IN four short years, Ian Galbraith has turned his Subaru modification business, Swiftune, into a force to be reckoned with on the drag strip as he captured the 2014 National Drag Racing Circuit (NDRC) Team Championship.

“We knew we were champions from the penultimate round and celebrated with a big party,” Galbraith told Auto.

According to Galbraith, Team Swiftune was eleven years in the making, providing support for his many customers looking to fix, upgrade or modify their various Subaru high-performance models.

“It was the right time and right setting with the NDRC,” he said.

With Swiftune almost 50 members strong, he whittled it down to himself and two others, Jason Moses and Nicholo Hamilton, who would compete full-time in the 2014 NDRC season. They gained enough points to cement the Team Championship, beating the six-man team of SpecsTuning with 311.67 points to their 197.67. Swiftune’s hard work was also validated by the fact that Moses and Hamilton took home individual prizes themselves. Moses is NDRC 13-second class champion and Hamilton 12-second class champion.

“The team championship is more important for me,” Moses said.

Having been a lifelong friend of Galbraith, Moses had no problem supporting the effort in his 2001 Subaru Impreza WRX STI, which he describes as extremely modified to Swiftune specifications.

“It’s been about consistency and reliability this year. I’m moving to the 12-second class for 2015,” he said.

For Hamilton, both titles held equal weight.

“I saw the light and switched from an Evolution to a Subaru,” Hamilton said proudly.

His 1998 WRX, owned for six years now, was purchased stock and then underwent its current modifications at the hands of Galbraith. He takes pride in the fact that his car took the 12-second class in full street trim, that is, with its standard interior in place. He will also shift downward into the 11-second class.

For 2015, Swiftune is planning a full title defence, adding new member Brian Thompson and his 2001 WRX STI to fill the spot left in the 13-second class. Galbraith’s achievement isn’t just local, as his successful year has gone a long way to change the image of Subaru in a sport normally dominated by their rival brand model, the Mitsubishi Evolution.

“Roughly half of our social media followers are from overseas and it’s been causing people to move into drag racing, which is the traditional stomping ground of the Evo,” he said.

CAPTIONS

0557: The cars of Swiftune. (PHOTOS: RORY DALEY)

0627: (from left) Nichola Chung, Jerome Chung, Tanya Thompson, Simmoy Simpson, Andre Young, Ian Galbraith, Ashli O’Connor, Bryan Thompson, Jason Moses, Nicolo Hamilton, and Keone Williams of Swiftune — the 2014 National Drag Racing Circuit (NDRC) Team Champions.

0583: (from left) Jason Moses in his NDRC 12-second class winning 2001 Subaru Impreza WRX STI, with NDRC 13-second class champion Nicholo Hamilton, who will both be moving down one class each to make space for the latest Swiftune member Brian Thompson.