EVENT RESULTS EVENT NOTEBOOK

EVENT GALLERY

 

TOP TAKEAWAYS FROM RACE DAY

 

BIG DEAL - The 2015 Fuchs Winternationals, by all accounts, was a rousing success with more than 35,000 spectators coming through the gates over the four days (June 4-7).

BEEN A LONG TIME - Damien Harris’ title is the first for a Rapisarda team driver since Steve ‘The Pom’ Read in 2002.

Harris had his championship hopes in his hands up until a semi-final loss to Rapisarda International teammate Cory McClenathan, who laid down the low elapsed time while the sun was out with a 4.567. For his part, Harris was top speed from his 321.50 blast in beating Anthony Begley.

LAMATTINA UPDATE – Injured Top Fuel driver Phil Lamattina’s crewchief/team amanager Aaron Hambridge addressed the media on behalf of the team Sunday afternoon at Willowbank Raceway. Saturday’s accident came as a surprise for Hambridge, who was a member of the team in 2007 when Lamattina experienced a similar accident.

Hambridge recalled his emotions immediately following the accident.

"I was stunned when I saw the fuel come out of the car and thought it was smoke," said Hambridge. "Then I saw something take off and thought it was a body panel.  When I saw the front wheels and wing, I realized what was going on. I had seen it happen before with the last time. You cannot see the car here at Willowbank, so I began looking at the big screen.

"I was hoping to see him angry, throwing his gloves and helmet. But he didn't."

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION – Immediately following the Lamattina accident, ANDRA Competition Manager Brett Stevens (not the former racer) emailed photos of the crashed chassis to NHRA VP of Operations Graham Light. Sources indicate the NHRA’s Technical Department will join ANDRA in an investigation to determine the cause of now two identical crashes where the chassis has broken in half during a run.

 

 

BOOK ‘EM DANNO – Both Pro Stock finalists Lee Bektash and Neno Cavallo were running engines by American Bob Book.

YOU CANNOT MAKE THIS UP – Both Top Doorslammer finalists had an odd road while passing through the semis. In the first pair, Paul Cannuli scored the victory behind the wheel of his ex-Mike Janis Duster when Ben Bray turned in a -.013 foul. Cannuli unaware of the foul, left the starting line with a .404 reaction and ran a 6.01 elapsed time in a frantic game of catch-up, all the while collecting the 1,000-foot timing cone. Bray was reinstated.

The second pair was odd as well when Mark Belleri left before tree was activated again John Zappia an easy win.

THE POM IS ONE AND DONE – A day after thundering to the No. 1 qualifying spot in Top Fuel, Steve “The Pom” Read lost a pedalfest match against Wayne Newby in the final round.

FINAL NOTEBOOK – CHAMPIONS CROWNED AS ANDRA CLOSES 2014 – 2015 SEASON

SHOCK AND AWE -  There was spectacular, and there was the exclamation mark Cory McClenathan put on his victory at Willowbank Raceway. McClenathan ended Wayne Newby's championship hopes in a blaze of glory, as his dragster's engine flamed out at mid-track and continued the length of the quarter-mile.

Earlier McClenathan had earlier disposed of West Australia’s Mark Sheehan in round one, before running an impressive 4.567-second pass at 304.87 miles per hour to drive around newly christened champion Damien Harris.

"No way I was lifting," McClenathan said. "In a final round like that your orders are to drive it to the finish line no matter what. I kept waiting on him to go around me; Newby was there."

McClenathan ran a 6.645 elapsed time at only 141.59 miles per hour on a run where he admitted the car didn't sound right on the burnout.

"After the burnout, while I was backing up, I could hear the engine popping," McClenathan explained. "I wasn't sure what was going on. I knew it wasn't perfect but not about to let it slow us down."

One round earlier McClenathan recorded low elapsed time of the meet as he ran 4.567 to eliminate newly crowned champion and teammate Damien Harris.

"To win here for the Rapisarda Family and the memory of Louie is a big deal," said McClenathan. "That is the biggest deal for Santo. At the same time, I have won over in Sydney and now here. I'm excited about this win."

