Profile The Anthill Mob
THE Minchington family are legendary in NZ drag racing, not least for their longevity and consistency. It seems like they’ve been racing for a lifetime, and not a particularly short one either. But although they’ve been part of the furniture within Pegasus Bay Drag Racing Club and Ruapuna Dragstrip for almost 40 years, they’re never complacent.
It was a privilege to present Bill Minchington with his NZ Hot Rod Magazine 200-mph Club red hat recently, following his 200.54 pass at Masterton Motorplex in February. Bill and his band of brothers (and nephews) are better known as The Anthill Mob, and that 200-mph red hat could just as easily been presented to Clinton Minchington, as he and Bill alternate driving duties in the family Funny Car. At the time of writing, which is Lockdown Time, Clinton has run 199 mph! (their first 6). Their brother, Owen Minchington has been there from the start of The Anthill Mob’s racing career, and another brother, Lloyd Minchington, known as ‘Dodge’, has owned an early Falcon racecar (ex-Pete Plumridge) for several decades, purchased way back when Lloyd was Pegasus Bay Drag Club’s Track Rep for NZDRA. Lloyd, who could pass for a Bond villain stroking a cat, is treating the Falcon, a genuine US ’61
