Fastlane Magazine - Issue 10

EDITION 10/2014

20

2015 CALENDAR INSIDE!

CHAMPS 2014

CROWNED

16 Season 2014 has been run and won in the ANDRA Drag Racing Series and Aeroflow Sportsman Drag Racing Championship.

22

12

GIRL

DRAG RACING SET TO SHINE

HORSEPOWER A close look at the women of Australian Drag Racing.

30

ROUND

REPORTS 29

FACES @ THE RACES

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FROM THE

DEC2014

CEO’SDESK What a finish we had to the 2014 ANDRA Championship Season! The Australian Nationals were full of surprises, including three thunderstorms on Saturday - my hat is off to the Sydney track crew - and fairy-tale finishes.

No one will forget Steven Ham’s run to the Top Alcohol Championship or Doina Day seeing off eight other challengers in a crazy Supercharged Outlaws final to win her first title.

And who could forget first ever Championships going to Mark Drew in Top Fuel Motorcycle, Al McClure in Competition, Jake Chaisty in Super Stock, Ross Smith in Competition Bike, Domenic Rigoli in Super Compact, David Carroll in Modified Bike, Toby Austin in Junior Dragster and the see-saw battle throughout the year between Joe Jurkovic and Kylie Tanner in Super Street that saw Joe take the win.

That isn’t taking anything away from the stellar performances of all our other Champions. Congratulations to Phil Lamattina winning his second title in Top Fuel in what was a great fight all year, John Zappia on his record seventh in a row, Aaron Tremayne on a record fifth Pro Stock title, Luke Crowley for his back-to-back effort in Pro Stock Motorcycle, Shane Wynd taking the win in Modified and John Kapiris and Matt Forbes on their back-toback Super Sedan and Super Gas titles.

2014 saw the introduction of Silver Christmas trees replacing the wooden plaques at non-Gold tree events. This flowed onto the Championship runners up who were presented with a Silver Championship trophy.

I extend my congratulations to all of our runners-up who will no doubt be back and better than ever in 2015.

The conclusion of the 2014 season has brought with it the end to a seasonal change having run just one full calendar season. For 2015/16 we will see two seasons covering just 18 months.

The ANDRA board has been in discussions with track representatives for the past 12 months and the solution reached was to swap back to a financial year. Fortunately we will not be

CONTENTS

seeing the 18-month season we witnessed just over a year ago, which put an immense strain on everyone.

The upside is a short sharp season, which may provide an opportunity to those with limited travel budgets. This will be followed in the 2015/16 season with a 12 month calendar kicking off at Hidden Valley and concluding at the 2016 Winternationals.

2015 will also see the introduction of Top Sportsman to Group 3 concluding a process that has been a number of years in the making. With the continuing development of faster and faster Sedans, this has demanded a further separation. Such is the magnitude of the change ANDRA has put an 18 month review period in place to accurately assess the introduction and growth of such a bracket.

Another significant change is the replacement of our long-standing Sportsman Championship sponsor. Graeme Cowin through Rocket Industries and Aeroflow has held this space for eight Championship Seasons and has been a great supporter for Drag Racing in general. As a Hall of Fame inductee and legend of the sport, we thank Graham for his efforts and wish him all the best in his Aeroflow Outlaw Nitro Funny Car series.

For 2015 and beyond we welcome Summit Racing Equipment as the new naming rights sponsor for our Sportsman Championship.

We are very excited to be partnering with a globally recognised brand and I’m sure you will join us in welcoming Summit to the ANDRA family as we work together to promote, develop and enhance our grassroots categories as part of the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series.

I wish to take this opportunity to thank all of our members, volunteers, sponsors, and supporters for their efforts in 2014. From all of us at the ANDRA head office, we wish you all an enjoyable and relaxing Christmas and New Year.

See you at the track in January 2015.

Malcolm Bulley CEO

Editor: Tim Baker (tim.baker@andra.com.au) Design: YBI Creative (www.ybicreative.com.au) Photography: John Bosher, Cackling Pipes Photography, dragphotos.com.au, Fred Dwyer, High Octane Photos, Joe Maday, Outlaw Images, Staunch Launch Photography, TAD Photos, Bob Taylor, Steve Thomas, Jon Van Daal CEO: Malcolm Bulley Accounts: Donna Jantke Business Manager: Jackie Mills Business Development Manager: Jennifer Harrison Competition Manager: Brett Stevens Licensing and Membership: Leanne Wright Media & PR Officer: Tim Baker Reception: Belinda Whittaker Technical Officer: Colin Brassington THE OFFICIAL OIL SUPPLIER FOR ANDRA DRAG RACING

ANDRA Board

Michael Fotheringham (SA) - Chairman Terry Jongen (WA) Phil Parker (VIC/TAS) Robin Judd (WA) Shayne Homes (QLD)

LANES

6

ANDRA

9

BY TH3 NUMB3RS

ANNOUNCEMENT WHO IS YOUR DD? 8

PRODUCT 10

12

FEATURE ANDRA

CHAMPIONSHIP DINNER FINAL POINTS 14 STANDINGS

16

WE ARE THE

22

GIRL HORSE

CHAMPIONS 2015 CALENDAR 20 POWER

ANDRA 26

FLASHBACK 28

RACER PROFILE FACES @ THE 29

RACES

Fastlane is produced by the Australian National Drag Racing Association LTD.

ANDRA Staff

STAGING 4

Contact Details

Phone: 08 8271 5355 Fax: 08 8721 6988 Email: info@andra.com.au Street: 11 McInnes St, Ridleyton SA 5008

THE OFFICIAL TOOL SUPPLIER FOR ANDRA DRAG RACING

ts ra r o p e R Round unset Strip, Mildu y

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by Natio a r a n e delaide B A , s l 31 a n o ing Nati r p S , Sydney s l a 2 n 3 o i t alian Na r t s u A 34 FASTLANE I 3

staging stagingla ANDRA NEWS

Crow Cams continues support of ANDRA Drag Racing

The following is an excerpt from the 2015 ANDRA Rulebook: Super Sedan Eliminator remains a multi-class AUSTRALIAN IMPORTERS bracket, covering & 6 DISTRIBUTORS classes of sedan type vehicles or closed factory derivatives. A range of engine types is catered for and supercharging 2015 2016 is permitted in ww w. n t tclasses. yres.com some Super Sedan Ph. 08 8113 0600 offers competitive championship racing to the amateur driver with a modified street car, or the serious bracket racer with a highly modified full chassis sedan.

This bracket will consist of all eligible cars qualifying between 8.50 seconds (1/4 mile) and 10.999 seconds Top Sportsman Eliminator is a multi-class bracket for faster Super Sedan type vehicles.

Using the “dial your own” handicap for cars meeting the relevant Group Three regulations using any automobile type engine and any power adder combination.

Top Sportsman Eliminator will consist of the quickest 32 cars qualifying between 5.80 and 8.49 seconds (1/4 mile) at ANDRA Championship level. Vehicles running quicker than 5.80 during eliminations at any event will be disqualified from competition, except in the event of a dual 5.80 infringement in the final round of eliminations where the lesser infraction shall be deemed the winner. Vehicles running quicker than a 5.80 second elapsed time during qualifying will be placed at the bottom of the qualifying list unless a time within the relevant limits is recorded.

Additional vehicles may be included from non-qualifiers as listed, where less than 32 cars are qualified. ET limits are at the discretion of the Meeting Director at nonChampionship events. At Championship events dial-ins must remain between 5.80 and 8.49. Competitors in Top Sportsman need to hold a current AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL DRAG RACING ASSOCIATION RULE BOOK

4 I WWW.ANDRA.COM.AU

Super Sedan and Top Sportsman 2015 - 2016

The Australian National Drag Racing Association (ANDRA) is pleased to announce the re-signing of Crow Cams as an associate sponsor for the next two seasons.

The agreement follows a successful 2014 campaign as an associate sponsor including pit report sponsorship on SBS Speedweek and a presence at ANDRA Championship events and activations.

Crow Cams Marketing Manager Robert Henty said; “Our company is happy to resign after our initial 12 month agreement given the excellent brand and product exposure we have received at numerous pre event promotions at each round, on track signage, assistance with distribution of our promotional material at these events and great brand recognition on each Speedweek TV round coverage.

“The free advertising in the excellent Fastlane publication and ANDRA Rulebook as part of the package has also been effective.

“Like all good sponsorship arrangements, ANDRA has over delivered on our expectations and the personal assistance in maximising the benefits of the program and the assistance of all ANDRA staff is greatly appreciated.

“We look forward to working with the entire ANDRA team in the future to continue to enhance Drag Racing’s growing reputation as an excellent medium for corporate brand and product awareness to our mutual benefit.”

For over 30 years Crow Cams have supplied standard replacement and performance camshafts and valve train components to car companies, racers and performance enthusiasts.

Crow Cams’ reputation is built on success in motorsport and the company has maintained successful long-term technical partnerships with leading teams in drag racing, V8 Supercars, speedway and boat racing.

Their unique in-house facilities to design and develop leading edge camshaft profiles has allowed these teams to win many national and world championships and set countless national and world performance records along the way.

ANDRA CEO Malcolm Bulley said he was pleased with the burgeoning partnership and is excited by the growth development opportunities afforded by the agreement.

“Crow Cams is a

great Australian owned company alongside Hi-Tec Oils that fits perfectly inline with our international partners Summit Racing Equipment and Snap-on Tools Australia and New Zealand,” he said.

“Maintaining partnerships such as these are crucial to the development of ANDRA Drag Racing. The confidence Crow Cams have shown in the direction of the sport by resigning is encouraging to us, and any future prospective partners.

“If I was still racing I’d have no doubt in using the Crow Cams range. Wether it’s camshafts, pushrods, rockers, valves you name it, I urge all ANDRA members to take a closer look at what they have to offer.”

For more information about Crow Cams please visit www.crowcams.com.au

RULE BOOK

Group 2 Unlimited licence.

Competitors are reminded that all supercharged vehicles quicker than 9.00 (1/4 mile or equivalent) must be equipped with a lower engine containment device (nappy) or belly pan or combination of both capable of containing oil and debris. From 1/1/2015 all naturally aspirated vehicles quicker than 8.00 (1/4 mile or equivalent) must be equipped with a lower engine containment device (nappy) or belly pan or combination of both capable of containing oil and debris.