So excited about the prospect of winning, McClenathan admitted her never lifted even though it felt as if the car stopped pulling at mid-track and the massive fireball had flames licking the inside of the cockpit.

"There was nothing going on there in the engine as," McClenthan said of the engine failure. "I certainly didn't help it any. I had it kicked to the floorboard, and wasn't lifting. You don't want to lose by an inch, and even if the engine isn't running, in your mind, you know you can't lift off of the pedal.

"I knew as I reached the finish line it was out of oil and fuel, time to ease up a bit."

Fortunately for McClenathan, Newby's engine also gave up the ghost and coasted to a 10.46 at only 83 miles per hour.

"The car had been throwing flames and sparks all weekend," said McClenathan. "The only good thing about the experience, outside of winning, was it was a cold night and the flames kept me warm."

“This is really cool to do this at the Fuchs Winternationals, I know it is a points deal for everyone and I didn’t want to disrupt that so whoever won, won - but I did not come out here to be second place.

“Santo calls me he expects me to come out here and stand on the gas and not let off and that’s what we did. We hurt some parts doing it we had one good run today and you’ve gotta have a bit of luck in drag racing.

“Thanks to Santo’s Cranes, Rapisarda Autosports, to Santino and Santo Junior who do a great job on their cars, Lee Beard did a fantastic job for me and all the guys over there - it’s a team thing not one guy as they say but thank you to all and to Santo Rapisarda - this is in memory for Louie, and I am just so glad to have brought it home,” he added, in reference to Santo’s son Louie Rapisarda who passed away in the Top Fuel accident in 1990.

ZAP IS PERFECT - Perfection often ends with an exclamation mark. And for newly christened eight-time ANDRA Top Doorslammer champion John Zappia, the final run of a perfect season was a record-setting affair.

Zappia, driving the FUCHS/Striker Monaro reset the national record in winning the FUCHS Winternationals by running a 5.639 to beat Ben Bray, who is competing in his first race since breaking his back at Willowbank Raceway last year.

While he made the effort look so easy, Zappia fought a track with the potential to make one’s life great or a headache.

“We have had issues with the track all weekend; it just kept getting better and better … we just couldn’t keep up with it,” admitted Zappia. “The rattle kept getting worse and worse. The first pass was the best, and it just kept getting more and more challenging with each run. I knew if we left it alone we were going to have an issue.”

Zappia opened the event with a provisional record at 5.73 seconds, but in subsequent passes battled tire shake yet remained consistently in the 5.80s. Seeking a backup for his first record, Zappia still had room to spare as he instead used the .73 as the one-percent confirmation for the .69.

“It took off at the hit, and I was shocked when I hit the shift, and it went,” said Zappia. “I quickly started celebrating to myself, oh my gosh … it made it.”

“I knew it was going to be fast.”

Zappia said he felt the valve springs cause the engine to nose over at the finish line, accounting for a slower than usual 250.97 speed.

For Zappia, it was the final which almost didn’t happen. Zappia confirmed his team went to adjust the clutch and stripped the threads. They were forced to pull the gearbox and clutch-can just 20 minutes prior to the final round call.

“We tapped it, and rethreaded it and finished it all with three minutes to spare,” Zappia said. “We started the car, towed around and got there just in time.”

There was no way Zappia was going to lose this race, much less forfeit. Zappia and the Bray Family, iconic names in Australian doorslammer racing, have ratcheted up their rivalry through comments made recently in the Australian racing media.

“Personally with that mob over there, I could have lost to anyone else but them,” Zappia said. “We just had to get it right. My mum always told me if I didn’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. That’s where I leave it.”

A season where he has won every round of competition at every 2014 – 2015 calendar year, leaves Zappia with the challenge of wondering how he will top this effort next season.

“Every year I wonder,” Zappia said. “But we start in Darwin next year and we have found how to run well there.”

And Zappia understands to have another undefeated season, he must open with a win, and keep winning.

CINDERELLA MOMENT - Brad Lemberg’s victory in Pro Stock Motorcycle capped off a fairytale weekend aboard his father Ross Lemberg’s bike. His scorecard at the end of the weekend included a number one qualifier spot and the lowest elapsed time for the event.

