getting down the track that there are only three operating teams in the country.

“A Funny Car represents a family coupe but in a purpose built drag racing vehicle,” he says.

“You need to see a Funny Car in real life to be able to appreciate it.

“We use a full aluminium, 500 cubic inch V8 Hemi motor. They have a supercharger on top compressing air and we burn approximately 65 litres of fuel every run including the burnout.

“Nitro-methane is a chemical explosive fuel, not unlike rocket fuel, and that is what doubles the horsepower. That’s what is intimidating about these motors.”

Dobson drives the Greene Machine, owned by Allan and Cheryl Greene. So while he doesn’t have to worry about the expense side of things you would be foolish to think he doesn’t take his driving very, very seriously. There is no time for mistakes at the 500km/h speeds these nitro demons approach.

“It always scares me to race it,” he says.

“It never used to when I was younger because I didn’t understand as much as I do now. The older I got, the more I understood how sensitive they are, with nitro-methane it can blow up at any moment.

“But it’s a controlled scared, it’s a scared you want to have to make sure you don’t muck up. If you don’t have butterflies you shouldn’t be going to the start line because being complacent is a very dangerous thing.”

Dobson has built up a reputation as one of the finest drivers in Australia. He has raced everything from V8-powered motorcycles to a supercharged small-block Commodore and a methanol-fuelled Funny Car in the Australian Top Alcohol Series.

During his time at the helm of the Castrol Top Alcohol car he travelled as far afield as Japan to race and became one of the better known and respected faces in the drag racing pits.

Danger is something Dobson is frequently exposed to in both drag racing and the fire brigade but he recalls his stories with an air of respect but exhilaration.

“My most frightening moment was when I bumped the fence during a race and the throttle jammed on,” he says.

“I had a runaway five thousand horsepower engine. It hit the wall and exploded. I was white blinded for five minutes after the accident and I took a few moments to work out whether I was in heaven and dead. It wasn’t until Allan Greene started talking to me and I was talking back that I realised it was OK.

“In fire fighting one of the most scary moments is at a difficult car accident when you are trying to free someone and having so much difficulty trying to retrieve the person from a wreck. Whatever you cut you can’t seem to get in there.

“Being lost in a pitch black house on fire trying to find somebody you know is in there gets pretty damn scary. You’re just feeling your way through until you find a person.

“I once was fighting a fire at an industrial place where a forklift was on fire next to a gas cylinder. I had to go in and try to cool the cylinder before it vented. But this thing vented and it blew myself and the other fireman back five metres. We then had to crawl back up a line of hose that was out of control like it goes in the movies and begin cooling it again. You can’t back out, you need to get back in there. That was really scary, that was good that one.”

You know when a man uses scary and good in the same sentence that he is a man with a craving for a rush. It is something Dobson analyses often, he is keen to make sure that the body’s natural boost can be used in the best way possible, be it to keep the Nitro Funny Car in the centre of the track as it wheelstands and spins the tyres or to find the confidence to attack a fire head on.

“The rush becomes a bit of a habit,” he says. “Most firemen are the same. You need a working job as well so that you don’t become too conditioned to the adrenaline. If you go too long in the fire brigade you get in bad moods and your team starts breaking down.

“But the more racing you do and the more jobs in the fire brigade you do, you truly get to like the adrenaline and you start to work well with it. It’s important not to make adrenaline-induced decisions.

“You can try to keep the adrenaline under control but at the race track you want it bubbling so you are right on the ball. A race track is a good place to let the adrenaline flow and I tell a lot of the young guys that pulling up on the start line just gets the adrenaline pumping like you can’t believe, no matter what you are racing. Even after 30 years of drag racing I still get the rush.”

The feeling after the rush is one Dobson struggles to describe. The experience of covering a quarter mile (402 metres) race track in 5.3 seconds and accelerating to 450km/h in the same time is certainly unique.

“After a run you feel like you are in a bath of adrenaline,” he says, seeking an appropriate metaphor for what he is trying to say.

“After the bone-shaking ride you get out and it is such a blast. You feel full of confidence and you can’t wait to run again, you’re in a real adrenaline-induced state so that you are not shy to get in there and do it again.”

Having become conditioned to his adrenaline-enhanced state, Dobson is always wary of his first run in a night at the drags. With flames that shoot two metres out of the exhaust and an engine that produces a sound louder than a jet taking off, his mount is of the most intimidating variety. He says the first run is more about the car taking him for an out of control ride before he is able to come to terms with it.

“Prior to that first run I feel crook, feel sick, don’t feel quite right,” he says. “The stomach is full of butterflies. You try not to think about exploding tyres, exploding engines, fireballs and flames. But it’s only ever a thought away.”

It is fortunate for Dobson that he has the full support of humble team owner Allan Greene. Drag racing is a team sport despite its individual nature on track and Greene knows he has one of drag racing’s most capable drivers on side.

"Dobbo (Dobson) is driving until he decides to pull the pin," says Greene.

"I never gave anyone else any thought, that's the way our team works."

Dobson acknowledges the importance of a good team to keep him safe.

“Fire brigade and drag racing are similar in that they are team sports,” he says.

“You need to be able to work with your team at the top level. You need to be able to communicate with your team, in fire fighting it is one of the most important tools we have.”

The Bailey Brothers Nitro Funny Car team owner Rod Bailey is full of respect for Dobson. His brother Ash’s safety in driving their car relies as much on Dobson being able to keep a hold of his ride as on his own skill.

“I look up to him as the premier Nitro Funny Car driver in Aust, he’s the benchmark,” says Rod.

“He can get a car down a track no matter what it is doing; he never lets the crowd down. That car (now crashed) was a handful and he did well to wrangle it down the track. He’s so determined, he’s not a wuss that is going to get off the throttle at any sign of trouble.”

Dobson speaks confidently and isn’t afraid to say what people think of him.

“My mum always asks, when are you going to grow up, Al?” he says. “People call me a maniac, an adrenaline junkie, a lunatic, some of them say I’m not quite right in the head.

“I think it’s the prerequisite of doing what I do.”