Additionally, any enclosed vehicle faster than 8.00 must have a serviceable fire suppression system of minimum 5lb capacity (10lb recommended).

Further, any driver of a car running quicker than 7.99 (1/4 mile or equivalent) requires the use of a proprietary Frontal Head Restraint system meeting either SFI 38.1 or FIA8858 standards. When using a Frontal Head Restraint, at all times that the driver is in the race vehicle, from when the vehicle is in the hands of the Starter until the vehicle is on the return road, the driver must properly utilise the Frontal Head Restraint, including connecting the helmet as required for full functionality of the device. For all cars quicker than 7.99 use of a Frontal Head Restraint is RECOMMENDED from January 1 2015. Use of Frontal Head Restraint is MANDATORY from July 1 2015 for ALL cars quicker than 7.99 regardless of class or group.

Hi-Tec Oils renews as Official Oil Supplier for ANDRA Drag Racing Following the success of the partnership over the 2014 ANDRA Championship season, Hi-Tec Oils were pleased to re-sign as the Official Oil Supplier for ANDRA Drag Racing over the next two seasons.

ANDRA CEO Malcolm Bulley said he was buoyed by the news as Hi-Tec Oils forms a key component of local and international partners contributing to the growth of ANDRA Drag Racing.

“It’s fantastic to have Hi-Tec Oils on board for another two seasons,” he said.

“Their continued support is another boost for the sport and their commitment demonstrates that our partners are happy with the direction we are headed.”

“Our partnerships are in a healthy state and the sport will reap the benefits of the support shown by companies like Hi-Tec Oils.”

Hi-Tec Oils is a family owned Australian company with more than 200 years of total workforce experience in Oil Lubricants delivering premium Australian made oils, greases and specialty products which meet and exceed the API, SAE and International Standards.

For more information please visit www.hi-tecoils.com.au

anes 2015/16 Calendar After an extensive development period with stakeholders around the country the 2015/16 calendar is ready for distribution.

Some of the highlights include; • Change from the recently introduced calendar year back to a financial year.

• Two seasons over an 18-month period to facilitate the change rather than another extensive 18-month program.

• Point caps for the shorter and full season.

• The Willowbank Super 3 event changing from a 2 day event to a 1 day event.

• A change in date of the Westernationals to late January, early February With a change in season and additional tracks looking at future opportunities there has been some extensive juggling of dates and events. We thank everyone for their patience and consideration while this has been developed. With ten different tracks hosting championship events in 2015/16 it was always going to be a difficult task. With another three international standard tracks underway and regional venues developing we will continue to look for additional growth and championship opportunities.

To see the full 2015/16 ANDRA Championship Drag Racing Calendar, please turn to page 20.

stag Travel Bonus Points 2015/2016 Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series

A 50% bonus for points scored at the Perth Motorplex or Alice Springs rounds, where at least one additional Sportsman Round is contested in the same season. Bonus points are applied to whichever of the two events the competitor performs better at. Travel bonus points are only applicable to racers in Groups 2, 3 and 4.

What’s that SNELL? Please note that SNELL SA2015 helmets will be permitted in all categories where SNELL SA (Special Application) certified helmets are permitted. From December 31 2016 SNELL SA2005 helmets will be prohibited in all categories.

Stocking Stuffers Stuff your stocking this Christmas with these hot ANDRA items in one of these awesome value packs!

SNELL M2015 helmets will be permitted in all categories where SNELL M (Motorcycle) certified helmets are permitted. From December 31, 2016 SNELL M2005 helmets will be prohibited in all categories.

Also note that it is recommended that competitors in Motorcycle categories wear Snell M (Motorcycle) rated helmets over Snell SA (Special Application) rated helmets.

T-Shirt and Stubbie Holder RRP $38 SALE PRICE $28

Points Caps 2015 Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series

The six month 2015 season presents its own opportunities with reduced rounds and therefore a reduced points cap. Competitors may accrue points at any or every round in the championship. Points will be capped at 160 for competitors in groups 2, 3 and 4 prior to the final event of the season. Points accrued at the final event will be added to these to determine Champions.

Travel Bonus Points 2015 Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series

Travel Bonus Points: A 50% bonus for points scored at the Perth Motorplex round, where at least one additional Sportsman Round is contested in the same season. Travel bonus points are only applicable to racers in Groups 2, 3 and 4.

Points Caps 2015/2016 Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series

Competitors may accrue points at any or every round in the championship. Points will be capped at 300 for competitors in groups 2, 3 and 4 prior to the final event of the season.

Points accrued at the final event will be added to these to determine Champions.

Office Closure Dates Please be advised the ANDRA Office will be closed from the 25th December to the 1st January. There will be a skeleton staff in the office on the 24th December and the 2nd January 2015.

On behalf of all the head office staff (Malcolm Bulley, Jennifer Harrison, Jackie Mills, Brett Stevens, Tim Baker, Colin Brassington, Donna Jantke, Belinda Whittaker and Leanne Wright) we wish all our members and their families a relaxing Christmas break and look forward to the new season in January 2015.

Ensure your credentials are up to date

Singlet and Stubbie Holder RRP $33 SALE PRICE $25

Bar Mat and Stubbie Holder RRP $43 SALE PRICE $35

If you are competing at an event that crosses over the end and start of a new month, please ensure you have current licences and up to date log books to the end of the following month.

This will ensure you are free to race and do not encounter eligibility issues during the race weekend.

FASTLANE I 5

Summit Racing Equipment to sponsor ANDRA Sportsman Series beginning in 2015 Summit Racing Equipment and the Australian National Drag Racing Association (ANDRA) recently announced Summit Racing as the new title rights sponsor for the ANDRA Championship Drag Racing Sportsman Series beginning with the 2015 season.

“I am excited to be working with a global brand such as Summit Racing Equipment,” said ANDRA Drag Racing CEO Malcolm Bulley. “As we continue to grow, we welcome their input into our premier Sportsman Drag Racing Championship.”

The Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series will expand to 12 classes with the addition of Top Sportsman for the 2015 season.

“We look forward to working with Summit Racing Equipment to further develop the Sportsman Series,” said ANDRA Business Development Manager Jennifer Harrison.

“We have a number of exciting developments planned for our members during the next three years.”

Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports and Events Manager Jim Greenleaf experienced what ANDRA drag racing has to offer when he recently attended the Australian Nationals in Sydney.

“I was very impressed with the quality of the racer cars, the level of competition, and the enthusiasm of the racers, teams, and

spectators,” Greenleaf said. “The ANDRA organisation has an exciting vision for the future of drag racing in Australia. Summit Racing is excited to be the title sponsor of the Sportsman Series as well as being a partner with ANDRA to take sport of drag racing to the next level in Australia.”

ANDRA Drag Racing CEO Malcolm Bulley thanked Graeme Cowin and Rocket Industries for their momentous support over the years and wished them continued success as they shift their focus to their already popular Outlaw Nitro Funny Cars.

CEO Malcolm Bulley added; “There’s been a lot of sponsor relationship building over the past 18 months and we are now in a position where the competitors will reap the rewards”.

INITIATIVES SUCH AS: • Discounts to Summit Racing Equipment products (discounts to be distributed through ANDRA) • $100 Win $50 Runner-Up Summit Racing Equipment Vouchers

The 2015 ANDRA Championship Drag Racing season begins January 9 at Perth Motorplex in Perth, Australia.

• Longest distance travelled rewards

SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT MEMBER REWARDS

• National record setter product vouchers

As part of the multi-year partnership, ANDRA in collaboration with Summit Racing Equipment will be supporting new initiatives to deliver extra rewards to the ANDRA member.

ANDRA business development manager Jennifer Harrison stated that relationships, such as the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series title rights partnership, provided new avenues in which members can receive additional reward during the championship season.

“It’s important to relay the support provided by our business partners to the membership. New opportunities have been created which will not only reward recipients monetarily but will also generate avenues that can be used to supplement personal sponsor relationships”.

• Top Qualifier merchandise packs • Complimentary Advertising space in Fastlane • Media exposure packages • Furthest under index Group 2 • Group 2 national record setters (ET) only • Division champions reward • Perfect Package for group 3 or 4 to the thousandth.

• Super Sedan, Super Gas, Super Street perfect qualifier eg. 8.500, 9.900, 11.000 • Best appearing Vehicle and Crew Full details on the 2015 member rewards programme will be available via the ANDRA website at the commencement of the season.

Note: Unless stated as ‘all members’, packages relate to those competing in the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series only.

See enclosed your BONUS Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series bumper/toolbox sticker!

About Summit Racing Equipment Established in 1968, Summit Racing Equipment is the leading high performance parts and accessories company in the world. Summit Racing offers the largest selection, lowest prices, and best customer service in the high performance industry via catalogues, Internet, and Retail Super Stores. The company is headquartered in Tallmadge, Ohio with retail locations in Tallmadge, Ohio; Sparks, Nevada; and McDonough, Georgia.

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ALIA

WHO’SYOUR

DIVISIONALDIRECTOR? VICTORIA/TASMANIA

SOUTH QUEENSLAND

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

NEW SOUTH W

WEB: WWW.ANDRA.COM.AU > COMPETITOR > DIVISIONAL COUNCILS

PHIL PARKER Division Director

Victoria/Tasmania Divisional Council PO Box 5053 East Geelong VIC 3219 Ph: 0408 712 605 Email: victoriatasmania@andra.com.au

Phil Parker first started drag racing in 1979 at the Ballarat Airport on a GS750 Suzuki street bike with the intention to do 1-2 passes just to see how quick it was. He then progressed to a GS1000 Suzuki and a home built GS750 race bike working out how long to make the wheelie bars by scaling up a photo of a USA bike. It worked well and he continued using the formula for extending swing arms etc.

“Almost every part of the chassis was hand built as you could not buy these parts anywhere back then,” he says. “This bike is still in existence in SA.” Parker won the 1992 Nationals at Calder Park, stepped up to a new GS1000 motor, was runner up at the 1993 Nationals and won the Modified Bike No. 1 plate in 1997. He purchased his first turbo bike 1998, stepped up to another turbo bike and then ‘Gracie’ came up for sale from the estate of Craig McPhee.

“Craig first called the bike Gracie and I have continued this as a sign of respect to Craig. So we started the long process of learning Nitro from 2006 and are still learning it to this day.”