“It feels awesome, it is a dream come true on our rookie meet, I couldn’t be happier at the moment," said Lemberg. "Heading to the final we thought it could go a bit better and added a bit of fuel there, and it looks like it paid off. Dad is going to be stoked; we are just living the dream at the moment.”

Maurice Allen, the 2011 champion, took home this season's series championship.

THIRD TIME IS THE CHARM - Jamie Noonan, behind the wheel of the Noonan Family blown alcohol dragster, finally got his first ANDRA Christmas Tree by beating Steven Reed. Noonan has made it to the finals in both of his two previous event appearances, being unable to race the first due to an event rain-out and unable to front for the second due to mechanical issues.

“That was a great weekend, in qualifying we couldn’t get down the track so we just had to back it down to try and win the race and it all worked out to plan and it was a really good effort. Twice in two years I missed out on the final with rain on one and breaking on the other, so to finally get the win is a great feeling.”

WINNER TAKES ALL, KINDA SORTA - Nino Cavello found a perfect time to secure his first ANDRA national event victory. With the Pro Stock title limited to one official round, the chances the winner of the event could walk away with the series championship. If not for the 20 points awarded to Lee Bektash for staging a match race against Emilio Spinozzi in Aidelade. Bektash and Spinozzi were the only two entrants for the event.

“Unbelievable, coming into the Pro Stock category I didn’t expect to win a meeting to be honest, but to win the Winternationals is just unbelievable – it is out of control," said Cavello. "A big thank you has to go to my crew - they have done unbelievable this weekend, well done also to Lee Bektash - we are real, real happy.”

THE NITRO BIKES - In Top Fuel Motorcycle, Mark Drew clinched back-to-back Australian titles and the event win.

“That is really good, the track has been killer all weekend, in the end we just did enough to win (rounds) to get through to take the win (in the final) and it is happy days as we have back-to-back Australian championships, it’s just great,” said Drew.

THE SPORTSMAN WINNERS -  David Gauldie (Super Gas), Eden Ward (Wallace Bishop Junior Dragster), Ace Edwards (Modified Bike – after just putting his bike back together after crashing at the April national round), Robert Winterburn (Prime Signs/Speed Elec Super Street), Andrew Saliba (Powercruise Super Sedan), Daniel Morris (Top Sportsman), Rob Harrington (Knijff Earthmoving Modified), Josh Fletcher (Donnelly Blasting Services Supercharged Outlaws – 13 years after being title runner-up in Junior Dragster and four years after his father Bill won the title), Ross Smith (Competition Bike), Matt Lisle (Super Compact – purports to be the fastest car in world on a 26-inch tyre.), Rob Nunn (Super Stock) and Wayne Cartledge (Competition).

AT THE TOP OF THE SUMMIT - Taking national titles in the Summit Racing Equipment Series were Graeme Spencer (Super Gas – who last won an Australian title in 2006), Eden Ward (Junior Dragster – winner of the annual Louie Rapisarda Trophy), John Kapiris (Super Sedan – his third consecutive Australian title), Steve Fowler (Top Sportsman – winner of two previous Super Sedan titles), Michelle Osborn (Modified – only the second womanto win a Modifiedi title following Kelly Bettes in 2010), Ross Smith (Competition Bike – his second consecutive title), Dom Rigoli (Super Compact – his second consecutive title) and Al McClure (Competition – second consecutive title).

 

 

 

SATURDAY NOTEBOOK -

WINDING DOWN – Willowbank Raceway is fourteen hours ahead of the NHRA Toyota Summernationals being contested this weekend in Englishtown, NJ. The Fuchs Winternationals will conclude while the United States sleeps. On-track action is scheduled from 8 AM Aussie time (6 PM, EST), with the Opening Ceremonies to be held at 10 AM and all finals from 5.00 PM.

THE POM PUMMELS THE FIELD - While Steve ‘the Pom’ Read blasted his way to the top of the field in Saturday qualifying with a 4.755 second elapsed time at 306.1 mile per hour pass during the evening session.

