Until 2021 Andy Lopes was best known in Australian motorsport circles as the promoter of the Summernats, a four-day celebration of Aussie custom car culture held in Canberra, the nation’s capital that attracts over 100,000 spectators.

Today, as head of the National Drag Racing Championship series, he is arguably the most powerful man in Australian drag racing.

Launched in May 2023, the NDRC incorporates separate championships for Top Fuel and Nitro Funny Car and an expanded National Sportsman series for 2023-2024.

To understand how Lopes rose to such prominence in such a short period, you need to go back to August 12, 2021, when Lopes and co-promoter Nathan Prendergast, along with the four leading Top Fuel team owners, Santo Rapisarda, Peter Xiberras, Phil Lamattina and Jim Read announced the formation of the Australian Top Fuel Championship. 

The decision by ATFC to quit the 400 Thunder series, the main body for drag racing in the country and launch their own six-round series sent shockwaves through the Australian drag racing world. 

The ATFC series was an unqualified success. Fans embraced the series and flocked to events in record numbers to witness some of the finest nitro racing this decade. Significantly the series was not aligned with any governing body, venue operator or event promotor. 

Consequently, 400 Thunder lost their main drawcard and, in November 2022, responded by launching a Top Fuel Funny Car series.

The TFFC lasted four meetings before it, and 400 Thunder, disappeared when the NDRC was announced in May 2023. 

Recently Lopes sat down with Competition Plus Australia’s John Doig to discuss his meteoric rise to prominence in the world of drag racing and plans for the NDRC. 

COMPETITIONPLUS AUSTRALIA - TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE NDRC CAME INTO EXISTENCE, WE NEED TO GO BACK TO THE FORMATION OF THE ATFC IN 2021. HOW DID THAT COME ABOUT?

ANDY LOPES - It all happened in a pretty short time frame. The Top Fuel teams wanted to do something different for drag racing, have a greater say in how the category was run and bring Top Fuel back to national prominence.

That was the starting point. The fuel teams and Nathan Prendergast, who heads up the television side of the series, brainstormed some ideas. Nathan then asked me if I would like to become involved and help to manage the events. From then, it snowballed. The team owners running in the 400 Thunder series at the time, Jim Read, Peter Xiberras and Phil Lamattina, said they wanted to create better opportunities not just for their category but also for other classes in drag racing and on a national level. 

The second biggest thing that happened was that Santo Rapisarda, his boys Santino and Santo Junior came on board; remember, Santo earlier had parked his team and wasn’t racing. They decided to give it a go and said they would return and run with these guys.

The third factor was we would be sanction body neutral. We would race at venues regardless if ANDRA or IHRA AUSTRALIA sanctioned them.

In our first year, we ran six events in the capital cities and country areas, including outback Australia with excellent TV coverage, great crowds, a great entertainment package on and off the track and the teams delivered some outstanding racing. 

 

 

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CPA - IN YOUR SECOND SEASON, TFA JOINS FORCES WITH THE NITRO FUNNY GUYS TO FORM THE NATIONAL DRAG RACING CHAMPIONSHIP. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? 

AL - By the time we got to the Westernationals at Perth in March 2023, we had run 11 championship events in 13 months. The meetings drew big crowds, people were having fun, and we were heading towards unifying the sport without knowing it. By then, there were lots of conversations happening in different places with different people. I spoke to Damien Harris from the Rapisarda team at the Westernationals, who put a couple of ideas to me and Nathan that resulted from conversations ‘Damo’ had been having with his mate in the Funny Car ranks, Anthony Begley. The four of us got together for a chat and then Anthony organized for Graeme Cowin and Morice McMillin from Aeroflow, the sponsors of the Funny Car series, to talk to Nathan and me. It tied into what I’ve thought about drag racing even in the short time I’ve been involved, which is that there are heaps of good people involved who want the best for the sport. Sometimes they don't always get on and their vision for the sport is not always the same, but a lot of the time, if not all the time, it comes from a good space. A couple of conversations set the ball rolling. I had never met him before, but Morice, Nathan, and I sat down, and very quickly, there was a feeling from Morice and the Funny Car people that they wanted to do something like we had done with Top Fuel. Morice also said we needed to bring the sport with us and from then, it became inevitable that it included a national championship.
I reckon within six weeks, we went from having a conversation to announcing the NDRC.

