Local hero Phil Read etched his name in the record book after fending off Peter Xiberras in the final round of the Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel championship at Sydney Dragway. 

“It was great to race against Peter,” said an elated Read. “I went a little bit deep on the line and Pete did as well but shouldn’t beat himself up too much. I wasn’t sure I had won until the officials came up and told me because, when I pulled the ‘chutes, Peter went flying past.”

Veteran owner-driver Phil Lamattina led down NHRA legend Larry Dixon in the B final and RAI star Wayne Newby came from behind to account for rookie Shane Olive in the C final.

The first-ever event on the ATFC calendar is being hailed as a stunning success after race starved fans flocked to the Western Sydney venue for the first fuel meet since May 2021. Organizers were coy about attendance figures, but a near-capacity crowd packed the grandstand on race day. 

This was a  significant achievement, considering NSW is in the midst of a significant Omicron outbreak. 

The two-day meet was held under strict social distancing protocols and masks were compulsory.

“This has been an amazing event,” said Phil Lamattina. “When we towed around in first round, I looked up to the grandstand and when I saw the crowd, I got goosebumps. Sydney fans love Top fuel racing and against all the odds, including the threat of rain on the day, they still turned up in droves.”

The traditional ladder format was replaced with the all-in format. There were two qualifying rounds to seed the field, followed by two rounds of paired racing with 30 points up for grabs for a win and 10 for a loss.

The top two in points then faced off in the A-main with third and fourth racing in the B final followed by a C final. 

Qualifying became an intriguing game of cat and mouse, with all teams chasing the prized number one spot. 

Reigning Australian champ Xiberras stamped his authority on the field – claiming pole with a solid 3.83, 290 mph pass ahead of Read and Olive. 

NHRA star Dixon was fourth, one spot ahead of his RAI teammate Wayne Newby. Rounding out the field was Lamattina, who smoked the tires on both runs.

The two powerhouses of Australian racing Xiberras and Lamattina, faced off in round one. The Carrot King led off the line and was headed for the win until smoking the tires near half-track allowing  Xiberras to take the honors with a 3.86, 316 mph. 

Despite mixing up cylinders, Phil Read accounted for Wayne Newby, who lost traction before the 330 feet mark.

The Olive and Dixon clash was the highlight of the round.

Olive, who only recently licensed and entered the meet with a mere six laps on his CV, took the challenge right up to Dixon until losing traction and dropping a cylinder near half-track. 

Xiberras translated a .02 reaction time into a comfortable win over luckless Newby, who tossed a belt in the second round. 

Olive smoked the tires on the hit against Read, who also dropped a cylinder mid-track and Lamattina edged out Dixon, who hazed the tires and tossed a belt.

The final round saw Newby bounce back in spectacular fashion with a superb come from behind win over Olive to claim fifth. ‘Newbs’ speed of 319 mph was the fastest of the weekend.

Rookie Olive, disappointed to go down to Newby, rated his overall performance   as ‘maybe a five or six.’

“I get the easy job and sit in the car and have fun,” said Olive. “The guys on the crew should get all the credit. They deserve to get a ten out of ten.” 

The Dixon versus Lamattina race for third and fourth was worth the price of admission on its own. Lamattina bolted away on the green and held off Dixon to win with a 3.88, 313 mph to Dixon’s 3.89, 298 mph and claim third place on the podium.

“When we went to start the car, the reverser wasn’t working,” said Dixon. “ It took some time to change it, and everyone, including the fans, patiently waited for us. In all the time I’ve been coming to Australia, I’ve never seen the stands as packed. I think it’s great they are trying something different with the show and it appears to be working. I love coming to Australia and this was a great event.”

Fittingly, the final featured the two dominant racers of the meet – Xiberras and Read. The highly-anticipated showdown ended on the green. Read cut a .077 light and disappeared into the distance. Xiberras, with a .189, was forced to play catch up and came up agonizingly short with a 3.82 to Read’s 3.89.

PIT NOTES

* A surprise guest in the RAI pits was Australia’s number one Larry Dixon’s fan Grant Dewberry who traveled from Queensland to catch up with Dixon. “When Larry sent me a text to say he was coming to Australia, I jumped online and booked a ticket to go to Sydney,” said Dewberry.

“Larry and I go back nearly 20 years. I’ve been to America about a dozen times see him race. When he comes to Australia, we always catch up. He’s a cool guy. With Covid and travel restrictions, we haven’t been able to catch up in person for a couple of years.” 

* Top Alcohol racer Luke Marsden made his debut in the fuel ranks as a tuner of the Shane Olive entry. Marsden’s Alky career is currently on hold due to a lingering neck injury.

* Calder Park Raceway promoter Peter Psilidis returned to racing in Super Comp. His weekend over after damaging the transmission during qualifying.

* The Shane Olive entry was last driven in January 2019 by NHRA star Cameron Ferre.