by John Doig, Australian Correspondent
After five rounds and five different winners, RAI star Wayne Newby became the first to score two wins this season when he defeated teammate Damien Harris in the final of Top Fuel at the Gulf Western Oil Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway, June 5-8.
The win was his sixth Winternational title – three as owner-driver in Top Alcohol and three with RAI in Top Fuel.
Team Aeroflow boss Morice McMillin claimed his fourth consecutive victory of the season after defeating teammate Josh Leahy in the Nitro Funny Car final.
Little-known Rob Harrington caused the boilover of the meeting when he defeated reigning Winternational champ Russell Taylor in Doorslammer.
TOP FUEL
Qualifying Rd 1 – Harris topped the charts with a 3.75, just shy of the track record of 3.74. “A 3.75, we’ll take it any day,” said Harris. “The car came back in one piece. The only damage is to the number two piston. We will do our usual service overnigh and I’m confident we will give the track record a real shake.”
Phil Lamattina secured second place with a tidy 3.87, his best result this season, ahead of Phil Read, who went into a tire shake around 80 feet. Western Australian Kyle Putland, running a new fuel system, rattled the tires 1.5 seconds into his run.
Uncharacteristically, the series leader, Wayne Newby, was at the bottom of the field after rattling the tires. Local identity “Pommie” Steve Read, making his second appearance this season, sat out the session.
Qualifying Rd 2 – Harris continued to dominate with a new track record of 3.72/329 mph after overcoming tire shake near half-track, while Newby bounced back strongly from his day one sub-par performance to run a 3.76 and move into second place. Steve Read tossed a belt and his namesake, Phil Read, broke a belt at half-track. Lamattina continued his upward trajectory with a tidy 3.84 and the luckless Putland broke the seal in the blower.
Qualifying Rd 3 – A superb side-by-side pass by Harris and Newby that had the near-capacity crowd on their feet was the highlight of the final round of qualifying. Harris earns honors with another impressive track record this time, clocking 3.71/330 mph to edge out Newby and give RAI their second consecutive 1-2 qualifying of the season.
“A one-two in qualifying is the perfect result for the team,” Harris said. “It’s a great tribute to all the crew and their hard efforts.”
“The plan now is to prep the cars for tomorrow to achieve the same result – bring on Sunday.”
Lamattina improved with a 3.83 to lock in third, his best qualifier of the year, while Putland’s horror run of bad luck continued when he pushed out a burst panel. ‘The Pom’ lifted two seconds into his run and Phil Read dropped a valve.
Round 1 – The highlight was yet another track record of 3.70 seconds at 333 mph from the rampaging Harris. The speed was a career-best. “It didn’t register straight away that it was a Pb until one of the crew pointed it out to me,” said Harris. “I’ve been racing top fuel for around 14 years, and going over 330 mph is still a thrill.” His rival Pommie Steve Read dropped a cylinder just before half-track. Newby posted a 3.75/318 to account for Putland, who described his lap as a ‘bit slow.’
Phil Read accounted for Lamattina, who dropped cylinders around half-track.
Round 2 – Harris advanced to the final with the easiest win when his opponent, Putland, was a no-show due to an air leak. However, two dropped cylinders and a car that had the wanders kept ‘Damo’ busy at the top end. Phil Read defeated Lamattina, but had a major drama when his throttle stuck at the finish line.
Newby made the A-Final with a tidy win over Read, who broke a belt at quarter-track.
The Final – For the third time in six rounds this season, ‘Newb’s and Damo’ met in a final.
Their showdown was not pretty, but it did thrill the crowd when both cars ran into trouble almost immediately on the hit. After repeated stabs at the throttle, with smoke billowing from both cars, it was Newby who eventually crossed the line first, with a 4.55/289 mph, followed by Harris, who had an 8.80/99 mph.
“It felt like it left good and then it rattled,” according to Newby. “I stabbed it, let it settle, then jumped back on it and off it went. I didn’t see Damien, who had more issues than I did.”
Phil Lamattina won the B-Final after Phil Read was a no-show due to mechanical issues emanating from the second round.
NITRO FUNNY CAR
Qualifying Rd 1 – It was no surprise when series leader Morice McMillin claimed the provisional top spot despite dropping the number one cylinder at 2.5 seconds into the run with a stout 3.99/293 mph.
