by John Doig, Australian Correspondent
Bragging rights, not championship points, will be the only reward up for grabs in Top Fuel at the Spring Nationals, set for October 3-5 at The Bend Motorsports Park in rural South Australia.
The meeting is not a point-scoring round of the 2024-25 NDRC series, which concludes with the Grand Final at Sydney Dragway on November 8.
Top Fuel will be the only nitro category featured at the Spring Nationals and has drawn four entries. The lineup includes series leader Wayne Newby, reigning champion Damien Harris from Rapisarda Autosport International, along with Phil Read and Phil Lamattina.
“I can’t remember the last time we went racing and there were no championship points on offer,” said team principal Santo Rapisarda. “That makes for an interesting weekend of racing and a different type of pressure and mindset. We want to go out and win, but at the same time, it gives both teams the chance to try out some different ideas and scenarios under race conditions. I think my boys have a couple of ideas they want to try.”
“We enjoy racing at The Bend and have been successful at the track in the past,” Rapisarda added. “The last time we raced there was April this year, when Damien set an Australian record of 3.68 at 331 mph and Wayne won the final.”
Veteran Phil Read began his season with a victory and set a new Australian record of 3.72 at The Bend Spring Nationals. Since then, though, his team has faced a string of mechanical setbacks that have slowed his pursuit of a fourth Australian championship.
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“The Spring Nationals was an event that we will remember fondly for a long time to come,” Read said. “Unfortunately, after that event, it seems Lady Luck decided she had had enough. We were also thwarted time and time again by parts failures and subsequent damage.”
Two-time champion team owner-driver Phil Lamattina, who sat out the first two rounds of the season and narrowly missed the podium at the Winternationals in June, is chasing his first win since April 2024.
“At the start of the season, we decided to take the team in a different direction,” Lamattina said. “We identified that the engine needs to produce a bit more power, and what we saw at the Winters was vindication of that decision. We’ve won at The Bend in the past and I’m confident that the car is on track to step up this weekend.”
The Spring Nationals will not feature Nitro Funny Car or Doorslammer categories.
Other classes in competition include Pro Stock, Pro Mod and Pro Stock Motorcycle.
The official charity partner is Drive Against Depression, which organizes motorsports events to foster connections and conversations around mental health, reduce stigma, build community and create opportunities to seek further support.
