Veteran Funny Car racers Peter and Helen Russo are targeting a return to racing on home soil for the 2009/10 Australian Drag Racing season.

Four-time Australian Funny Car Champions, the Russos have based their racing in the USA since the 1999 season.

Self-funding their limited campaigns, the Russos won the 2000 AHRA Funny Car World Finals held at Spokane, Washington, defeating a field that included two-time NHRA World Champion Cruz Pedregon and NHRA national event winner Gary Densham.

The Russos ran a best of 5.035 seconds with their Dodge Avenger Funny Car at the NHRA Automobile Club of Southern California Finals at Pomona, California in November, 2006, before the debut of a new Chevrolet Monte Carlo the following season.

Veteran Funny Car racers Peter and Helen Russo are targeting a return to racing on home soil for the 2009/10 Australian Drag Racing season.

Four-time Australian Funny Car Champions, the Russos have based their racing in the USA since the 1999 season.

Self-funding their limited campaigns, the Russos won the 2000 AHRA Funny Car World Finals held at Spokane, Washington, defeating a field that included two-time NHRA World Champion Cruz Pedregon and NHRA national event winner Gary Densham.

The Russos ran a best of 5.035 seconds with their Dodge Avenger Funny Car at the NHRA Automobile Club of Southern California Finals at Pomona, California in November, 2006, before the debut of a new Chevrolet Monte Carlo the following season.

With a number of significant rule changes implemented during the 2008 season, they shipped their Funny Car operation back to Australia late last year to regroup.

“The chassis changes implemented by the NHRA meant it was better for us to bring our car back to Australia and reassess our US plans,” Helen Russo said.

“In the meantime, the Funny Car class experienced a resurgence last summer and the ENZED New Year international Funny Car Series at Willowbank Raceway was an outstanding success.

“We sat back and watched some impressive performances from the Australian Funny Car racers, like Damien Harris and Mark Sheehan, and now there’s talk of Gary Densham returning for another series.

“Peter and I have a passion for Funny Cars and rather than sit back this summer we need to occupy our time doing something we love – and that’s race. The opportunity to race quality drivers like Densham, Harris and Sheehan is too good to miss.

“We have almost everything we need to go racing in place and our intentions are that if we can put together a good crew and sponsorship support then we will contest the upcoming races this summer.”

The Russos have four Australian Funny Car Championships to their credit, four Australian Nationals victories and numerous ANDRA national event wins.

They also won four USA v Australia Funny Car Series, defeating NHRA event winners Densham and the late Al Hofmann, are members of the Goodyear Australian Five Second Club, they were the first ever Funny Car racers to top 280mph outside the US, and held the Australian National Speed Record (274.90mph/464.67km/h) for over 13 years, American Densham resetting the mark at Willowbank Raceway earlier this year.
 

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