Damien Harris claimed his third Winternationals title after a gritty win over teammate Shane Olive in the final of Top Fuel at the Gulf Western Oil Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway on June 7.
Josh Leahy pocketed his second victory of the season in the Nitro Funny Car final with a regulation 4.03-second pass against privateer Adam Murrihy.
Doorslammer honors went to outsider Emilio Spinozzi, who scored his maiden Winternationals title on a holeshot after upstaging red-hot favorite Russell Taylor’s quest for a third consecutive Winters crown.
There were no surprises when Aaron and Tyronne Tremayne battled their way to the Pro Stock final, with victory going to Aaron after Tyronne red-lit by .0013 seconds.
Third-generation racer Daniel Reed prevailed with a superb 5.33-second, 273-mph pass to deny veteran Andrew Searle in Top Alcohol.
For the first time this season, all Group One categories, with the exception of Top Fuel and Nitro Funny Car, raced under the eight-car elimination format preceded by three rounds of qualifying.
TOP FUEL
Qualifying came to life in dramatic circumstances when reigning Top Fuel champion Wayne Newby ran a blistering 3.68 seconds at 333 mph to set a new Australian record.
Second spot went to privateer Kyle Putland with a tidy 3.96, ahead of RAI third wheel Shane Olive with a chutes-out-early pass of 4.00 at 265 mph.
The eldest driver in the field, “Pommie” Steve Read, slotted into fourth despite a mid-track fireball.
Championship contender Damien Harris, returning from a spectacular crash at his last outing, was fifth ahead of series leader Phil Lamattina, the measuring stick this season, who could only muster a double-digit 10.61 at 74 mph.
What a difference a day makes.
In Round 1 of eliminations, Lamattina, up against the in-form Newby, was quicker on the tree by .001 seconds and took the win despite pushing out a head gasket while clocking a PB of 3.74 at 322 mph.
Olive was handed the win over Read, who failed to back up. His time of 3.76 at 324 mph was also a PB.
Harris led all the way and ran 3.76 at 332 mph to outpace Putland’s 4.06 at 257 mph.
Round 2 saw Olive book his passage into the A-Final with a comfortable win over Putland, who put out a cylinder around 200 feet into the run. Olive also had his hands full getting out of the groove and dropping a cylinder.
In the upset of the weekend, Lamattina spun the tires and despite several desperate stabs at the throttle was unable to rein in Read, who tossed a belt.
The Harris-versus-Newby matchup delivered the best side-by-side run of the weekend.
Locked together on the green with Newby taking a .001-second advantage, the RAI duo thrilled the crowd as they marched in unison to the finish line. The difference was .046 seconds in favor of Harris, who set a new Aussie speed record of 335 mph.
With two wins each, the final pitted RAI teammates Harris and Olive head-to-head. Harris, the more experienced of the duo, jumped to the front on the green and in a brutal pedalfest took the win.
“It was great to get the win and to hand Santo and the Rapisarda family the Louie Rapisarda Trophy. It was an honor and privilege,” said Harris.
“To be part of an all-Rapisarda final caps off a great weekend for all the boys and girls on the team and Santo Junior, who work so long and hard back at the workshop and at the race track to make it all happen.”
PRO ALCOHOL
In Pro Alcohol, Cheyne Phillips, son of 21-time champion Gary Phillips, set a new world record not once but twice during qualifying.
His 5.34 at 273 mph lasted two hours before he lowered the mark to 5.33 at 274 mph.
Little-known local Darren Fry claimed second spot, with series leader Daniel Reed fourth and two of the category’s most experienced racers, Andrew Searle and Ben Bray, sixth and seventh.
Reed made it to the final round with a come-from-behind victory over Victorian Chris Hargrave, then drove around Phillips in a semifinal thriller. Reed ran 5.38 at 271 mph to Phillips’ 5.37 at 273 mph.
The final was an anticlimax.
Searle led to 60 feet but then went into tire shake and handed the win to Reed.
“Qualifying was a bit disappointing, but it all came together on the final day when it counted,” said Reed.
“We gave the car a bit more than what we normally would have and it paid off in the final. To get back-to-back Winters is an amazing feeling.”
NITRO FUNNY CAR
Josh Leahy top qualified for the first time this season with a workmanlike pass of 4.00 at 321 mph, the only driver to exceed 300 mph.
Adam Murrihy slotted into second ahead of 2025 champion Morice McMillin, followed by Damon Paton, Justin Walshe and rookie Luke Shepherd.
In the opening round, Murrihy, in only his second outing of the season, was slow to get up to pace but came home strongly to beat the more experienced Walshe.
Leahy continued to set the standard with a 3.95, low ET of the round, to shut down Shepherd.
McMillin’s dream of Winters glory hit a major roadblock when he was shut down with an oil leak after his burnout, handing the win to Paton, who went into tire shake early.