Reigning champ Justin Walshe drove through a bout of tire shake was second and rookie Damon Paton took third after backing off around the 750-foot mark while his opponent Josh Leahy’s ‘chutes popped almost instantly on the green.
Qualifying Rd 2 – McMillin etched his name in the history book with the quickest Funny car witnesses in the country, running a 3.92 /317 mph to claim the number one spot. Josh Leahy shredded a belt while Justin Walshe scuffed three pistons and Damon Paton reported no problems with a tidy pass of 4.10/268 mph.
Qualifying Rd 3 – ‘Super ‘Mac’ backed up his stunning opening qualifier with a 3.93, the second fastest Funny Car pass in Australia. Walshe clocked a 4.010 ahead of Leahy with a tidy run of 4.011. Rookie Paton bought his car home with a 4.10/287 mph.
Round 1 – Josh Leahy stunned his peers with a superb PB for speed and ET of 3.93/322 mph, outpacing his vastly more experienced rival, Walshe, who scuffed a piston.
“I’m lost for words,” said Leahy. “I didn’t think it was going to be a 93. I knew the car had it in, but I didn’t think it would happen this weekend. Going from a PB of 3.98 to 3.93 is awesome.”
McMillin continued his winning streak with a comfortable victory over Paton, who spun the tires around 300 feet.
Round 2 – Leahy advanced to the A-Final after only one chute was deployed, while Paton was shut down automatically due to excessive pan pressure around 850 feet. McMillin cruised to victory over Walshe, who scuffed pistons for the second time on the day.
The Final – McMillin led off the line, but his younger rival took up the challenge. Despite shutting off early, McMillin hung on as both cars flashed over the finish line. The winning margin was .005 sec in the best race of the year.
To run so consistently over the weekend and take out the win at the Winters is a great result for the team,” said McMillin. “I wasn’t sure I had won until the TV crew came over. I thought I had lost it. The car quit around 800 feet and we just hung on to win by the narrowest of margins.”
Paton took out the B-Final when Walshe was disqualified after scraping the wall.
DOORSLAMMER
For the first time this season, the category ran a 16-car elimination field and only two rounds of qualifying.
11-time champ John Zappia ran a 5.67/ to secure top spot ahead of defending champ Russell Taylor with a 5.70 and Sydneysider Ronnie Palumbo. With local Rob Harrington in ninth. With the family pair of Lisa and Daniel Gregorini, in tenth and sixteenth, respectively.
Taylor came from behind to defeat Daniel Gregorini in Round 1, then led all the way against Jeremy Callahan, who had earlier defeated Lisa Gregorini. Taylor then cruised to victory over Palumbo to advance to the final.
Harrington’s passage to the final included a comfortable win over Sydney-based Nasser Matta, then, in the shock of the season, was handed the win when John Zappia ran a red light followed by a .06 sec victory against Nigel Dixon.
The much-anticipated final was over when the lights went green and Taylor posted a .125 reaction time to Harrington’s .059.
“I’m just an Aussie battler with a rag-tag bunch of blokes just having a go,” said Harrington. “To run up against the Australian champion Russell Taylor has been amazing. To my sponsors, my mum, my dad. We won the Winters baby.”
PIT NOTES
- Top qualifier Damian Muscat took the win in Top Fuel Motorcycle against last year’s champion, Benny Stevens. “We broke a crank and torched a motor and basically every airline, every fuel line, every oil line and every electrical component in the bike, the crew spent all night repairing it, going to bed at 3.00 am on race day,” said Muscat.
- Cheyne Phillips, son of the legendary Gary Phillips, top qualified and celebrated his 35th birthday in style after defeating third-generation racer Daniel ‘Boon’ Reed in the final of Top Alcohol.
Phillips Sr. earlier set a new world record of 5.47/259 mph for an Altered in Top Alcohol.
- Tremayne brothers Aaron and Tyrone faced off in the final of Pro Stock, with victory going to Aaron when Tyrone red-lit.
- Damon Paton will miss the next round at Sydney Dragway due to the impending birth of his second child.
- Five Funny Cars entries were cut to four after the late-minute withdrawal of Northern Territory racer Adam Murrihy, who is still recovering from a shoulder injury while dirt bike riding. “The car and trailer were at the track when my surgeon rang and strongly advised me not to race,” said Murrihy. “It is healing well and I have full movement, but he thinks it probably needs another four weeks before I can go racing. It is disappointing to come all this way and not race.”