Parker has been the Treasurer, President and is a life member of the Ballarat Drag Racing Club, a club that has produced some wonderful competitors that have performed very well over the years.

DIVISIONAL COUNCIL MEMBERS Phil Parker (Division Director) Peter Pisilidis (Alternative Division Director) Peter Kapiris Darren Parker Bill Caris Paul Rogers Douglas Anderson

Drag Racing has taken him all over Australia and to England to watch “how the Europeans do it”. And what he loves about Drag Racing is the competition and working with his crew.

“Drag Racing teaches you many good skills and makes attention to detail the number one lesson to learn. The Drag Racing family that we get to mix with at race meetings is always a good.”

“Being part of the ANDRA Divisional Council gives a greater insight into the sport and allows for me to give back something to the sport that I love.

“I am very privileged to be able to represent the racers in Tasmania and Victoria and while it is hard to please all, I endeavour to represent them all well.

“The team we have on the DC is a great combination of experience and current racers. With Peter Kapiris and myself racing Group 1, Darren Parker and Peter Pisalidis racing Group 2, Doug Anderson from the nostalgia scene and Paul Rogers Jnr and Bill Caris having years of experience with the sport, the DC is a group of racers having input.”

8 I WWW.ANDRA.COM.AU

10,0007184.503197328100

BYTH3NUMB3RS

10,000

1973

The year ANDRA was founded

Approximate amount of horsepower generated by a Top Fuel dragster

7

The number of successive Top Doorslammer Championships won by John Zappia

4.503 Top Fuel National record ET set by Larry Dixon

Number of ANDRA affiliated tracks around the country

.000

28 Percentage of Top Doorslammer Champions with racecars built in Australia

The reaction time by Steven Ham on his Australian Top Alcohol Championship winning pass

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FASTLANE I 9

PRODUCTFEATURE PARACHUTE RELEASE CABLE KIT This kit streamlines installation of the cable release system for a parachute.

The kit includes a black 18’ (5.48M) of Teflon lined Felsted cable, clip type cable with exposed .070” diameter wire on one end (may be cut to preferred length), Black anodised CNC machined lightweight aluminium lever/handle, rod end and cable mounting hardware.

The unique feature in this kit is a billet cable end to eliminate cable from fraying and causing parachute bag damage. You can also purchase an Aeroflow parachute safety flag to make sure the pin stays safely in the parachute during the burnout and is removed before your run.

For more information on all Aeroflow products and your closest stockist visit www.aeroflowperformance.com.au

WHEELIE BAR WHEELS Aeroflow’s billet aluminium wheelie bar wheels are machined from a solid piece of billet aircraft grade 6061-T6 aluminium. A solid polyurethane band is then bonded to its circumference as a tyre. This acts as a strong shock absorber and when coated in wheelie bar chalk leave a readable contact reference. Wheels are available in natural or black anodised and are sold individually. Dimensions are 4” in diameter, 1 5/8” hub-to-hub, and a 3/8” through hole diameter, but can be drilled to 1/2”.

For more information on all Aeroflow products and your closest stockist visit www.aeroflowperformance.com.au

10 I WWW.ANDRA.COM.AU

ANDRA NEWS

OAMPS

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARD

ANDRA DRAG RACING HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2014

Meet the latest inductees to the ANDRA Drag Racing Hall of Fame.

Gentleman Jim Reed and Gary Miocevich entered the ANDRA Drag Racing Hall of Fame at the gala 2014 ANDRA Championship Dinner on Monday November 3 following the Australian Nationals at Sydney Dragway.

For the very first time this year ANDRA introduced a new award to recognise the contribution of outstanding contribution and passion of volunteers donating their time to ANDRA Drag Racing.

“I want to thank OAMPS for their support in assisting ANDRA to recognise the time, effort and dedication our volunteers put into ANDRA Drag Racing,” said ANDRA CEO Malcolm Bulley.

“Every volunteer deserves an award and thanks to OAMPS we are in a position to reward the outstanding contribution of an individual going above and beyond the point of call.”

This years’ recipient as nominated by members, tracks and officials is Neville Stokes, a dedicated volunteer at the Perth Motorplex who can be seen around the scrutineering shed at every meeting.

GENTLEMAN JIM REED

GARY MIOCEVICH

Gentleman Jim is Australia’s equivalent to America’s Don Garlits and Connie Kalitta. At 78 years old, he has been modifying and racing cars for sixty-five years and has spawned three generations of drag racers, Jim and Nelma, Steven and Debbie and Daniel and Fiona.

Gary Miocevich has a considerable history in drag racing. Whether you look at his career as a racer as far back as the 70s, administrator or as track builder and operator, his vision has always been consistent to provide the most sustainable long term drag racing environment for all stakeholders.

Reed Racing have now been competing in Top Alcohol continuously for over twenty-five years with numerous championship victories.

Jim has been at the helm of this team using his tuning, fabrication and innovative skills and during his nearly six decades of racing, Jim has provided tuning advice, engine, supercharging and transmission building services to drag racers Australia wide as well as providing the spectacle that is drag racing through what is now being regarded as the “Golden Years of Drag Racing.”

12 I WWW.ANDRA.COM.AU

Gary’s involvement in ANDRA started when he was in his late teens as a Divisional Council member and spanned some 35 years of service in various roles on the ANDRA National Control Council, National Executive Committee and the Australian Drag Racing Promoters Association.

During this time he was a leading advocate for safety at tracks and was a consultant with overseas and Australian Government and private sector organisations that wanted to build drag racing or motor sport venues.

Gary has been involved in building some fantastic venues such as Perth Motroplex, Emirates Motorplex in the UAE and Jeddah Raceway in Saudi Arabia.

As part of the award, Neville was invited to the Australian Nationals and given a complimentary flight, accommodation and Championship Dinner Ticket.

2014 ANDRA CHAMPIONSHIP DINNER Also recognised at the 2014 ANDRA Championship dinner were each Champion and Runner Up of the ANDRA Drag Racing Series and Aeroflow Sportsman Drag Racing Championship including: Phil Lamattina, Allan Dobson (Top Fuel), Steven Ham and Gary Phillips (Top Alcohol), John Zappia and Stuart Bishop (Top Doorslammer), Mark Drew and Chris Matheson (Top Fuel Motorcycle), Aaron Tremayne and Tyronne Tremayne (Pro Stock), Luke Crowley and Maurice Allen (Pro Stock Motorcycle), Alistair McClure and Craig Geddes (Competition), Jake Chaisty and Mario Barbon (Super Stock), Ross Smith and Daryn Schuster (Competition Bike), Domenic Rigoli and George Rehayem (Super Compact), Doina Day and Luke Marsden (Supercharged Outlaws), Shane Wynd and Jasmine Ryan (Modified), John Kapiris and Daniel Morris (Super Sedan), David Carroll and Edgell Mallis (Modified Bike), Joe Jurkovic and Kylie Tanner (Super Street), Toby Austin and David Roberts (Junior Dragster) and finally Matt Forbes and Graeme Spencer (Super Gas).

The John Storm Memorial Trophy was awarded to Craig Geddes for his 490 total points while the ANDRA Shield and ANDRA Professional Racers Cup was awarded to South Queensland.

Congratulations to all of our award recipients.

665 Intimidator

Ph: (08) 8285 7795 or 0421 697 795 Email: sales@aer-au.com Australian Agent: Sales - Service and Warranties Only Race Motor with 12 Months Warranty

www.advanced-engines.com.au FASTLANE I 13

TOP FUEL

>

FINAL

CHAMPIONSHIP

POINTS

TOP5

TOP FUEL MOTORCYCLE

TOP5

1 Phil Lamattina

601

1 Mark Drew

366

2 Allan Dobson

556

2 Chris Matheson

288

3 Damien Harris

512

3 Gordon Crawford

239

414

4 Phil Parker

182

191

5 Chris Porter

176

4 John Lamattina 5 Steve Read

TOP ALCOHOL

TOP5

PRO STOCK

TOP5

1 Steve Ham

498

1 Aaron Tremayne

425

2 Gary Phillips

462

2 Tyronne Tremayne

332

3 Steven Reed

411

3 Lee Bektash

301

4 John Cannuli

367

4 Nino Cavallo

227

5 John Sting

235

5 Emilio Spinozzi

216

TOP DOORSLAMMER

TOP5

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE TOP5

1 John Zappia

749

1 Luke Crowley

489

2 Stuart Bishop

584

2 Maurice Allen

423

3 Grant O’Rourke

470

3 Scott White

320

4 Martyn Dack

401

4 Phil Howard

241

5 Peter Kapiris

386

5 Alberto Marques

90

JOHN ZAPPIA

TOP DOORLSAMMER

<

7TH CONSECUTIVE CHAMPIONSHIP

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SUPER COMPACT

CHAMPIONSHIP

COMPETITION

TOP5

TOP5

1 Domenic Rigoli

170

2 George Rehayem

110

3 Phillip Karpathios

100

4 Rod Harvey

100

5 Chris Hall

100

SUPER SEDAN

TOP5

1 Alistair McClure 2 Craig Geddes

385

1 John Kapiris

300

350

2 Daniel Morris

240

3 Kyle Putland 4 Peter Pisalidis

240

3 David Yanko

160

215

4 Jason Arbery

160

5 David Dequen

190

5 Lorenzo Gullotto

160

SUPER STOCK

TOP5

MODIFIED BIKE

TOP5

1 Jake Chaisty 2 Mario Barbon

390

1 David Carroll

320

360

2 Edgell Mallis

300

3 Steve Norman 4 Clint George

300

3 Joe Khoury

300

295

4 Bryan Finn

250

5 Les Heintz

225

5 Shane Walker

220

COMPETITION BIKE

TOP5

SUPER STREET

TOP5

1 Ross Smith 2 Daryn Schuster

360

1 Joe Jurkovic

340

295

2 Kylie Tanner

320

3 Rob Wasley 4 Peter Everett

210

3 Robert Winterburn

280

110

4 Stan Nikitaris

160

5 Andy Roberts

100

5 Craig Caton

160

SUPERCHARGED OUTLAWS TOP5

JUNIOR DRAGSTER

TOP5

1 Doina Day

330

1 Toby Austin

360

2 Luke Marsden

300

2 David Roberts

320

3 Mark Kuhn

300

3 Cory Burns

300

4 Chris Vantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hof

290

4 Bradley Bishop

280

5 Paul Stephen

290

5 Natalie Bishop

220

MODIFIED

TOP5

SUPER GAS

TOP5

1 Shane Wynd

300

1 Matt Forbes

340

2 Jasmine Ryan

260

2 Graeme Spencer

280

3 Jess Turner

260

3 Danny Buccella

280

4 Cory Dyson

220

4 David Gauldie

260

5 Ken Stewart

220

5 Colin Griffin

240

FASTLANE I 15

CHAMP WE ARE THE

2014 CHAMPIONS

Season 2014 has been run and won in the ANDRA Drag Racing Series and Aeroflow Sportsman Drag Racing Championship.

