Jim Read remains an iconic entity in Australian drag racing long after his days of being the country's first driver to exceed 300 miles per hour back in 2000.

Read has since retired, and the Hall of Famer continues to live on the strip though sons Bruce and Phil continue the Read legacy on the drag strip.

The Read family returned to the strip this season for the Santo’s Nitro Thunder and quickly grabbed everyone's attention at Sydney Dragway with the quickest 60-foot ET in Australia at .808 of a second.
 
The weekend the Read family plans to run their “Black Mamba” dragster at the Santo’s Super Thunder, their first outing with the car at Willowbank since 2014.
 
“We have experienced many wonderful moments in Queensland, from racing at the old Surfers Paradise Raceway to one of the best drag strips in the world, Willowbank Raceway,” said crew chief Bruce Read.
 
“We are pretty pumped at the moment. We’ve been itching to get back out on the track and after our last outing in Sydney; the “Black Mamba” has shown it has the performance.
 
“We have been basically testing at our last two outings because we had completely changed our combination. As such, we are sneaking up on it and trying not to hurt parts, which is always a good thing. The original plan was to remain racing in Sydney, however, we are very encouraged by our performance so made the decision to go to Willowbank.
 
“I’m really impressed with our new team. You could almost say that this is version two of Jim Read Racing,” grinned Bruce. We have a younger team, and they are performing extremely well considering we have only contested two championship rounds this season.
 
"During the two-and-a-half years not racing and putting the Jim Read dragster back together, I got my hands dirty by helping out Santo Rapisarda and his two boys Santo Jr., and Santino. During our rebuild, they have gone above and beyond what you would expect from an opposition team to assist us back on the track.
 
“I also need to thank Jim Oberhofer and Troy Fasching from Kalitta Motorsports. Our family has enjoyed a long friendship with the Kalitta family and team, and the help, advice, and support they have provided to get us back on the track has been nothing short of overwhelming.

"In addition, I want to acknowledge the support we have received from our fellow Top Fuel team owners. They have offered anything we needed to get us back on the track.
 
“Overall it’s been a humbling few years. Right now our family, crew and sponsors are over the moon and looking forward to getting back in the mix, putting on the best show we can for the fans and hopefully bring home a Gold Christmas tree in the near future.
 
“Top Fuel racing in Australia is looking its strongest in years. We are a united group with the formation of Top Fuel Australia and the racing from all the teams has been competitive, impressive and fast.
 
“The fans are packing the stands and loving the new 400 Thunder “All Run” format. Today it is all about the show and giving the spectators the chance to see all the teams out on the track. From what I’ve seen its working for our sport and that’s a good thing”.