When Jade Kurray received a shock diagnosis of brain cancer, she made a snap decision to buy a hotted up pink Commodore. 

Two years later, and with a clean bill of health, she finally had a chance to show it off in a street parade through Alice Springs in front of 25,000 revheads from across the country.

"It was just one of those heat-of-the-moment things," Ms Kurray said.

"I was like, 'Pink car – that is me'."

Described as "the ultimate festival of wheels", Red CentreNATS rolled into Alice Springs for its ninth instalment over the weekend, delighting motor enthusiasts with high-octane drag racing, burnouts and motorkhana.

The event also boasted the only permit in Australia that allowed unregistered and highly modified vehicles to be driven on public roads for a glitzy and glamorous street parade.

"One of the most special things about the Red CentreNATS is the way that the town and the city embraces the event," festival director Andy Lopez said.

"It's not a transplanted event. It grew out of a community desire to have this type of festival here and, as such, the Red CentreNATS was built to meet those expectations and desires.

"Everytime we come to Alice Springs, the town and the people throw their arms open and welcome us, and that's really different to what you might sometimes get in metropolitan areas."

Revheads travel from near and far

For Cody Free, who travelled from Tasmania for his third Red CentreNATs, it was the "killer atmosphere" that kept him coming back for more.

The Pro Class burnout competitor was focused on ticking all the boxes for the judges this time around.

"You want constant smoke, big smoke, do all the corners of the pads, then there's the exit shoot," he said.

"We built the car from the ground up … so a lot of hours have gone into it, and a lot of money as well, as you can see."

Other fan favourites of the event include the show'n'shine – giving car owners the opportunity to show off their prized rides — grudge racing for amateur drivers wanting to duke it out on the drag, and the Mulletfest competition.

NT Major Events Company (NTMEC), the government-owned body that runs Red CentreNATS, has pushed to make the annual festival one that can be enjoyed by the whole family.

"People just love coming to celebrate what they love, which in this case is a lot of drag and a lot of racing and a lot of motorsport activities," chief executive Suzana Bishop said.

She said there were about 600 entrants in this year's street parade, a substantial drop on the 2022 event where a tourism surge after pandemic restrictions eased resulted in more than 1,000 participants.

Entries have already opened for Red CentreNATS 2024, which will mark the festival's 10th anniversary.