We had bad weather, great weather, action, drama, excitement, numerous national records and some of the closest title fights in ANDRA Championship Drag Racing history.

Once again Fastlane presents what all 17 ANDRA Champions had to say about their achievement.

TOP FUEL – PHIL LAMATTINA “I’m probably more relieved than anything but so proud of our team.

“To all of the boys on the crew and crew chief Aaron Hambridge, this is a tribute to their hard work and the huge effort that they put in.

“We had a great fight with Dobbo all year! Obviously, I want to win but he’s just such a good bloke, I almost wanted him to win too!

“The Nationals was just an unusual event, we smoked the tyres and got beaten, which is normally a downer, but we won the championship, which was really something!”

TOP ALCOHOL – STEVEN HAM “Sitting back, it is still hard to believe that we got this. There were so many hurdles to overcome, and there was a lot of luck that came our way.

I think our luck started with Gary’s DNQ, the 000 light and then the first or worst in the final, they say things come in threes.

“We knew after Darwin that we needed maximum points from the Nationals, and Gary to go out first round. It was definitely our weekend.

“I knew I was cutting the light fine (in the semi final), though John Sting is a great racer and leaves nothing on the table, a credit to him and a top bloke also, I got the thumbs up from the fire marshal and I could not believe my luck as John was next to me when I pulled the chutes. I then went over and spoke to John and by then the crew were there and I nearly cried.”

TOP FUEL MOTORCYCLE – MARK DREW “This was our first year racing the championship rounds to contend for the Australian Championship. I’m very pleased to have won and I’m looking forward to running the number one plate next season even though it is only for six months.

“I don’t think there is a lot of people who know how expensive and time consuming it is to run a Nitro Bike except for the fellas racing them.

Without the support of sponsors and friends it’d be impossible.

“I’d like to thank Oliver from Perth Harley Davidson also Andrew and Tony for their help at and away from the track and Keith from K Trans Australia, Charlie from Westside International, John from Wanneroo Blinds, Stan from Stan’s Tyre Service and Anthony from A&J Drilling.”

16 I WWW.ANDRA.COM.AU

MPIONS TOP DOORSLAMMER – JOHN ZAPPIA

“Fantastic result for Zappia Racing and our naming rights sponsors Fuchs Lubricants and Striker Crushing and Screening.

“The team was a little disappointed with the Fuchs Spring Nationals finals loss to O’Rourke, but a great result for the team overall. A big thank you to my Sponsors, Crew and Supporters”.

“The team was elated after the (Spring Nationals semi final) win, as news came through that we had won the Championship. After last year’s nail biting finish to the season going right down to the last race, it was a relief to secure the championship with one meeting remaining.”

PRO STOCK M/CYCLE - LUKE CROWLEY “Over the moon to get back to back championships. We were striving all year for a perfect season and up to the Nationals we’d made every final.

“We were the quickest bike all year apart from Scott White’s pass at the Spring Nationals.

“We pushed the bike all year and compared to last year we’ve had breakage after breakage, which a lot of it we kind of knew was going to happen but some of it has been oddball stuff that has caught us out.”

“In the offseason we’ll go back, pull the bike apart and probably put in a brand new bullet to start next year and get the other two engines back to where they should be and find our consistency.”

PRO STOCK – AARON TREMAYNE “It feels unreal (to win five Championships). It’s a major team effort, from a family team.

“We’ve been doing a lot of homework trying to nut it out and obviously now we’ve got another benchmark to catch. It’s a matter of time.

“We’re wrapped, couldn’t be happier. Losing to Nino this weekend, we made some horrible runs in eliminations so (I’m) a little bit disappointed on the weekend to how we ran because we should have run a lot faster considering how we ran at the Winternationals.

“But it is what it is, you learn from your mistakes and hopefully run better next year.”

COMPETITION - ALISTAIR MCCLURE “It feels fantastic. It’s been 18-months in the making. I’ve been to Sydney, Queensland, Adelaide, two meetings in Perth and back to Sydney again so financially it’s been a huge undergoing for a West Australian to make these 300 points. And to then still come and do this final meeting I’ll probably be having a break for a little while now to recover but it’s a dream come true.

“I could never afford to go Group One so that’s it, I’ve reached the pinnacle of what I can do so it’s unbelievable.

“Big shout to all my family and crew, Allfast Torque Converters and also Fuchs for giving me all the oil products we’ve been burning up all over the country.”

CHAMPIONSHIP

FASTLANE I 17

2014 CHAMPIONS

SUPER STOCK – JAKE CHAISTY “It feels great to follow in my Dad’s footsteps, winning the Australian Championship for Super Stock, and in my first full season of racing in this class. I feel like I have made my Dad proud.

“After I realised I had won the championship I felt extremely happy and relieved.

“Most importantly I would like to thank my Dad, for giving me this great opportunity. Thank you to my fiancé Nicole, for supporting me throughout the last season. Also special thanks to other members of the crew, Jamie and Geoff, and to my sponsors C&R Motorsports, Motorsport Database, A1 Performance, and Applied Automotive.

Without everyone’s support I could not have achieved what I have.”

CHAMPIONSHIP

COMPETITION BIKE – ROSS SMITH “I’m relieved! I was nervous going into that first round knowing what was riding on it and got it done. Barry, what a legend hey. He never lets me down when it matters.”

CHAMPIONSHIP

SUPER COMPACT – DOMENIC RIGOLI “For the first year that we have raced the car competitively we are very happy with the result. I knew I had to make it to the first round of competition (at the Nationals) before we had the Championship secured.

“A big thank you to Nulon, Turbo by Garret, Smithfield Diff & Gear, ARA Engine Reconditioning, Insight Motorsports, TRP Racing and my crew Robert, Sam and Nelson and my wife Danijela. Without any of these people this year would not be possible.

And a special thanks to Bill Rajab from Rajab Body Works for dropping everything to have my car repaired and painted after the crash at Willowbank.

CHAMPIONSHIP

MODIFIED BIKE – DAVID CARROLL “After watching Joe Khoury get knocked out of the first round at the Australian Nationals, handing the series lead to me, seeing the red light come up in the second round was a moment of disappointment and disbelief that quickly turned to joy.

“It was a year of dramas, mechanical failures, financial struggles and even a trailer fire on the way to a Test and Tune. Through a lot of determination or just plain stubbornness we made it through the year.

“Most of all I would like to thank my beautiful wife. Despite having no comprehension as to why we do what we do, she has been there to support me at every round, from one end of the country to the other throughout the year.”

CHAMPIONSHIP

S/CHARGED OUTLAWS – DOINA DAY “I thought I am getting a trophy, how good is this? When I won I could not believe it. I cried and hugged everyone near me.

“Thanks to Peter (Swarf King) for giving me a fantastic car that he built and runs for me, John Drysdale for his support from the beginning of Outlaws, Seymour Produce, and all the tracks in Australia for making Drag Racing as good as it is. Their effort is appreciated.

“Thanks to Aeroflow for their support of the Sportmans Series, Rod at Advance Engine Dynamics for building a dead consistent engine and all my crew, Chris, John, Jeanette, Jasmine, Gen and Sarah.

“Also a special thank you to Rino at Adelaide for having faith and believing Drag Racing was worth the pain.”

CHAMPIONSHIP

CHAMPIONSHIP

SUPER SEDAN – JOHN KAPIRIS “Winning the second one was harder because you need to show that you’re cutting good lights and running.

“Consistent people rock up next to you and everyone wants to be the one that took out number 1 so as much as I have had red lights I have had four zeros cut on me as well.

“I would like to have the chance to say thank you to all my sponsors, friends and family, all ANDRA officials, all the tracks around the country, spectators and all competitors.”

CHAMPIONSHIP

SUPER GAS – MATT FORBES “We’re very excited it’s every bit as good as last year. Last year was a bit of a surprise, we’d been strong all season but it came down to the final of the Nationals to win the Championship.

“This one we’ve had commanding performances all year so it seemed fitting we were able to close the deal before the final after we had our points knocked back to 300. It feels every bit as good as the last.

“Next season we’ll concentrate on the Corvette but I’ll be heading to Pomona to pick up a Modified dragster I purchased from Charlotte Lucas. It’ll probably run in the 7.10-7.20 range and when Super Gas isn’t offered at certain tracks I’ll take the dragster out.

CHAMPIONSHIP

SUPER STREET – JOE JURKOVIC “It hasn’t quite sunk in yet. I think we earned it, it was a good season full of tough competition.

“Want to thank my sponsor Ferris Enterprises, my crew, especially my Crew Chief Peter who has travelled everywhere with me when some of the other crew couldn’t make it to all of the events, so hats off to him.

“To Kylie (Tanner) as well, she has been a good competitor, she was a bit unlucky.”

CHAMPIONSHIP

JUNIOR DRAGSTER – TOBY AUSTIN “It’s very exciting to win my first Australian Championship. David (Roberts) went out before me so we knew we had the Championship, I was pretty excited but we still had our own race to concentrate on.

“Thanks to my family and friends for their support.”

CHAMPIONSHIP

MODIFIED – SHANE WYND “When the weather changed so much from first round to second round, we had to dial right. Unfortunately I doubted my weather station and broke out. I never break out. This ticked me off.

“When Jasmine got beaten it was great for me. She had done so well in her three meetings. She is a good racer and was on fire. The whole time I kept thinking what if I hadn’t have gone to hospital in Mildura, things might be different.

“The championship was just as good as the last two. We got a heap of well wishes from people at the track, Facebook and text messages. We are really happy with the outcome, as it has been a hard season with our move and the Hospital trip in Mildura changing everything.

Jo has been so good as she doesn’t like coming to the track she gets real nervous before each race. Hopefully she will get better as we race more. Thank you also to Skip and Andrew and Nicole Musgrave.