“To say I was under pressure was a bit of an understatement,” said Read. “We didn’t come out last night because it was that cold there was no point; we haven’t got enough parts to waste on a cold track like that. We knew with Lamattina’s accident we’d be out later still tonight, but it didn’t get as cold as last night. We started up, I let my foot off the clutch and nothing happened. I revved it up, and the car started to move so I thought at least it will move and do something. When I backed up, it was tugging on the motor, and I thought this won’t be too bad. And it just fell down the track.”

THE REST OF THE FUEL FIELD - American Cory McClenathan qualified third from Mark Mariani, Peter Xiberras, Mark Sheehan, Damien Harris and Wayne Newby.

SCARY DÉJÀ VU – Phil Lamattina suffered his second major crash, an accident which appeared eerily similar to one he experienced in 2007 and more recently Larry Dixon’s wild ride at the NHRA Gatornationals in the United States.

Following a lengthy tree malfunction where he and Wayne Newby were staged, Lamattina left the starting line without a green light before the dragster appeared to buckle at the eighth-mile mark. The car broke in two and the driver's compartment floated in the air momentarily before landing on the retaining wall, then track, and sliding to a stop in the shutdown area

Lamattina suffered shattered vertebrae, his team said in a prepared statement.

"The Lamattina family would like to advise that Phil is currently in hospital after suffering shattered vertebrae in today's racing incident. Surgeons have advised that a full recovery is expected and the team will keep everyone up to date with his progress over the coming days. The family thanks all for the well wishes and support."

Phil's brother John, a Top Fuel contestant as well, has withdrawn from competition. The team packed up their team last evening and left the track.

DAD KNOWS BEST, BUT SON KNOWS QUICKER – Top Doorslammer racer Ben Bray, son of Aussie icon Ben Bray, topped his father’s (5.95) personal best when he ran a 5.911-second pass while racing Victor’s ’57 Chevy.

“When I was second quickest on Friday with a 5.973, the old boy was quick to tell me that he still had gone quicker than me – but today I got it done,” said Bray, who is making his comeback to competition this weekend following a severe crash at this event 12 months ago. “The atmosphere and the reception we have been getting here this weekend from the fans has just been phenomenal, I can’t wait for race day.”

BAD, BAD (AS IN GOOD) BEKTASH- Mopar Pro Stock racer Lee Bektash established low elapsed time in the final session of qualifying with a 6.896 elapsed time at a 190.46 miles per hour. Earlier in the day, Bektash along with Emilio Spinozzi wowed the near sellout Willowbank Raceway spectators with the eliminator’s quickest side-by-side pass a 6.917 to 6.922 ET.

“We probably won’t see quicker than 6.89, ‘cause we had to swap the motors and put the old girl back in,” said Bektash. “We don’t want to risk damaging that motor, it’s such a good piece.

“But it ran well today, the tail wagged towards the end so we lost a couple of hundredths in the back half. I reckon today should have been an 6.86. I don’t know what’s going on with that mile an hour trap, I didn’t shut it off coming up to 190 mph so that’s definitely not right. It’s been happening to Nino (Cavallo) as well. All in all we’re happy.

“It’s exciting, the Tremaynes ran well. Spinozzi ran well and Cavallo.  It’s still tight, we’ll put it on kill tomorrow and they’ll know that obviously - that motor’s probably four hundredths slower than the good one. Last year we ran a 6.95 with that engine so it’s no slouch. Ran a 6.99 with it last Sunday so it’s good enough to run with ‘em, we just gotta make sure that we got our ‘A game’ on.”

THE TOP ALCHOL TITLE – Second place Top Alcohol point earner John Cannuli needs to win the event if he is to deny Gary Phillips his 17th series championship. Phillips crashed his Lucas Oil Funny Car on Friday, and was denied the opportunity to continue racing in a back-up car. ANDRA officials told CompetitionPlus.com the “Eddie Hill Rule,” a regular which stipulates a team can bring in a back-up car if one original entry is crashed in qualifying, only applies to the Top Fuel division.

 “We feel really good going into race day, that’s what we wanted (to top qualify), that’s what we’ve been planning on the last few weeks in testing,” said Cannuli. “The car has been good, it took us three qualifying rounds to get it back to where we were last week. We’ll take it one run at time tomorrow and see what happens.”

