Fastest drag racer in hearse emerges from Tasmania

BURNIE // Even though it sounds bizarre, it's a reality: a man from Tasmania has set a world record last month after he drove a modified 1987 Ford Falcon hearse in Powranna dragway near Launceston in northern Tasmania, according to reports. Shane Hammond, 43, who drove the vehicle over 400 metres in 12.3 seconds, said he was more than one second faster than the previous record holder, from Queensland. A plumber by profession, Hammond said he initially thought that breaking the previous record would be much tougher than it proved to be. "I guess there's all sorts of weird and wonderful machines that come out to play in drag racing," John Hurley, the secretary of the Tasmanian Drag Racing Association, said while commenting about the event.