Chris Hollingworth will be the first to tell you that his entrance to the Top Alcohol ranks has so far gone pretty much the way he imagined it would. With a new car, new team, and two years of experience as a crew member on Ben Bray’s championship-winning Funny Car, he knew that the learning curve would be daunting.

Armed with that knowledge, and doing their best to maintain a firm grip on reality, Chris and team owner Philip Roebuck set out to purchase and race the sister car to Ben Bray’s national E.T. record-holding rocket. Their 2000 Firebird Top Alcohol Funny Car, bristling with supercharged horsepower courtesy of engine tuner and long-time friend Victor Bray, will be an instant hit with ANDRA fans.

After winning several Super Charged Outlaw national events, Chris has been on a steep learning curve. By starting from the basics, Chris and his crew are bringing their deep blue machine up to its full potential, confident that they will have a quick, and most importantly, consistent race car.

Proof of that was the impressive performance Chris turned in at their last test session at Queensland’s Willowbank Raceway two days ago. He laid down a few solid burnouts and came back with a very straight full pass for his license.

“We need to sacrifice short-term success for long term reliability,” Chris said. “It’s going to be tough, but we’ve done our best to prepare for it. We’ve got a great car now. It has always gone as straight as a string, but now we have the power to go with it.”

The Roebuck Racing sleek 2000 Firebird will be taking to the track this coming weekend at Willowbank Raceway. The event, the 41 st Australian Nationals, is the second race on the 2006/2007 ANDRA Drag Racing Series schedule.