CHAMPIONSHIP

2015CALENDA

OFEVENT JANUARY 9-10

Perth Motorplex Top Doorslammer Round 1, Top Fuel Motorcycle Round 1

MARCH 14-15

Adelaide International Raceway Top Alcohol Round 2, Top Doorslammer Round 3, Pro Stock Round 2, Pro Stock Motorcycle Round 2

JANUARY 30-31

44th Westernationals, Perth Motorplex Top Alcohol Round 1, Top Doorslammer Round 2

APRIL 4

Willowbank Raceway Top Fuel Round 4, Top Alcohol Round 3

AR

TS

FEBRUARY 7-8

Calder Park Top Fuel Round 1, Top Fuel Motorcycle Round 2, Pro Stock Round 1, Pro Stock Motorcycle Round 1

MAY 1-3

Sydney Dragway Top Fuel Round 5, Top Alcohol Round 4, Top Doorslammer Round 4, Top Fuel Motorcycle Round 5, Pro Stock Round 3, Pro Stock Motorcycle Round 3

JANUARY 17-18

Sth Coast Raceway, Portland

APRIL 11

Willowbank Raceway

JANUARY 30-31

MAY 1-3

FEBRUARY 7-8

JUNE 4-7

44th Westernationals, Perth Motorplex Calder Park

MARCH 14-15

Adelaide International Raceway

Sydney Dragway Winternationals, Willowbank Raceway

FEBRUARY 28-MARCH 1 Perth Motorplex Top Fuel Round 2 and 3, Top Fuel Motorcycle Round 3 and 4

JUNE 4-7

Winternationals, Willowbank Raceway Top Fuel Round 6, Top Alcohol Round 5, Top Doorslammer Round 5, Top Fuel Motorcycle Round 6, Pro Stock Round 4, Pro Stock Motorcycle Round 4

POINTS CAPS SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT SPORTSMAN SERIES

The six month 2015 season presents its own opportunities with reduced rounds and therefore a reduced points cap. Competitors may accrue points at any or every round in the championship. Points will be capped at 160 for competitors in groups 2, 3 and 4 prior to the final event of the season. Points accrued at the final event will be added to these to determine Champions

TRAVEL BONUS POINTS SUMMIT

RACING EQUIPMENT SPORTSMAN SERIES

Travel Bonus Points: A 50% bonus for points scored at the Perth Motorplex round, where at least one additional Sportsman Round is contested in the same season. Travel bonus points are only applicable to racers in Groups 2, 3 and 4.

GIRL POWER

GI

HORS As a prominent Championship challenging Modified racer the past two years and winner of the 2014 Fuchs Winternationals, Jess Turner is well placed to provide an inside view of the women making waves in ANDRA Drag Racing.

22 I WWW.ANDRA.COM.AU

GIRL

RSEPOWER So, the song says ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’ but after speaking to some of the most influential women in Drag Racing and speaking from personal experience, I think a different tale can be written when it comes to women in ANDRA Drag Racing.

Although the brackets, classes, racecars and engine combinations change, the objective of some of the fastest women in Australia stays the same, to win!

Over the past few years finding women in the drivers seat with hundreds of horsepower under their right foot has not been uncommon. In fact with over 190 Female License holders you can see why we are fast becoming a regular thing.

Junior Dragster is where it starts for many young women racers with over 50 female license holders from all over the country.

The chances are for all the male racers out there you’re going to have to get past the girls if you want to win!

Whether you grew up around the sport, or come into it later in life, the Drag Racing family, despite your gender, will welcome you, support you and always look after you.

Leanne Braggs began racing at age 46 and when she suffered a frightening top end crash in Mildura this year she had nothing but praise for the sport she’s grown to love.

“After my accident I came to really realise just what a community the drag racing fraternity is,” she said.

“While I was off at the hospital and of course Steve (my husband) followed me there, our entire pit area was packed up, car loaded everything sorted out by my fellow competitors, and friends and I believe many people that I didn’t really know personally.”

For anyone not familiar with the name Kate Harker she is the daughter of Steve Harker; 2014 NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car Champion. She was not only the first non-American female to win an NHRA Top Alcohol Divisional event but the 31 year old is also currently the fastest female in Top Alcohol Dragster in the world running a 5.22 at 278 mph.

Kate compared racing NHRA to ANDRA as a Top Alcohol driver jumping from a Top Alcohol Dragster into her Top Alcohol Funny Car explaining that NHRA proved vital for her transition back into ANDRA Drag Racing where she started in Junior Dragster all those years ago.

“I think both ANDRA and NHRA series offer their own great opportunities but

One thing all the ladies who contributed to this article could agree on is it’s a family sport. Most racers bring their partners, kids, parents and win, lose or draw they still know they have the support of their family.

Drag Racing families are a special kind of family, one that may not be related by blood but instead related by passion, commitment, horsepower and the pure need for speed.

Debbie O’Rourke continuing to shine as the leading lady of Group 1.

FASTLANE I 23

Jasmine Ryan, a young gun who is working her way up the ranks.

Doina Day, in her 2014 championship winning Supercharged Outlaw.

ONESTO Rhiannon Allison

One of the young faces of the sport and Perth Motorplex Rookie of the Year for the 2013/14 season, Rhiannon Allison has taken to driving her Supercharged Outlaws dragster at over 300 kph like it was nothing.

With many achievements already at the age of only 19, her future looks promising as she prepares to step up in a big way.

the biggest opportunity with NHRA is track time, and for me to have had the chance to compete in 18-20 race events a year for five years has really excelled me as a driver and improved my own mechanical knowledge immensely,” said Harker.

With the number of women growing within the sport, there’s no doubt that we will see many progress into Group 1, with adopted American Grace Howell shaking up Pro Stock first at the Winternationals in June and the Australian Nationals in November.

Debbie O’Rourke, arguably one of the most prominent female racers we’ve had in Australia has an extensive list of accomplishments over her 20 year racing career, including claiming top qualifier in Top Alcohol, final round appearances against names such as Gary Phillips and being the first woman to drive an Alcohol Funny Car in Australia.

Grace proved she means business upsetting Bill Kotsias in Round 1 of the Nationals running a 7.01; a personal best for the team.

She then bowed out in Round 2 to Emilio Spinozzi with a respectable 7.03.

When asked if she raced for fun or to win Debbie explains she goes mostly to win, however she doesn’t care who’s in the other lane, she is just focused on her own race.

Although Debbie is unique in her class as the only female she doesn’t see a barrier between her and her fellow competitors.

“I think the guys are pretty used to me being around now,” she said. “I’m a bit of a dark horse, as they know that I can beat them.

Obviously beating them is the name of the game but it doesn’t matter about gender, we are all racers and I want to get to the finish line first.”

Her take on the growing number of women in Drag Racing is positive; “Recently I attended a local QDRC round at Willowbank and was blown away by the number of girls and women competing.

“There is no reason we can’t compete against men and to some extent I’ve forgotten they are men! I hope that more women can transition into Group 1 though as I won’t be around forever!”

“For the 2014/15 season I will be driving a Jet Dragster. I will start my licensing in the upcoming months and then December 28th will be my first meeting,” explained Allison.

“Potentially reaching speeds of 450kph/280mph and running around four and half seconds down the quarter I am very excited to take on my first Jet drive.”

The recent Australian Nationals also saw Doina Day win both the event and the prestigious Australian Championship in Supercharged Outlaws all in one meeting, The Drag Racing family has been around the sport for many years with both Doina’s children racing Junior Dragster. Daughter Jasmine Ryan then stepped up into Modified Eliminator where this year she has won two from three events and found herself runner up in the Australian Championship.

Motorsports is one of the only sports in the world where women compete with men regularly on a level playing field. And in Drag Racing your capabilities are far more important than your gender.

The women in our sport today inspire me to become a better racer, I’ve grown up watching them compete with the men and often beat them. Being a woman in a male dominated sport pushes me to grow into a racer that is respected and not taken lightly despite my gender.

Racers like Debbie O’Rourke have proved to me it is possible to get to the top with a little determination and a lot of hard work!

PIONEER Rachelle Splatt

Rachelle Splatt grew to be a household name in her reign in Top Fuel; the “Queen of Speed” shocked the Motorsports world as she won the Nationals on debut, reset both ends of the National record and became the first woman in the world to break the 300 mph barrier. Rachelle claimed a spot on the integral Slick 50 300 mph Club in the USA where she had a full time drive in 1994.

Michelle Osborn Michelle Osborn has made a name for herself as a fierce competitor in Modified Eliminator, running low seven seconds in her Altered; she currently holds the A/ MA ANDRA National record at 7.13 as well as track records at Sydney Dragway and Willowbank Raceway. Michelle isn’t taken lightly in the West where she has had multiple event wins and continues to keep her competitors honest.

TOWATCH

Kelly Bettes Kelly Bettes continues to surprise people as she does double duties with her Modified Dragster and the Jett Racing Ute; as a previous Australian Modified Champion Kelly has achieved more than many of the boys in the sport.

Her opportunity with Jetts Racing took her to New Zealand to compete in the Datsun 1200 Ute. With multiple Jamboree and National Event wins in both classes, including the 2014 Australian Nationals, Kelly is no doubt one of the best female racers we have in Australia today.