CPA - HOW DO SPORTSMAN RACERS FIT INTO THE NDRC SERIES?

AL - Fitting in Sportsman racing was important and sometimes complicated from a championship point of view. Part of the puzzle was working with ANDRA because they already had a commitment to their Summit Racing Sportsman series. We also wanted an Eastern and Western Conference series format for Sportsman racing and a stand-alone National Grand final meeting. For the racers and fans, we’re not changing the categories or mucking around with things. Once we get up and running, the competitors and spectators will easily understand how the series and racing will operate.

CPA - IN  2022 MILDURA AND HEATHCOTE PARK, BOTH IN RURAL VICTORIA, HAD ROUNDS OF THE ATFC, BUT NEITHER VENUE ARE ON THE 2023-2024 CALENDAR. WHY?

AL - We did have a very good event at Heathcote, but that was only with six Top Fuel cars. There is no room to put on a big, large-scale Group One event at the track yet, but we will see how the venue continues expanding the facility - Heathcote will have a round of the Sportsman Championship. Similar case for Mildura, in terms of space and resources. But Mildura will host the final of the Western Conference Sportsman series. 

 

 

CPA - CALDER PARK RACEWAY WILL HOST A SPORTSMAN ROUND BUT NO TOP FUEL OR FUNNY CAR EVENT.

AL - Calder Park isn’t ready yet, however, the final of the Eastern Conference Sportsman series is being held there in March. Calder Park is the ‘holy grail’ for racing in Victoria. Everyone wants to run at Calder and it’s something we will look at in the future.

CPA - THERE ARE SEVEN ROUNDS OF TOP FUEL, FOUR FUNNY CAR ROUNDS, AND UP TO 20 ON THE SPORTSMAN CALENDAR FOR 2023-2024. IS THERE ROOM FOR MORE EVENTS? 

AL - We’re taking baby steps at the moment. I think it’s up to the racers to make that decision. We will also be actively involved in helping promote and market those regional tracks and events in the Sportsman series to become more successful. 
We need to look at how the first season evolves and then see what we want to happen in the future. 

CPA - THE SERIES WILL RUN FROM JULY 2023 UNTIL JUNE 2024. DID YOU CONSIDER RACING OVER THE CALENDAR YEAR INSTEAD? 

AL - We need to see how things pan out in our first season and will look at it down the track.

CPA - DO YOU ENVISION DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TOP FUEL AND FUNNY CAR SERIES? 

AL - The demands across both series will be the same. Treating all parties with respect and making sure the categories put on the best possible show are critical, whether it be Top Fuel or Funny Car. All sports have their politics and dynamics between the participants. As a racer, what is important is going down the track fast, making your car or bike perform at its best and in front of a good crowd who appreciate and respect your hard work. We are committed to the success of both the Top Fuel and Funny Car programs.

CPA - IN 2022 AND 2023, DARWIN’S HIDDEN VALLEY DRAG STRIP HAS BEEN HOME TO THE FINAL ROUND OF THE TOP FUEL CHAMPIONSHIP BUT IS NOT ON THE CALENDAR FOR NEXT YEAR. WHY?

AL - We were only not coming back next year. We’ve announced a calendar for one year only. It doesn't mean we will be racing on the same tracks in 2024-2025.

CPA - AT THE SEASON'S FINAL ROUND, TOP FUEL AND FUNNY CAR CHAMPIONS WILL BE CROWNED. COULD THERE BE A RUNOFF TO DECIDE AN OVERALL AUSTRALIAN NITRO CHAMP?

AL - I don’t think so. They are racing in different categories; everything will stay in their own categories. We don’t see anything different happening.

CPA - TOP FUEL RUNS OVER 1000 FEET, AND FUNNY CARS RACE THE MORE TRADITIONAL QUARTER MILE. WILL THAT CHANGE?

AL - That sort of issue will be decided by the relevant sanctioning bodies and for the Top Fuel and Funny Car bodies to work out. We are basically event promoters. We rely on the sanctioning bodies to do their due diligence and care on the safety issues around the categories and the distances they run. Both sanctioning bodies in Australia - ANDRA and IHRA - prescribe 1000 feet for Top Fuel. That won't change.