“We feel really good going into raceday, that’s what we wanted, that’s what we’ve been planning on the last few weeks in testing.”

ROOKIE RIPS FIELD - Rookie Brad Lemberg is making his second event in Pro Stock Motorcycle look easy. He stole the top spot from veteran Maurice Allen after he came out all guns blazing in Q2 recording a 7.197 ET at 183.64 mph.

Lemberg’s provisional No. 1 looked unbeatable until he returned for Q3 with an even better 7.173 elapsed time at 182.55 mph.

“That was my seventh full track pass, so we’ve only tested two meetings prior to this,” said Lemberg. “Pretty happy at the moment. Good to knock Maurice (Allen) off number one, we’ve been fighting backwards and forwards. I’d go out and top qualify and then he’d beat me every qualifying except for that last one. So I’m stoked.

“We should have the bye first round, being seven bikes. That gives us a bit more data with a tune up during the day. We’re expecting tomorrow to have similar conditions throughout the day so we’re pretty confident with a tune up.

“We’re stoked, I give all the credit to Dad for letting me hop on this bike. He made the decision eight months ago to step aside and let me hop on it. And my other crew members Jase and Jeff and Ken. Tune up was awesome this weekend, couldn’t fault it.

"I would just like to thank Pauly and Johnny from VP Racing Fuels Australia, they’ve been helping us out for a number of years. And also R and H Transport Services back home in Mackay, they’ve come on board this year and been a tremendous help financially. And everything goes to them to get me here."

THE SPORTSMAN REPORT - Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series qualifying concluded on Saturday.

Craig Geddes took Competition Eliminator qualifying by storm running two-tenths under the national B/D record with a 7.111 elapsed time ensuring he is the man to beat on Sunday.

But Geddes was the man and after just missing out on the Competition Eliminator championship last year and is feeling confident of going one better in 2015.

“We thought it would run 7.118 or 7.119, that was what we were really hoping for so it was a big surprise to see 7.111,” said Geddes. “We came here with the goal of trying to top qualify, run the record and get the bonus points.

“The car is on song and we’ve got a pretty reasonable handle on it. It’s been a steep learning curve but we're quietly confident we can go a few rounds and hopefully Al (McClure) goes out early and we can bump him off this year!”

Super Stock title chaser Steve Norman had already run .1 under the national C/APA record going into Q3 but he managed to improve once again going .15 under the record with a 7.834 to claim top position for raceday.

“We didn’t want to go that far under the index but we’re in a really good position as far as the points and I’m just trying to stretch a gap between us and Brett Glover from Perth,” said Norman.

“He’s a good boy and they are all good crew over there but I just want to make that gap bigger. We’re more than happy to be where we are in the championship, we’ve been close before but not this close.

“The boys and the girls on the crew are outstanding.”

The top two qualifiers in Competition Bike remained unchanged from Friday as Ross Smith was confirmed number one followed by Blair Pennington. Rob Cassar dropped one place to 6th while Daryn Schuster moved up from 12th to 9th. Smith and Pennington will each have the chance to reset their respective B/AB and C/AB national records when eliminations begin tomorrow.

Scott Porter ran under the national AA/SC record by .03 seconds in the final qualifying session with a 6.312 to take pole in Super Compact. Chris Tait’s 6.683 held firm to hand him 2nd position from Mark Jacobsen, Matt Lisle and newly crowned two-time champ Domenic Rigoli.

Earlier on Saturday morning, the opening round of eliminators were completed for Group Three of the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series.

Defending Supercharged Outlaws champ Doina Day benefitted from the first or worst rule when Day red lit and watched on as Dave Wallace touched the centerline disqualifying him from a certain win.

That meant Day stayed in the hunt for a second title but she will have to get past fellow contender Donald Freind who advanced on a solo. Paul Stephen is also still alive and if he can advance past Jake Donnelly, he will meet the winner of Day and Freind in Round 3 for all the marbles.