CURRENT LIST OF WOMEN LICENCE HOLDERS Danielle Abel Danielle Armistead Alexis Barbeler Taylah Batson Emma Begley Natalie Bishop Katrina Bowman Madison Brown Julie Carter Caitlin Chapman Chloe Chapman Claudia Claite Tiarni Cook Charlotte Cope Alanah Cope Zoe Curling Stephanie Davies Michelle Donnelly Kelly Donnelly Rebecca Ewing Georgia Fardella Brooke Farrelly Brooke Harris Emma Hazzard Kiri Head Chloe Hughes Bianca Humphreys Makenah Johnson-Begg Jaymii Karapetkov Abbie Leahy Shelby Leahy Teanah Littlewood Madison McClennan Cadence McNicholl Georgia McSweeney Darcy Muller Ali Mundey Mikayla Munro Kayla Panetta Hayley Percival Lilly Porter Tegan Roach Demikah Sendall Jasmine Slamar Maddison Sperrer Monique Stewart Brodie Tedesco Jacynta Tuelstrup Maella Ward Madalen Whyte Melissa Wilcox Shari Young Caitlin Zammit

Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior

Vicki Adamou Lauren Bateup Karen Bawden Cara Bertoli Lisa Blandford Katrina Bonato Jamin Boskovich Amy Busby Rebecca Dack Kristy Dodd Nicole Doeblien Mardi Hall Sasha Hamersley Jennifer Jackson Marcina Johnson-Begg Jodie Kendall Christine Kilmister Jacqulyn King Mardi Knight Erin Koukides Sarah Langridge Isla Laurent Rebekka List Adrianna MacCaskell Danielle MacCaskell Patricia McNiff Denise Millimgnton - Flay Amy Palanca Robyn Phillis Angela Phipps Jayne Pratt Melissa Prior Dale Rankmore Kathy Regan Kathleen Salotti Terri Sander Teena Sawley Jayme Smith Lynette Stewart Kylie Tanner Helena Taskis Elizabeth Tayl;or Alysha Teale Christine Thomson Alarna Tufrey Simone Turriziani Suzanne Ward

Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street

Suzanne Watson Belinda Welch Morgan Whiting Glenis Wilkins Rachel Wilkins Geraldine Willox Lynda Woodford Kristie Wroe Corrine Zammit

Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street Super Street

Alesha Adamos Micheele Adamos Megan Anderson Kimelle Anderson Kerrianne Armstrong Leonie Bailey Carla Barrett Amanda Bolam Leanne Braggs Fiona Crisp Jessica Crisp Katie Cunningham Rebecca Dean Renae Dobson Sarah Glanville Tammy Goldthorpe Yvette Gregg Dale Gummow Margaret Hartill Law Nikki Hepburn Stephanie Huysmans Pauline Igglesden Anne Jones Lia Jurkovic Andrea Kahle Kellie Kidd Ami King Linda Kraat Kristy Lange Tegan Larkin Chelsea Leahy Naomi Lightowler Lisa Mahnkoph Rebecca Marsden Melissa Marsh Debrah Martin Jodi Mellitt Holly Mills Haylee Minter Peta Morton Michelle Osborn Dee Oxley Heather Parkinson Jennifer Petrie Justine Piddington Melissa Piddington Lisa Powell Mandy Pukis Judith Pukis Jordan Radford Cassandra Rhodes Jasmine Ryan Tabatha Saunders Acacia Schwarz Janelle Scott Sharon Sheehan Allisin Stewart Elise Taylor Roxanne Thomas Rolinia Tremayne Jessica Turner Carolyn Tzortzas Tania Wex Karlene Whyte Emma Williams Ashleigh Wroe Sarah Wylie

Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3 Unlimited Group 3

Rhiannon Allison Kelly Bettes Gina Bullians Renee Cockerill Kirsty Cunningham Michelle Davies Doina Day Tracey De Jager Angela Dow Kate Harker Terri Ann Jones Jodanna Pullen Fiona Reed Christine Steffens Dearne Stephen Niki Zakrzewski

Unlimited Group 2 Unlimited Group 2 Unlimited Group 2 Unlimited Group 2 Unlimited Group 2 Unlimited Group 2 Unlimited Group 2 Unlimited Group 2 Unlimited Group 2 Unlimited Group 2 Unlimited Group 2 Unlimited Group 2 Unlimited Group 2 Unlimited Group 2 Unlimited Group 2 Unlimited Group 2

Debbie Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Rourke

Group One

FASTLANE I 25

FLASHBACK

1974 AUSTRALIAN NATIO Photographer and historian Steve Thomas shares his memories from the 1974 Australian Nationals held at Castlereagh in New South Wales.

mph for a new A/G speed record, rounding out the Competition Eliminator records.

Forty years ago, at Castlereagh, the Australian Nationals were run on November 9th and 10th, with a few similarities to the 2014 Nationals.

Four records fell in Super Stock, starting with South Aussie Eddie Vodopivec taking his B/MP 351 Falcon to an 11.73 and fellow South Aussie Andy Kukeste ran his ‘Andy Capp’ 289 Mustand to a new C/MP record of 12.72, backed up by an amazing and tooquick 12.52 in the semi-finals. Yet another South Aussie grabbed a Super Stock record, with Graham Watson taking his 292 Y-block Ford street rod to a 12.92 to re-set the A/SR mark. The final Super Stock record to fall was in B/S with Queensland’s Mick Pocock going 12.68 in his 351 Falcon.

Firstly, extremely hot conditions prevailed, as they did on day one this year and secondly, it was Pro Stock, which saw standout performances and had everybody talking. Thirdly, the number of records set was 13.

This year it was Lee Bektash and his 400-cube Dodge belting out a string of sixes, besting with the first sub-6.9, a 6.877 and then becoming the first Pro Stocker to break the 200 mph barrier in Australia with his final round 200.14 mph. Back in 1974 it was Big Ed Stipanovich in his 327 Monaro running a string of 11-second passes, besting with a new record of 11.60 and also taking a new speed record at 118.42 mph. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Apart from the two Pro Stock records set in 1974, other new marks set were an 8.11 in AA/FA, by Queensland’s ‘Gentleman’ Jim Reed, who ran a 30% dose of nitro in his 392 Hemi T-bucket, Cliff Kiss set the AA/A record at 8.49 in the 427 Chev ‘Coutt’s

T’ bucket and Victorian Chris Sirinotis went 134.73

In Modified it was the late, great Joe Borg (R.I.P., Joe) re-setting the B/D record at 10.02, after running the 216-cube Holden rail to a great 9.77 in qualifying, South Aussie Brian Hutchesson took his 260 Ford powered Fiat B/A to a new et record at 10.37 and the perennial George Wegener went 11.82 in his 186 Holden powered Honda for the new C/G record.

Finally, two records were re-set in the Stock bracket. Queensland’s Birkbeck Brothers went 15.00 with their 1650cc Anglia for the F/MP mark and NSW’s Bill Sivertsen went 14.46 to grab the G/ MP in his sideplate powered FJ, ‘Crusader’.

Top Fuel was the anti-climax bracket of the 1974 Nationals, as only two of the four pre-entries were on hand, Jim Read and Warren Armour. With three cars required to make the field legitimate, track manager Dave Andrew had Morrie Carlton move his blown 354 Hemi A/FD into the bracket. Read was top qualifier with a 6.65/221.67 blast in the 417 Donovan powered rail. The final saw Armour over-stage and watch Read go to a solo victory with a 6.60/220.58.

Funny Car promised so much with nine entries, but the actual meeting was disappointing due to problems with most of the cars. Norm Oakey top qualified with his rear-engined Monaro with an 8.44 after John ‘Crazyman’ Taylor had thrown a blower belt, John Lumb broke an axle in the Phillips & Lumb ‘Panic’ Torana, Graeme Cowin blew a hole in a cylinder head in his new Mustang and Benny Gatt was still getting the feel of driving the Capri after the recent upgrade to a blown and injected 392 Hemi.

Round one of eliminations saw Cowin unable to stop after his burnout and coasted through the traps, giving Oakey a single into the next round, the next pairing of Lumb against Gatt saw the win go to Lumb, despite the roof collapsing due to broken front roof pillars and Jeff Burnett advanced when Taylor red lit then snapped an axle. Oakey had burnt a piston in round one and was unable to face for round two, Lumb made a single but sheared two bolts in the blower drive and the officials had re-instated Gatt to race against Burnett, although no-one knew why, the win going to Burnett in his small block Chev powered Charger. After further errors by the officials it was decided that the final between John Lumb and Jeff Burnett would be run at the up-coming Funny Car Festival in December.

This was the first time Pro Stock had been an official ANDRA bracket at the Nationals and it fielded six cars, four Monaros and two Falcons. Ed Stipanovich came out on top with his 11.67 qualifier, followed by Steve Turner’s 11.98 in Bill Roberts’ 327 Monaro.

The rest of the field comprised Ted Hicks’ Monaro in third, Maurice Allen’s ‘Spray Chief’ Falcon in fourth, the Lanahan and Casey Falcon from North Queensland was next and Peter D’Allesandro’s ‘Leprechaun’ Monaro rounded out the field. First round winners were Stipanovich, Turner and Hicks.

Round two saw Stipanovich with the bye and it was Hicks joining him in the final, which ‘Big Ed’ won with an 11.91/116.12, Hicks following through on 12.55/110.42.

Competition Eliminator was big, with 33 entries.

Top qualifier was Rod Marchant with a 7.97 from the blown 355 Chev FED, to be 0.33 under the index, while Mark Chapman put the injected big block Chev A/D into second with a 0.30-under 8.70. After some fantastic racing, the final was set between ‘Gentleman’ Jim Reed’s AA/FA and Rod Marchant’s A/FD. The start was oh-so-close but it was Reed with a winning 8.11/187.89 over Marchant’s 8.39/171.75.

The biggest entry list of the meeting was the Modified bracket, with 47 entries trying to make the 16-car field. Topping them all was Sydney’s Joe Borg, with a 0.37-under 9.73 from his 6-pack Holden B/D, George Wegener took second with

ONALS

By Steve Thomas

a 0.25-under 11.69 in C/G and in third was the beautiful ‘Heavy Chevy’ injected 327 Chev HB Torana B/G of Rob Fitzpatrick with an 11.34, to be 0.16 under. As in Comp the racing was hard and fast and it was two South Aussies in the final. Brian Hutchesson’s B/A ‘Outlaw’ 260 Ford Fiat overcame a 0.25 handicap to take a 10.41/125.69 win over the 11.19/113.49 from Roger Keough’s ‘Blue Flame’ 6-pack Chev rail.

Super Stock had 42 entries and topping the qualifying was Adelaide’s Tony Bowden with a 0.31-under 11.19 in his A/MP 454 Chev Nova. Andy Kukeste’s 289 Mustang C/MP was second, his 12.61 also being 0.31 under. Third and fourth went to two street rods, with Dave Gale’s B/SR A-Coupe going 12.86 to be 0.19 under and Graham Watson’s A/SR went an identical 12.86 to be 0.14 under. The final came down to the two Fords of Kukeste and Eddie Vodopivec, the win going to the 289 Mustang of Kukeste with a 12.99/106.13 over the ‘Mr Ed’ Facon’s 11.75/113.35.

Nineteen cars entered for Stock Eliminator and it was the Birkbeck Brothers’ F/MP twin cam Anglia going 0.02 under to take top spot, with a 15.16.

