The opening round of the 2024-2025 Australian drag season will take place at Dragway at The Bend in rural South Australia on October 18-20 against a raft of off-season changes that will impact the short and long-term future of the sport.

The most significant change has been to the ownership structure of the governing body, Out There Productions, the management group responsible for running the sport, under the auspices of promotor Andy Lopes.

Rapisarda Autosport International star Wayne Newby will celebrate his 10th season in Top Fuel at the opening round of the 2024-2025 season.

Newby debuted with RAI at the 2014 Australian Nationals at Sydney Dragway, qualifying fifth and losing to current racer Peter Xiberras in round two.

Top Fuel and Nitro Funny Car will spearhead the opening round of the 2024-2025 NDRC season at Dragway The Bend in rural South Australia on 18-20 October.

Top Fuel will have a six-round championship series and will be joined by Funny Car on five occasions. Top Fuel will be the sole Nitro class at the Perth Motorplex Westernationals in March.

Both categories will appear at the premier event on the Aussie calendar, the Winternationals, at Willowbank Raceway in June. This event also doubles as the final round of the 2024-2025 championship.

The Kalitta Motorsports Top Fuel team of Doug Kalitta and Shawn Langdon has packed quite the 1-2 punch this season in the NHRA.

Kalitta and Langdon have each won two races, and they are first and third in third in the points standings after eight events.

They show no sign of slowing down at race No. 9 on the national circuit, the PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals in Richmond, Va., this weekend.

Bob Tasca III has had a decent 2024 season in NHRA’s nitro Funny Car class.

He arrived at the PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals in Richmond, Va., this weekend fifth in the season points standings on the strength of his win at the Four Wide Nationals in Las Vegas April 14.

Tasca got his weekend off on the right foot in Richmond as he ended up in the No. 1 spot with his 4.024-second run at 320.74 in Q3. This was Tasca’s first No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 17th of his career.

Through his decorated NHRA career Greg Anderson has a couple of incredible statistics: 105 national-event wins, most all-time in Pro Stock, and 125 No. 1 qualifying positions.

Make the latter 126 – third most in NHRA history.

Anderson claimed the No. 1 qualifying spot at the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn., on Saturday, clocking a 6.615-second elapsed time at 205.38 mph.

NHRA’s Pro Stock Motorcycle class has been completely dominated by Gaige Herrera in the past year and a half.

Well, for at least one day – Saturday – Matt Smith stepped back into the PSM spotlight.

Smith, a six-time world champion (2007, 2013, 2018 and 2020-22), won the #2Fast2Tasty Pro Stock Challenge and took the No. 1 qualifying spot at the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn.

Smith took the title at the #2Fast2Tasty event by defeating his wife, Angie Smith, clocking a 6.802-second run at 199.05 mph to upend end her 6.951-second pass.

Rapisarda Autosport teammates Wayne Newby and Damien Harris will face off to decide the winner of the 2023-2024 NDRC Top Fuel championship following the last-minute withdrawal of their nearest rival Phil Lamattina from the final round at Willowbank Raceway, June 6-9
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“The decision to not race follows the sudden passing of ‘Uncle Tony,’ a beloved uncle and integral supporter of the team,” said team owner-driver Lamattina. “‘Uncle Tony’ was not only a cherished family member but also a cornerstone of our support system. His passing has left a significant void, and our immediate focus is on family and honoring his memory; the Lamattina family appreciates the understanding and support from fans, sponsors, and the racing community during this challenging time.”

Two-time Fuel champ Peter Xiberras recorded his first win since January 2023, scoring superb back-to-back wins at the Gulf Western Nitro Champs at Sydney Dragway, May 17-19. 

Xiberras also become the fifth individual winner of the season.

“This is unbelievable,” said Xiberras. “It has just been one of those weekends where things have fallen into place. I can’t thank my crew enough – we were here past midnight working on the car. There was a problem we thought with the diff; we probably didn’t need to change it, but we did to make sure, so we pulled the diff out and put the spare in. These boys and girls are just amazing individuals, and I can’t thank them enough.”