Joint Top Sportsman leader Stuart McBain was ousted from the championship race in Round 1 as was 3rd placed Paul Russo leaving Steven Fowler on the verge of clinching the title in Round 2 on Sunday. Fowler advanced past David Roderick but should he lose in Round 2 that opens the door for Graeme Hargrave to steal an unlikely win from 8th in the standings.

Unexpectedly Modified championship leader Michelle Osborn was eliminated in Round 1 by Rolinia Tremayne however Osborn can still win the title if Chris Farrell, Paul Stewart and outsider Jess Turner fail to advance through the points rounds tomorrow.

The Super Sedan championship remains a four-way battle as David Yanko, Stephen Griffin, George Tipouikidis and defending champ John Kapiris all advanced past Round 1.

Edgell Mallis was a surprise elimination in Modified Bike leaving Ian Read and Joe Khoury left to fight it out for the championship. Read and Khoury went through at the expense of Reegan Ward and Rowan Lind.

The Super Street championship is now a two horse race with two-time Super Sedan champion John Kapiris bowing out leaving Enzo Clemente and Harry Harris to fight it out after they negotiated safe passage to Round 2.

In Junior Dragster Eden Ward and defending champion Toby Austin, in his last appearance as a Junior, survived their opening matchups to keep their title hopes alive. Josh Baker and Jordan Spencer suffered defeat simultaneously eliminating both drivers from the running but Jake Cartledge maintained his chances with a first round victory.

Super Gas enjoyed the day off on Saturday and will kick off eliminations on Sunday.

Racing continues from 9am on Sunday.

 

 

FRIDAY NOTEBOOK - DAY ONE OF PROFESSIONAL COMPETITION IN THE BOOKS

ZAPP BLASTS THE COMPETITION - John Zappia set a new Willowbank Raceway personal best with a pass of 5.730 at 253.37 mph. That run headlined a tough session for most teams with only Ben Bray and Marty Dack entering the sub six-second zone with 5.980-second passes.

“It was pretty good, it could have been a bit quicker off the start," said Zappia. “It sort of pulled us a little bit off the start and at the top of low gear it started to spin the wheels and shake a little bit and I peddled it and punched second gear and carried on.

“Probably short shifted a little, but it was a pretty good run. It went pretty well went down the middle - got a bit too close to the wall in the braking area. Just you know having that first pass, especially in the dark it can be pretty hairy for the first one, I usually like to have my first pass during the day, but tomorrow should be good – we got (today) out of the way and the pressure is off.

“Tomorrow we’ll start fine tuning it. Obviously the track should be better tomorrow ‘cause it was a bit slippery for some and we nearly over did it in first gear but it was real close to being a 5.68 run. It’s there - we’ve just gotta fine tune it to this track. We’ll be in the left lane tomorrow; we’ll see how that goes.

“Now that I’m qualified, it’s all going to plan like last year where we started with a senior six and just improved and improved during the day. That’s the plan.”

SCARY MOMENT – Gary Phillips, who led John Cannuli by 68 points in the Top Alcohol points headed into Willowbank, had his weekend ended prematurely as he lost control of his Lucas Oil Funny Car at about the 60-foot mark and impacted the retaining wall in his lane. The car, with a hung throttle, continued down the left lane wall until it came to a stop just shy of the finish line.

“We had a broken oil line, and the oil got under the tire,” said Phillips. “When that happens, you’re not steering the car … you are just along for the ride. I’m fine.”

Phillips has two chassis in his nearby Hillcrest shop, but was undecided as to whether he will prepare one to enter Saturday’s final two sessions.

While Phillips was checked out and released by on-site medical personnel, the same could not be said for his wife Debbie, who was transported to a local hospital with an abnormally high blood pressure.

“The jury is still out on what we are going to do,” Phillips said.

CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLES ON THE LINE – This weekend ends the 2014 – 2015 ANDRA season, as the summer months in the United States are the winter months in Australia.

Only 26 points separate the two leading Top Fuel championship contenders, with Damien Harris leading Phil Lamattina. The smack-talking amongst the competitors is already at full bore.

