Team owner-driver Phil Lamattina’s campaign to win his first Top Fuel title since 2014 got off to a flying start when he outpaced privateer Kyle Putland in the A-final of the Riverbend Nationals, March 28-29.
In the B-final, reigning champ Wayne Newby dispatched his Rapisarda Autosport International teammate Damien Harris.
Josh Leahy grabbed honors in Nitro Funny Car over 2025 champion and teammate Morice McMillin.
Damon Paton fired off a PB of 4.04, 320 mph to outpace fellow Queenslander Adam Murrihy in the B-final.
In the other Pro categories, John Zappia, hunting his first title since 2017, claimed victory over veteran Peter Lovering in Doorslammer, and in Pro Alcohol reigning champion Daniel Reed was handed victory when his opponent Cheyne Phillips cut a red light.
There was no surprise when Zoran Gajic walked away with the Pro Mod trophy.
For the third consecutive NDRC meeting, rain wreaked havoc, wiping out day one of qualifying for Top Fuel, Doorslammer and Pro Alcohol.
“We were suited up and ready to run when it rained,” said Newby. “The conditions were looking pretty stout and we were ready to run some good numbers.”
TOP FUEL
Round one produced two massive upsets when both RAI entries were defeated.
Harris blew the tires off on the hit, going down to underdog Putland, who wrestled a mid-track drive job to take the win.
Newby succumbed to Lamattina after both struck issues. Harris turned the tires and lost traction off the line while the ‘Carrot king’ had to overcome a dropped #5 cylinder.
Round two mirrored the first round, with identical pairings producing identical results.
Lamattina chased down Newby again to take the win.
Putland, with his hands full after popping the blower at half-track, upset Harris, who smoked the tires around the same point.
The A-final pitted Lamattina, chasing his first win since 2024 at this very event, Riverbend Nationals, against Putland in his maiden Top Fuel final.
There was to be no fairytale ending for the affable West Australian, who lost traction almost immediately when the lights went green and could only watch as Lamattina disappeared in the distance.
“Today was tough,” said Lamattina. “We got a little bit lucky but as the saying goes you’ve got to be in it to win it. I’m also proud of my young boy Luca who won in junior dragster. Having the points lead is great. The last time that happened was in Mildura four years ago, but it can evaporate quickly so early in the season.”
“We had an injector malfunction in the final,” according to Putland. “Disappointing for the team but congrats to Phil on the win. This was our first A-Final and we’ll keep chipping away. Hopefully our first gold Christmas tree is not too far away.”
The battle for third place saw Newby overturn a .069 reaction time to Harris with a .063 to claim the win.
NITRO FUNNY CAR
With five entries, it was defending champion Morice McMillin who got the prized solo run in round one. ‘Super Mac’ posted a 7.93, 79 mph after a couple of stabs on the throttle.
Veteran team owner-driver Justin Walshe topped the session with a 4.58 despite an early shutoff around 330 feet to account for young gun Damon Paton, who cut a jaw-dropping .04 light and also shut off early.
Championship contender Josh Leahy opened his account with a strong 4.13, 256 mph after dropping a #4 cylinder and a belt to dismiss Adam Murrihy, who was returning from injury and happily declared the run “not too bad, serviceable and it’s great to be back racing.”
With an A-final berth at stake, the Leahy versus Paton duel became the weekend’s standout moment. Both left the starting line hard, but it was the .071 to .063 holeshot from Leahy that proved decisive.
Paton tossed the belt around 800 feet and Leahy had his hands full after drifting perilously close to the wall. Their times: a 4.077 for Leahy and a 4.078 from Paton.
McMillin made it to his fifth final from his last six races when Walshe dropped a cylinder at half-track.
Victory in the A-final went to Leahy with a 4.14, 254 mph when McMillin slipped out of contention after getting out of the groove.
“I think I pulled a hamstring,” said Leahy. “I put my foot right to the floor that hard. I didn’t see Morice and was expecting to see him come flying by. When you win that’s the reason why we go drag racing.”
