10. TWO-TIME TOP FUEL CHAMPION PETER XIBERRAS QUITS – Sydney team owner-driver Peter Xiberras stunned the tight-knit Aussie drag community when he announced he was stepping away from racing after winning Round Three at the Perth Motorplex in March.
“The time is right for a break,” Xiberras said. “It is always best to step away on a high. I have been considering taking a break for quite some time. Let me be clear – I’m not using the R-word. You will see me out on the track again, but for now, it is time to enjoy Top Fuel racing from the sidelines.”
Xiberras races under the family business name of PremiAir Hire, one of Australia’s largest equipment hire companies. He is also heavily involved in the Australian Supercar Championship as the owner of the two-car PremiAir Nulon team.
Supercars is Australia’s leading motorsport category, known worldwide as the home of the Bathurst 1000.
“From the highest of highs of back-to-back championships and records to those events that just didn’t go our way, through it all, I have loved going racing and been so lucky to have the support of a lot of amazing people behind me,” said Xiberras, who made his Top Fuel debut in 2004 and won back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022.
At one stage, he simultaneously held the track record at Willowbank Raceway, Perth Motorplex and Sydney Dragway, and, at the 2021 Winternationals became the quickest racer outside the USA with a 3.74-second pass, 325.22 mph.
9. SPORTSMANSHIP IS ALIVE AND WELL IN TOP FUEL – The on-track rivalry between the top three teams, Rapisarda Autosport International, Jim Read Racing and Lamattina Top Fuel Racing, is passionate, intense and sometimes bitter and has been a highlight of the 2024–2025 season.
The Read versus Rapisarda rivalry began in the early 1970s.
It would be a challenge to find three team owners — Santo Rapisarda, Jim Read and Phil Lamattina — more committed to winning.
However, this season, a light was shone on a side of drag racing rarely seen by the public.
At the penultimate round of the season, a qualifying match-up between Phil Read and Wayne Newby ended in disaster for Read, who dropped a cylinder and suffered an oil fire that, he said, “damaged the car from the steering wheel to the back of the car.” The repair bill was estimated to exceed $100,000.
RAI and LTFR immediately offered parts and equipment to help with repairs; however, the car was sidelined for the weekend due to extensive wiring damage and the destruction of safety gear.
“We are all competitors, of course, but when the chips are down, we are all there for each other and this weekend really showed that,” said JRR crew chief Bruce Read. “Santino Rapisarda always says we are all family, and he, Santo Jr., and the entire Rapisarda Autosport International team, as well as Phil Lamattina and the Lamattina Top Fuel Racing Team, really lived up to that premise over the past couple of days.”
“They both opened their transporters to us so we could do all we could to get this car back together in the face of catastrophic damage and I couldn’t be more grateful.”.
8. IHRA TAKES OVER IHRA AUSTRALIA – In September, Darryl Cuttell, owner of IHRA and Cuttell Motorsports, announced the acquisition of IHRA Australia’s operations in Australia and New Zealand.
“Bringing Australia and New Zealand fully into the IHRA family was an obvious move,” said Cuttell. “Our commitment is backed by substantial investment to support clubs, teams, venues and competitors throughout the region. I look forward to visiting soon and sharing our detailed vision for the future of drag racing in the Asia-Pacific.”
The decision is expected to inflame the sanctioning wars that began in 2015 when American-based IHRA burst on the scene in the aftermath of a bitter battle between ANDRA, then the sole governing body in the country, tracks and a cohort of team owners.
The upshot saw the establishment of the 400 Thunder series under the IHRA umbrella, and tracks becoming affiliated with ANDRA or IHRA for sanctioning, licensing and insurance purposes.
In 2023, the 400T series collapsed when the leading Top Fuel teams joined forces with motorsport promoter Andy Lopez to create the NDRC series. The other Group One categories, including Doorslammer, Pro Stock, Top Alcohol, Pro Mod and Pro Stock Bike, quickly fell into line and joined the NDRC series.
The current state of play sees ANDRA as the sanctioning body for Perth Motorplex, Sydney Dragway and several country tracks, while Willowbank Raceway and Calder Park are part of the IHRA stable.
ANDRA and NDRC are heavily involved in their own Sportsman Racing series, while IHRA does not run its own events.
Top Fuel is the main drawcard in Australian drag racing. If the latest version of the IHRA is to make an impact, then it will need to wrestle control of Top Fuel away from the NDRC.
However, the teams that make up Top Fuel — Rapisarda Autosport International, Jim Read Racing and Lamattina Top Fuel Racing — are committed to the NDRC model, and it would require a seismic shift in alliance for them to contemplate moving to an IHRA series.
7. AUSSIE DRAG SEASON ABANDONS OCTOBER–JUNE FORMAT IN FAVOR OF CALENDAR YEAR – Welcome to the 21st Century.
In September, the premier racing series in Australia, the NDRC, announced it was ditching the traditional split-year schedule in favor of a calendar-year format beginning in January and running to October.
A major consequence of the decision, which breaks with decades of tradition, has been warmly welcomed by racers and sponsors and will see the Willowbank Winternationals in June — traditionally the final round of the season — become the second-last event, with the prized Grand Final status passing to Dragway at The Bend in rural South Australia.
“Season Three of the National Drag Racing Championship in 2026 is shaping up as our strongest yet,” said series promoter Andy Lopez. “We’ve worked closely with tracks, sponsors, promoters and racer groups to put together a calendar that is sustainable, competitive, and inclusive.
“There are so many highlights to look forward to, including the Grand Final at The Bend, six double headers with Top Fuel and Nitro Funny Cars and if the Aeroflow Sportsman racing next season is as awesome as it was this year, watch out.”
The PDRC series, launched last season as a standalone series for Pro Alcohol, Pro Mod, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Bike, has been shelved, with the categories returning as part of the NDRC program in 2026.
6. YOUNG TALENT MAKE THEIR MARK – The 2024–2025 season also saw the emergence of an exciting, young crop of talent, including Nitro Funny Car duo Josh Leahy and Damon Paton, Cheyne Phillips in Top Alcohol and 19-year-old Brodie Zappia in Doorslammer.
Third-generation racer Leahy, 32, scored a pair of wins, three seconds and a fourth to finish runner-up to team boss Morice McMillin.
Virtually unknown 28-year-old Paton made his debut mid-season and stunned his rivals when he Top qualified at the Winternationals and closed out his rookie season going down to Leahy in the final.
Cheyne Phillips, 35, the son of 21-time Alcohol champion Gary Phillips, is the current Australian Alcohol Funny Car speed record holder and the 2025 Winternationals winner.
Phillips ventured to the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals and surprised his more seasoned rivals after qualifying fourth before losing on a holeshot in round one. A second outing at the final round of the year at Pomona Dragstrip was foiled when the event was washed out.
Brodie Zappia, the nephew of John Zappia, scored his first NDRC win at his home track, the Perth Motorplex, and finished the season fourth in the points.
“I’ve been around the sport all my life,” said Zappia. “I was racing in Outlaws last year and began to dream that I could get into a Doorslammer. It wasn’t meant to happen so quickly, but it did. This year has been a steep learning curve. We had some teething issues and I had to get my head around when to pedal, when to drive through shake and how close you can get to the wall before you need to back off.
The competition is amazing. Russell Taylor, Uncle John, Daniel and Lisa Gregorini have all run 60s, and I’m just trying to keep up. My saving grace has been my reaction times, and it has won me a few races. I’m having a great time out there.”