“What have I got for Damien? Catch me if you can? Don’t panic - I will be there!” said Lamattina. “He (Harris) has an enormous amount (of pressure on him). That’s just trying to shift it at the moment. The pressure is on him because one little slip up and he’s got not only me but his teammate Wayne Newby breathing down his neck.

“If he slips up just that little bit, we can pounce.”

The Top Doorslammer crown has already been clinched as veteran driver John Zappia reeled in his eighth title.

Pro Stock will be a one and done battle as only one round of the series was completed, and even then, it was demoted to a match race as only two cars showed for the event. The VPW Pro Series 1000 at Adelaide International Raceway featured Lee Bektash's Dodge Avenger and Emilio Spinozzi's Chevy Camaro and both were awarded 20 points for their participation.

In the bikes, Mark Drew brought a 55-point lead over Chris Porter for the Top Fuel Motorcycle division while Maurice Allen has a 31-point lead over Ryan Learmonth.

 

BENNIE’S BACK – One year after a harrowing racing accident left him confined to a body brace with three fractured vertebrae, six fractured ribs and bruising to his lungs, Ben Bray is back racing in the Top Doorslammer division, and is behind the wheel of his father’s iconic 1957 Chevy. Last year Bray pulled double duty at Willowbank Raceway racing in the Top Doorslammer Holden and a Factory Extreme 4-cylinder turbocharged Nissan, a car that can run upwards of 220 miles per hour at 6.2-seconds.

The crash happened when Bray was making a run in the Factory Extreme car. He remained in a body brace for nearly three months.

"I had to buy a hospital bed at home, and that's all I could do," Bray said. "I couldn't bend, I couldn't shower, it was pretty embarrassing ... to lose everything. There was a good three or four months where I questioned if I ever would drive again."

Bray had originally planned to unveil a new 1979 Corvette this weekend but opted not to instead of rushing to get the new Murray Anderson car completed.  

“The last thing we want to do is rush it through, so Dad has been kind enough to let me take the wheel of his car for the Fuchs Winternationals,” Bray explained.

Bray hadn’t even sat in a race car before last weekend’s test session.

"It was the first time I've even sat in one," Bray admitted. "I had all the butterflies and knew I had to do it but I had to wait. I think more for peace of mind I just had to come out and do some passes and get my head in the right position."

YANKEE INVASION – The Fuchs ANDRA Winternationals has been a popular destination for American drag racers. This weekend’s event has two American racers competing in the Group 1 divisions.

Two-time US Nationals Top Fuel champion Cory McClenathan and Top Fuel Motorcycle rider Darian Guillory are in competition this weekend.

This is the second time McClenathan has entered the Fuchs Winternationals event. He is behind the wheel of the Rapisarda Autosport International (RAI) dragster.  

“I love coming over and racing in Australia – the fans are great, and while the tracks are all new to me I have been getting to know them fairly well over the past few years, and the competition is always tough,” said McClenathan.  “I have only run at the Winternationals once and it was rained out so that was a bummer, because it can be a very fast track being at sea level.

McClenathan is tuned this weekend by noted tuner Lee Beard.

Guillory, rider of the Rod Barchet-owned 1640cc Suzuki made his Australian racing debut at the Australian Nationals last November. This is his first time at the biggest drag racing event outside of North America.

“I love it in Australia,” said Guillory. “It has always been one of the places highest on my list of places to see in my life.”

Guillory’s path to Australia began in 2012 when bike owner Barchet attended the Manufacturers Cup World Finals at South Georgia Motorsports Park.

THE SPORTSMAN REPORT - Day one of the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series is in the books.

Adam Murrihy leads Supercharged Outlaws qualifying in Q2 with the ‘perfect’ Outlaws pass of 6.500, the limit for the category.

“We put some more weight in the car to keep the nose down and the car is jumping out of the hole really good now,” said Murrihy.

“We’re feeling a lot better than yesterday. Last year we were in this position where we had two bad qualifiers and had to dump a heap of fuel in to get it down the track on the third pass. It’s good to get the monkey off our back.

“The boys have got the car running sweet so we’ll just roll up to the startline, hit the noise and pedal.”

Top Sportsman’s Mark Harris continued to lead the class with a 6.490 elapsed time.