McMillin’s weekend went from bad to worse after hitting the timing blocks in his duel with teammate Leahy, who ran a strong 3.98 at 322 mph.
Walshe outdrove Paton and the surprise packet of the weekend, Murrihy, found himself in the A-Final after the luckless Shepherd was shut down with a fuel leak.
In the final, Murrihy’s hopes of a first Winternationals trophy came up short when a sluggish .202 reaction time put paid to his chances.
“I came into the weekend with a bit of a virus,” said Leahy.
“But this is the Winternationals and you don’t stay at home in bed. You come out and race. We leave here at the halfway mark of the season with a good points lead.
“In the final we began to spin the tires about 3.5 seconds into the run and had to get off it a bit early and were still able to get the win.”
DOORSLAMMER
With an entry list of 13, Doorslammer was the most hotly contested of the Group One categories.
There was drama in Q1 when highly fancied Jeremy Callahan set a quick time and a PB of 5.60 to head the field, but then disaster struck at the finish line when his chutes failed to deploy, separated from the car and he went into the gravel trap, severely damaging the car and forcing him out of the weekend’s racing.
Series leader Russell Taylor shredded the Australian record, held by John Zappia, with a breathtaking 5.57 at 257 mph to claim the No. 1 qualifier spot.
However, much of the drama centered around who failed to make the field, including Daniel and Lisa Gregorini, Salim Matta and Jack Danaher.
Round 1 produced little in the way of upsets.
John Zappia, out of P4, defeated Peter Lovering’s ’55 Chev, which amazingly also raced at the 1996 Winternationals.
Honors in the duel between two of the brightest young talents in the bracket went to Brodie Zappia thanks to a .039 reaction time against Ronnie Palumbo.
Veteran Emilio Spinozzi needed a PB of 5.63 to trailer Rob Harrington, who got loose early in the run. Both were credited with identical .050 reaction times, while Spinozzi recorded a stunning top speed of 266 mph.
Taylor, despite taking the long way home after wandering from the wall to the centerline, still managed to win with a 5.58 against newcomer Brody Davies.
The eagerly awaited semifinal matchup between Russell Taylor and arch-rival John Zappia failed to materialize when “Zap” was a no-show due to mechanical issues.
Spinozzi, with a .020 light, took a holeshot win over Brodie Zappia to make his first-ever Winternationals final.
The final was a disaster for Taylor, who missed the start with a .175 reaction time compared to Spinozzi’s best-in-class .024 and was forced to play catch-up.
The numbers tell the tale. Spinozzi won with a 5.63 at 262 mph to Taylor’s quicker but losing 5.55 at 258 mph.
“This is our first-ever Winters win and I’m so proud of my team,” said Spinozzi.
“To run 265 and then 266 miles per hour on race day was the icing on the cake. We’ve stepped up this year and what’s made the difference is we’ve got a new engine from DMPE in America.”
PRO STOCK
Pro Stock attracted only six entries, led by reigning champion Rob Dekert and Queensland’s first family of Pro Stock, Aaron and Tyronne Tremayne.
The low entry count was due to several teams apparently boycotting the event because of the decision to run the elimination format.
Not surprisingly, Aaron qualified first ahead of Tyronne, with Dekert third.
Both Tremaynes were given first-round bye runs and Dekert fell to sixth-seeded Tony Polito.
The semifinals played out in favor of Aaron, who drove around Polito, while Tyronne easily accounted for fourth-seeded veteran Omar Sedmak.
The final went to Aaron after Tyronne fouled out.
PRO MOD
The 5,300-mile return trip from his home in Western Australia paid dividends for Lorenzo Guillotto, who upstaged hot favorite Zoran Gajic in the Pro Mod final with a 5.94 on a 5.85 dial-in.
PIT NOTES
Winternationals Junior Dragster champion Zayne Condello will lead the charge when the “Kanga Kids Dragster Tour 2026” races at the NHRA Eastern Conference Finals at Thunder Valley in Bristol, July 15-17.
The four-member team also includes Piper Bennett, Savanna Condello and Luca Lamattina, son of Top Fuel racer Phil Lamattina.
Drag racing legend Victor Bray was a welcome addition in the commentary booth for Doorslammer.
Santo Rapisarda served as Grand Marshal for the event.
“Pommie” Steve Read was $35,000 out of pocket after splashing out on new rods and pistons for the event.
Cheyne Phillips’ Alcohol Funny Car was running the engine from his father’s Altered, which last ran 5.30 at 270 mph in 2016.
MOPAR king Lee Bektash was spotted around the Pro Stock pits.
Bektash still holds the speed record from the days when leaded fuel was allowed and was coy on plans to race again next season.
While Daniel Reed was winning, the rest of the family had a forgettable weekend.
Abigail went out in Round 1 of Junior Dragster, Makayla in Round 2, and Fiona broke out in Round 1.
