Western Australian Kyle Putland will unveil a new set of wheels at the opening round of the 2023-2024 National Drag Racing Championship on October 21-22.
Putland has taken delivery of a Bill Miller-owned Top Fuel car that NHRA veteran Troy Buff raced.
Questioned how someone who races in Western Australia buys a Top fuel car from an American team owner in Reno, Nevada, 9310 miles away, Putland explained.
“It came about through Rory Taylor, the Australian distributor for Bill Miller Parts in Australia. Rory has been dealing with Bill for a long time – over 30 years – and pretty much put the whole deal together. I bought the car unseen. Rory and I went over to Reno, had a tour of Bill’s workshop, packed up the car and shipped it to Australia. I’m a bit bigger than Troy but I fit comfortably in the car.”
“The car only arrived in July this year and came with a lot of Bill’s components. We haven’t done a lot to the car.”
“From memory, the car has gone 3.76, which should make it super competitive when we go racing this season.”
Putland, best known for his exploits in Competition Eliminator and Nostalgia Nitro Funny Car, made his debut in Top Fuel at his home track, the Perth Motorplex, in November 2022, where he qualified fifth and finished fifth.
“We’ve had a truly amazing weekend,” said Putland. “We started out smoking the tires during the first two qualifiers and ended the meeting getting down the track with a 4.30 and 250 mile per hour at half-track. The other Top Fuel teams were fantastic and said to me if there’s anything you need, we’re here to help you.”
“Our Plan is to go testing at the Perth Motorplex in the next couple of weeks before heading east for the first round of the season to be held at Dragway At The Bend in South Australia next month,” Putland added.
