by John Doig, Australian Correspondent
Aeroflow team boss Morice McMillin has an unassailable 140 points lead over his nearest rival and team mate Josh Leahy Josh Leahy.
McMillin has dominated the 2024-2025 season with four consecutive wins after finishing third in round one.
“At the start of the season, we had a team meeting and decided to concentrate not on winning but on developing a new combination,” said McMillin. “Our priority was to find the best way to go fast at the lowest risk. That experimenting all came together at the Winternationals, where we ran a 3.92 at 317 mph and a 3.93 at 325 mph to set a new Australian Funny Car record.”
“We are still looking for more power and ways to improve and will also be unveiling a new body and livery this weekend at Sydney Dragway.”
The final round of the season has attracted five entries, including American Tommy Johnson Junior, substituting for rookie Damon Paton, who is unavailable due to the impending birth of his second child.
Johnson is no stranger to the series, having raced a Funny Car in Australia several times, most recently to third place in Round Four of this season as a replacement for reigning champ Justin Walshe.
“I am excited and honoured to be asked to drive the car and fill in for Damon,” Johnson said. “He has had a good rookie season and hopefully we will do him proud in this final NDRC event for the season.”
“The last time I drove this particular car it ended with a runner-up and I would love to get that Funny Car win this time.”
Third-generation racer Josh Leahy, in his sophomore season, has been the only driver to challenge the all-conquering ‘Supermac’ this season. Taking victory in the opening round and finishing runner-up on three occasions. A PB of 3.93 at the last event, Winternationals, augurs well for his chances this weekend to score his second win of the year.
Justin Walshe will be seeking amends for a disappointing season that includes a best of runner-up to McMillin at the Nitro champs in May.
The hard-luck story of the season belongs to Northern Territory racer Adam Murrihy. After a narrow loss to Leahy in the final of the season opener, Murrihy then missed the next four rounds. Then, to compound his woes, he was declared medically unfit to race at the Winternationals in June after travelling to the event.
“We started the year on the front foot, narrowly losing to Josh at The Bend,” explained Murrihy. “I missed the second round when the event was rescheduled due to the weather and I had already booked a holiday with the family in Europe. I then injured my shoulder riding a dirt bike and was forced to sit out the next four events. To say I’m looking forward to going racing again is an understatement.”
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