“We’ve still got a long way to go in the car, it’s still got a lot more in it yet,” said Harris. “We want to make changes to make it go faster but we know what it’s doing at the moment so we might just have to leave it.

“You’ve always got to watch out for (Steve) Fowler, he’s always on his game but everyone can cut a light and run a number. This is sort of an expensive test and tune for us. We’re having fun, it’s good.”

Other top qualifier included Rob Harrington (Modified), Simon Isherwood (Super Gas), Brian Hammond (Super Street), Kerry Ellis (Modified Bike) Lucas Holz’ (Super Street)  Joel Burns (Junior Dragster), Ross Smith (Competition Bike), Chris Tait (Super Compact) and Tony Bellert (Competition).

Eliminations for Super Street, Junior Dragster, Modified Bike, Super Sedan, Top Sportsman, Modified, Super Gas and Supercharged Outlaws commence from 8am on Saturday with qualifying for Competition, Super Stock, Competition Bike, and Super Compact continuing from 11:30am.

I’M THE MAYOR, AND I APPROVE OF THIS - Local Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale took some time out of his busy schedule to experience a small taste of the action first-hand.

Mayor Pisasale looked right at home at the wheel of Jake Donnelly’s 57 Chev Supercharged Outlaw on-track today..

“Every year the city looks forward to welcoming competitors and visitors to Ipswich.” said Pisasale. “The sights, sounds and smells of drag racing certainly sent my heart rate up. To say it was exciting is an understatement.”

NO BLUES HERE - Phil Lamattina likes his new Murf McKinney dragster so much, he’s pointed out, “This is the best race car I have ever driven!”

Having tested the new car at last weekend’s Winternationals Warm-up, Lamattina was extremely pleased with the performance.

“We tried a few things and the incremental times were very, very good,” explained Lamattina. “We made some changes during the course of the day and it responded, we made some improvements and again, the car did what we thought it would do. We already have a great base setting, so now we can start to hop it up!”

“It’s easy to see out of and it’s also easy to drive. From the moment I jumped into it, I felt at home and that will help every other thing that we do.”

The younger of the two Lamattina brothers racing in Top Fuel, John, also benefits from his brother’s love for the new car. John gets the proven car driver by Phil last season.

CHAMP FINDS A NEW ROLE – Defending Top Alcohol champion Steve Ham has a new role this weekend.

Ham, who has made a concerted effort to race the Top Alcohol division in the United States, is tuning Bill Goonan’s Top Doorslammer Camaro when not spearheading his own race operation.

Having inked Ham to a deal and freshened up his inventory, Goonan’s focus is on winning this weekend and running quicker and faster than ever.

“Willowbank is a special place for Michelle (partner) and I,” Goonan said. “It’s our home track, the atmosphere is incredible and we have a lot of support from friends and family locally.

“My parents attend the Winternationals and it means a lot that they are there. My father has had some health challenges of late so that is really driving me to give him the best show possible and go for a trophy!”

West Australia’s Jodi Racco is a Pro Stock rookie making only his second start this weekend. At 46 years old, he categorizes his younger years as ‘misspent youth’.

“My introduction to drag racing came from what you could call a misspent youth with my older brother Dion, growing up ten minutes away from Ravenswood Raceway it was bound to happen that I would find myself on the race track,” said Racco who previously raced in Super Stock.

“Mum and Dad to this day think I am crazy, but after starting out crewing at the age of 14 I couldn’t walk away. This is the realization of a dream I have had since I started out as that 14 year old teenager.

Racco is very much aware the 400-cubic inch Pro Stockers represent anything but an entry level category.

“Pro Stock has got to be one of the hardest classes out there to run in my opinion and I take my hat off to anyone who runs these cars and is able to go rounds,” said Racco, who will field a 2010 Don Ness Holden Monaro Diamond T Toolbox racer previously owned by Wayne Daley.

“I have been lucky enough to have Michael Marriott guide me through the ‘Pro Stock maze’, spend some time with Wayne Daley who has shown me the ropes, and also champion racer Lee Bektash who was very entertaining the whole time – they are great guys.