Another Queenslander was second, the beautiful ‘Mr Terrific’ G/MP FJ of Rob Sloane with a 15.12, followed by NSW’s Ken Bassett and Ray Walker’s ‘Brumby’ D/MP FJ Ute on 14.46 and Qld’s Milton Adey in his 1760cc Cortina powered Anglia with an F/MP 15.77. The final was between the two G/MP sideplate FJs of Rob Sloane and 14th qualifier, Bill Sivertsen. Sivertsen’s ‘Crusader’ went 14.55/89.28 for the win over the 14.81/89.28 from ‘Mr Terrific’.

And that was the 1974 Australian Nationals, a couple of disappointing brackets but, overall, a fantastic meeting with many record-setting performances.

FASTLANE I 27

CHRIS

RACER PROFILE

MATHESON CHRIS MATHESON

TEAM: Nitro Voodoo BRACKET: Top Fuel Motorcycle PREVIOUS BRACKETS: Modified Bike NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 3 (Top Fuel

Motorcycle - 2010, 2011, 2012)

ANDRA CHRISTMAS TREES: Nitro

Champs (2010, 2011, 2012), Winternationals (2010, 2012, 2014), Australian Nationals (2010, 2012)

BIO: Believe it or not, three-time ANDRA Drag Racing Series Top Fuel Motorcycle Champion Chris Matheson is a relative newcomer to nitro, dominating Top Fuel Motorcycle since joining the ranks just a few short years ago.

‘Matho’ cut his teeth on Motor-X and short circuit motorcycles but his experience isn’t limited to dirt or bitumen. He is also well known on the ‘Salt Lakes’ both here in Australia and at Bonneville, Utah, USA, where he has competed on both two and four wheels. Matheson is one of only a few Aussies who have achieved the 200 mph barrier on salt in both Australia and the USA. In August 2008, Matheson travelled to America to view the former Jimmy Brantley AMA/Prostar 2005 Championship Top Fuel Bike, formerly known as the “Hulk”, where they met Larry “Spiderman” McBride, Steve McBride and the entire team at Cycle Specialists.

The bike was built by the McBride’s and Jimmy Brantley and is famous for completing a 5.8 second pass at 237 mph. After spending some time at Indianapolis Raceway with the trio, a deal was concluded for the bike to be shipped to Australia.

Since entering Drag Racing Matheson has amassed an impressive 90 per cent success rate and is the current Australian Top Fuel Motorcycle national record holder with a 6.04 second ET and 241.80 mph.

He has experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, who can forget his high speed off at Sydney Dragway in 2013? But he continues for the love of riding and the quest to one day break the five-second barrier and record the first sub-six second pass on a Top Fuel Motorcycle in Australia.

WHY I STARTED DRAG RACING: I started drag racing Motorcycles in the late seventies, purely to have fun.

WHAT DOES A TYPICAL PASS ON A TOP FUEL MOTORCYCLE FEEL LIKE? Absolutely insane sense of power, as the machine continues to accelerate all the way until you shut it off, it’s just unbelievable.

At the hit, the Bike pulls 4G’s, then accelerates to 100 mph in one second 200 mph in under four seconds (half track) and over 240 mph in six seconds.

After half track, we travel a football field a

second, that’s fast, especially with the front wheel in the air for the entire run, steering with your foot pegs!

I have never herded cats, but I think steering a Fuel Bike would be similar.

IS IT TRUE ALL TOP FUEL MOTORCYCLE RIDERS ARE CRAZY? Maybe not all of them.

WHAT OTHER BRACKET DO YOU MOST ENJOY WATCHING? I enjoy all the Drag Racing brackets, but my heart is with Nitro. I love the Nitro flip-flops, especially the older style Outlaws.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO WHEN YOU AREN’T RACING? Preparing for the next race, working and family.

A young Chris with father Edward polishing Chris’ first push bike. Closely watched by long-time friend McGuiness McGee, the Collie cross dog

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FEATURE

FACES

AT THE RACES

AEROFLOW SPORTSMAN DRAG RACING CHAMPIONSHIP - ROUND 9 SEPTEMBER 13-14, 2014 MILDURA SUNSET STRIP PHOTO CREDIT: TAD PHOTOS

ROUND REPORT

FUN IN THE SUN Perfect weather, perfect track conditions and a perfect performance from Craig Geddes headlined Round 9 of the Aeroflow Sportsman Drag Racing Championship at Mildura Sunset Strip.

Having made a mid-season switch in classes from B/DA to E/DA in an effort to become more competitive, the move immediately paid dividends setting new 660 feet National E/DA records on the way to the round win.

“We planned to come here and do well,” said Geddes. “It was always a risk changing classes at the last minute three quarters of the way through the season when we’ve gone pretty well already.

“But we thought it was worth a gamble and we came here with the 284 (cubic inch engine) and we’re very pleased with the results, it far exceeded what we thought.

We’re probably a tenth quicker straight away to the eighth mile than we thought. The track was fantastic; it took everything we threw at it, the car performed well.

“We were very pleased to be top qualifier, both records and the win so we’ve got plenty of points in the bank now and we’re looking forward to Adelaide and the last round in Sydney where we hope to have a six under car, which we should given the performance so far.”

Elsewhere in Super Comp, Peter Pisalidis reset the AA/APIA records with a 4.452 elapsed time and 167.03 mile per hour.

In other action Ryan Van Dyk gave his Championship hopes a boost taking home the trophy in Supercharged Outlaws with a win over current Australian Champion Luke Marsden. Van Dyk also eliminated Jake Donnelly and Mark Kuhn in the semi.

Jasmine Ryan went all the way to the final of Modified defeating local favourite Kingsley

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Kuchel, both Kenny and Tim Stewart and a red lighting Alex Van Leuven in the final.

Dale Tucker pushed his HQ all the way defeating Benny Phillips in the Super Sedan final. Earlier Tucker defeated Australian Champion John Kapiris, Charlie Pitt and crowd favourite Ned Karanovic in his blue ’57 Chev.

Shane Walker eliminated Championship contender Joe Khoury and Malcolm Price on the way to a final victory over Johnny Ireland in Modified Bike to ensure a shootout throughout the final rounds.

Although the weekend didn’t go quite to plan for Edgell Mallis, he did reset the B/MB mile per hour record to 125.05 mph claiming valuable bonus points in the process.

Joe Jurkovic enacted some revenge on title rival Kylie Tanner for his defeat in their previous meeting in the final of the Desert Nationals taking home the Silver Tree in Super Street to extend his points lead.

In Junior Dragster Bradley Bishop beat title chaser Toby Austin who claimed a second straight runner up placing after his effort at the Desert Nationals.

And finally Matt Forbes kept the undefeated streak alive to retire his ’27 Ford Roadster as Danny Bucella broke out to hand Forbes the win in Super Gas. ANDRA and the Sunraysia Drag Racing Association would like to thank the Mildura Rural City Council for their support of this event.

Final Results

SUPER COMP Craig Geddes 4.659 (4.90) def Mario Barbon 5.345 (5.46) SUPERCHARGED OUTLAWS Ryan Van Dyk 10.671 (4.46) def Luke Marsden 4.299 (4.29, red light) MODIFIED Jasmine Ryan 5.066 (5.05) def 5.037 (5.00, red light) SUPER SEDAN Dale Tucker 5.955 (5.95) def Benny Phillips 5.586 (5.52) MODIFIED BIKE Shane Walker 6.103 (6.05) def Johnny Irleand 6.756 (6.80) SUPER STREET Joe Jurkovic 7.135 (7.08) def Kylie Tanner 7.389 (7.35) JUNIOR DRAGSTER Bradley Bishop def Toby Austin SUPER GAS Matt Forbes (9.90) def Danny Bucella (9.90, break out)

BENARABY NATIONALS OCTOBER 3-4, 2014 BENARABY RACEWAY PHOTO CREDIT: STAUNCH LAUNCH PHOTOGRAPHY

BENARABY

BOOMER Tremaniac Racing got the win they were looking for during the ANDRA Drag Racing Series Pro Stock Round 4 at the Benaraby Nationals.

But it was Tyronne Tremayne, not Championship leader Aaron who walked away with the ANDRA Silver Christmas tree to all but guarantee brother versus brother for the title.

Running over 660 feet at Benaraby Raceway in a last minute change, Tyronne Tremayne and John Barbagallo fought a close even contest all weekend down to qualifying with the exact same 4.539 elapsed time.

Although Aaron Tremayne qualified number one, Barbagallo and Tyronne would meet in another close showdown in the final after Tyronne despatched Scott Porter and his brother while Barbagallo defeated Rob Nunn to earn a bye in the semi.

Split by just 0.060 seconds as they crossed the stripe, Tremayne took the win with a 4.537 at 151.52 mph from Barbagallo on a 4.541 at 151.01 mph.

The Benaraby Nationals also served as a split Round 10 of the Aeroflow Sportsman Drag Racing Championship running over 1000 feet almost simultaneously with the Fuchs Spring Nationals in Adelaide.

Several Championship stories played out further clouding the water ahead of the season deciding Australian Nationals at Sydney Dragway.

Luke Marsden did his Supercharged Outlaws title defence no harm finishing runner up to Matthew McKnight who virtually hit his dial in dead on with a 5.792 on a 5.79.

Championship hopefuls Matt Watts and Jake Donnelly both reached the semi finals while Rodney Hansen and Chris Vanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Hof went out in Round 2.

Kylie Tanner captured her second Super Street Championship Round victory of the year after winning the Desert Nationals to put pressure on Joe Jurkovic who remained in Adelaide for the Fuchs Spring Nationals.

Tanner defeated a red lighting Robert Winterburn in the final on an 11.837 justifying her decision to travel to Queensland instead of competing locally in South Australia.

Rick Neilsen had hoped to apply pressure on John Kapiris in the Super Sedan Championship but he was ousted in Round 1. That left Daniel Morris and Neil Maxwell to ultimately fight it out in the final with Morris winning with an 8.367 on an 8.36 dial in from 7.395 on the 7.38.

David Gauldie was unable to capitalise on a semi final berth to put pressure on the top four Super Gas racers competing in Adelaide bowing out to sixth placed Darryl Stephen.

Although Stephen looked formidable, Simon Isherwood took advantage of a near perfect .001 reaction time to win by just 0.032 seconds at the finish line.