The B-final went to Paton, who led all the way against Murrihy and clocked a PB of 4.04, 320 mph.
DOORSLAMMER
For the majority of the field, the Riverbend Nationals was their first outing since the Winternationals in June 2025. Combined with tricky track conditions, upsets were inevitable.
In the first round, highly fancied Daniel Gregorini limped off the line against Peter Lovering, who took the win after going into tire shake and popping the chutes early.
Lisa Gregorini was a shock loser to Frankie Taylor, and Ronnie Palumbo, making his debut with the Sydney-based Matta Family ACivil team, got loose off the line but accounted for Shane Catalano.
In an entertaining matchup, Emilio Spinozzi hit the center blocks but was handed the win when Brodie Zappia red-lit by .002.
The standout run was a 5.80, 238 mph from John Zappia, while defending champion Russell Taylor got out of shape early but held off Scott Ferguson.
2025 Riverbend Nationals winner Jeremy Callaghan took victory over debutant Salim Matta.
In round two, Brodie Zappia’s woes continued when Matta cut a 0.3 light to take the win.
In an all-Western Australian matchup, Russell Taylor outran Daniel Gregorini with a 6.27, 242 mph.
Spinozzi took the easiest of wins after Jeremy Callaghan red-lit, and John Zappia, after experiencing difficulties backing up after the burnout, was gifted the win when Jack Danaher red-lit.
The A-final between Zappia and Lovering in his first ever final after 23 years was over when the Christmas tree went green.
Zappia’s reaction time of 0.19 was no match for Lovering’s .098.
“Just as I pulled the chutes out, I saw the number 55 of Pete Lovering poke its nose out,” said Zappia. “We were lucky we had no fifth gear and hit the limiter in fourth it only went 241 and 5.78 which is still a pretty good time.”
The B-final went to Palumbo, who led all the way against Taylor.
TOP ALCOHOL
Reigning champion Daniel Reed made his mark early with an impressive 5.47, 268 mph on a solo in round one, while his closest rival last season Cheyne Phillips was handed the win after rookie Steve Carpenter red-lit.
John Cannuli took the win over fellow veteran Andrew Searle, who was unable to fire up.
In the second round, Searle and Phillips took solos and Reed accounted for Carpenter.
In what is likely to be a precursor to future matchups this season, Reed and Phillips went head-to-head in the final.
Phillips crossed the line in front, but that counted for zero after he red-lit at the start.
PIT NOTES
Spotted in the pits: Tony Thornton, longtime former head of governing body ANDRA, and Victorian Pro Mod racer Daniel Camilleri, recovering from arm surgery and expected to return at the Winternationals.
The debut of Queenslander Steve Carpenter in Pro Alcohol is a welcome boost to the category.
Tuning whiz Jeff Cutajar will head the team for the 2026 season that will race a dragster from the workshop of Chase Copeland in Gainesville, Texas.
Aaron Hambridge, best known as tuner-crew chief with the Lamattina Top Fuel team, will head up the two cars of the ACivil Racing team for Ronnie Palumbo and Salim Matta in Doorslammer this season.
“The requirements for Top Fuel and Doorslammer are in some ways similar,” said Hambridge. “It’s about horsepower management and how fast you can spin the tire without smoking the tire. The engine management side is very similar, plus, with a Doorslammer you’ve moved the clutch out of the equation.”
Major changes to Lisa Gregorini’s Doorslammer underwent a weight reduction program in the offseason, shedding around 43 lbs.
“We were around 50 to 60 pounds from where we needed to be. We also rebuilt the supercharger,” said Daniel Gregorini.
Santo Rapisarda was honored with a starting line ceremony on day two to recognize his induction into the Australian Motorsport Hall of Fame at the F1 Australian Grand Prix in March.
While the grown-ups were racing, so were the children. Phil Lamattina’s son Luca defeated Daniel Reed’s daughter Abigail in the final of Junior Dragster.