In other news Jason Simpson claimed the victory in Super Comp defeating Shane Moran with a 6.762 on a 7.08 index from a 5.887 on a 6.19.

Final Results PRO STOCK Tyronne Tremayne 4.537 def John Barbagallo 4.541 SUPER COMP Jason Simpson 6.762 (7.08) def Shane Moran 5.887 (6.19) MODIFIED Dallas Everett 8.503 (7.68) def Katie Cunningham 9.213 (7.38, red light) SUPERCHARGED OUTLAWS Matthew McKnight 5.792 (5.79) def Luke Marsden 6.154 (5.59, break out) SUPER SEDAN Daniel Morris 8.367 (8.36) def Neil Maxwell 7.395 (7.38, break out) MODIFIED BIKE Reegan Ward 8.720 (8.70) def Jacob Davis 8.998 (8.93, break out) SUPER STREET Kylie Tanner 11.837 (11.83) def Robert Winterburn 11.208 (11.18, red light) JUNIOR DRAGSTER Dylan Leo 7.934 (7.97) def Alexis Barbeler 8.191 (8.18, break out) SUPER GAS Simon Isherwood 10.005 (9.90) def Darryl Stephen 10.008 (9.90))

Reegan Ward was gifted the win in Modified Bike when his opponent Jacob Davis red lit after some intense battles in the lead up.

David Everett took the honours in Modified from Katie Cunningham and Dylan Leo was victorious in Junior Dragster defeating Alexis Barbeler in the final.

FASTLANE I 31

FUCHS SPRING NATIONALS OCTOBER 4-5, 2014 ADELAIDE INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

SPRING ISINT

PHOTO CREDIT: BOB TAYLOR, OUTLAW IMAGES

ROUND REPORT

Phil Lamattina regained the advantage in Top Fuel, John Zappia won his seventh Top Doorslammer Championship as a runner up to Grant O’Rourke and Luke Crowley virtually assured back-to-back titles in Pro Stock Motorcycle at the Fuchs Spring Nationals.

On the Labour Day long weekend in South Australia, a big crowd turned out to not only welcome back Top Fuel after a long absence, but also take in the sights and sounds provided

by Racing Onn Promotions.

Coming into the day, Lamattina Top Fuel Racing occupied first and second and since none of the four drivers could improve on their position in the final qualifier the status quo was maintained giving LFTR lane choice.

In the semi finals John Lamattina met Damien Harris who maintained hopes of stealing the Top Fuel Championship from under the noses of his teammate Allan Dobson and Phil Lamattina.

Unfortunately Harris spun the tyres big time while the younger Lamattina was able to put down a clean 4.205-second pass at 273.55 mph to reach the final.

The title fight in semi final number two proved to be exactly that as both Allan Dobson and Phil Lamattina smoked the tyres the length of the track like it was the 1960s.

Although Dobson fought gallantly on a 4.673 at 235.10 mph,

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Lamattina was able to take the win light and a Championship advantage on a 4.313 at 247.66 mph.

With LTFR guaranteed of the one-two, John handed over lane choice to his older brother Phil who reacted far superior on the green to take a giant leap toward his second ANDRA Drag Racing Series Top Fuel Championship on a 4.203 second pass at 267.14 mph from a 4.537 at 235.78 mph.

“It’s great to have the points lead, it’s always better to be chased than doing the chasing,” said Phil Lamattina.

“I really have to thank John’s team for allowing me to have lane choice in the final and also to have two Fuchs Top Fuel Dragsters in the final, that’s no mean feat.

“The Rapisarda team is a tough, tough opposition. They want it and they want it bad.

We came out on top today, but Sydney is another thing.

“In Sydney we’ll be running the one car. We just believe that we just need to focus all of our efforts on the one car and we believe that’s the best shot we have.

“We don’t go to a race meeting just to win a couple of rounds, we would love to go three rounds and win the Championship with an exclamation mark.”

John Zappia made it seven ANDRA Drag Racing Series Top Doorslammer Championships in a row by reaching the Fuchs Spring Nationals

semi finals however it was Grant O’Rourke who secured his very first Series victory in his first ever final in over 12 years of racing.

Stuart Bishop, nearest Championship rival to Zappia, had it all to do to stay in touch but in a repeat of the final at Hidden Valley, he two stepped to roll the beams in the semi finals against eventual winner O’Rourke who recorded his lowest ET of the weekend with a 5.156 at 216.97 mph.

Zappia had earlier come through a testing Round 1 against Marty Dack but he was able to skate and pedal his way around the Falcon in a left lane that proved troublesome in losses for Gary Phillips, Pino Priolo and Bill Goonan.

Against O’Rourke, Zappia launched left on the hit tagging the wall with his rear wing as O’Rourke celebrated all the way on a 5.260 at 216.97 mph.

“We’re wrapped, don’t really know what to say,” said O’Rourke.

“To take out Zappia, arguably the best of the best, the last person to beat him was me in the first round of the whole season and here we are now.

“I’m absolutely stoked. This whole weekend, this whole thing is about the mates and the kids that got shot down in that plane (MH17). I can’t be more honest, more genuine about that.

“It just seems to be if there is any two people that have ever been matched together, it’d be me and Zap and I don’t mind. There’s a game here and a game there but I’d rather meet him in a final than the first round I’ll give you the tip.”

Despite the final round loss, Zappia secured Championship number #7 in a row, a first in Top Doorslammer.

“Any time you make a final it’s a good effort,” said Zappia. “Unfortunately we staged a bit too

THE AIR far left (in the final) and the car went too far left.

“I pedalled and just scraped the wall, I didn’t know I had scraped the wall, I knew it was close but it just grazed a layer of paint off and that was it.

“Winning the seventh Championship is awesome so the Fuchs/Striker Monaro lives to fight another day and we’ll head to Sydney, crank it right up and see if we can push the record.”

Pro Stock Motorcycle these days seems to always be about two riders, Luke Crowley and Maurice Allen.

Although Scott White performed very well all weekend and Ryan Learmonth impressed on his pro debut, Crowley and Allen met in yet another final for all the marbles.

Allen took down Glenn Wooster in Round 1 and had to ride around White in the semi when it looked as though he was beat, but White slowed allowing Allen to go through on a 7.902.

Crowley was in a familiar position winning his first round match up against Phil Howard then opening it up on a solo semi final pass of 7.299.

He would all but secure his second consecutive ANDRA Drag Racing Series Pro Stock Motorcycle Championship defeating Allen in the final on a 7.217 at 184.46 mph from a 7.766 at 160.94 mph.

“This win means more, it’s three in a row, we haven’t done that before,” said Crowley.

“We ran our personal best for Adelaide in the final, 184 mph, the bike seems to be moving.

“It was a bit of dash after the solo run, I did a few things wrong so we looked back through all the data, looked at the conditions and went back to the setup we ran at the X-Champs.

“We 60-footed really well at the X-Champs so we went back to that exact same clutch set up within a gram and it worked. That’s as quick as this engine has gone at this weight.

“We had a few little dramas all weekend. We put the spare engine in and the transmission didn’t work for some reason last night.

“The golf cart broke down after we top qualified and I was sitting down the bottom end in the dark for 25 minutes wondering what was going on.

“We went through everything we had to and come race day I just sit down, do my job and try run the wheels off and luckily it all came together today.”

In addition to the stellar ANDRA Drag Racing Series action on track and the entertainment off it, Round 10 of the Aeroflow Sportsman Drag Racing Championship came to an exciting close.

Super Comp featured some of the best Competition Eliminator and Super Stock has to offer with several record setting performances.

Alistair McClure had been on record setting pace all weekend but he was ousted by Les Heintz in Round 2. Heintz himself was defeated by eventual winner Craig Geddes on his way to a second Championship win in a row while securing both ends of the E/ DA record over 1000 feet.

“We always planned to run E/DA,” said Geddes. “It’s working out as we get toward the end of the season with a couple of wins in a row now. ally looking forward to Sydney and hoping to put some good numbers down there, set some records and get enough points to win it all.”

As a regular visitor to Adelaide Geddes was also buoyed by the response of the South Australian public to come out in force and fill both sides of the Adelaide International Raceway venue.

“It was fantastic to see the amount of people up on the hill and every time the Doorslammers and Top Fuelers went down everyone was jumping and it was fantastic to see.”

Elsewhere, Championship scenarios played out in several other Sportsman brackets setting up a huge final showdown at the Australian Nationals.

Mark Kuhn, already on the maximum 300 points in Supercharged Outlaws, was knocked out in Round 2 as was Ryan Van Dyk whose point’s tally fell just short of the magic 300.

Jasmine Ryan eliminated some strong opposition in Shane Wynd and Jake Cartledge to blow the Modified Championship wide open before taking the honours against Michael Braggs in the final. Notable absentees from the later rounds included Jess Turner and Fuchs teammate Kenny Stewart.

Surprisingly John Kapiris bowed out

Final Results TOP FUEL Phil Lamattina 4.203 def John Lamattina 4.537 TOP DOORSLAMMER Grant O’Rourke 5.260 def John Zappia 6.440 PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE Luke Crowley 7.217 def Maurice Allen 7.766 SUPER COMP Craig Geddes 6.147 (6.48) def George Sardelis 6.929 (7.11) COMPETITION BIKE Rob Wasley 9.345 (9.52) def Tony Frost 8.122 (8.19) SUPERCHARGED OUTLAWS Paul Stephen 5.891 (5.83) def Doina Day 5.937 (5.90) MODIFIED Jasmine Ryan 8.049 (8.06, break out) def Michael Braggs 7.308 (7.35, break out) SUPER SEDAN Jason Arbery 8.822 (8.82) def Darren Nichele 8.450 (8.41) MODIFIED BIKE Malcolm Luff 11.791 (11.95, break out)) def Edgell Mallis 9.233 (9.45, break out) SUPER STREET Enzo Clemente 11.640 (11.60) def Greg Damiani 11.107 (11.11, break out) JUNIOR DRAGSTER David Roberts 8.148 (8.12) def Toby Austin 8.024 (8.00) SUPER GAS Matt Forbes 10.789 (9.90) def Peter Datsun 18.228 (9.90)

of Super Sedan in the first round but he still managed to secure a second consecutive Super Sedan title with one round remaining.

Kapiris had reached the 300-point maximum but his nearest rivals could not catch him even with a win at the Australian Nationals.

With the top four Modified Bike contenders in town it was always going to be an intense battle.

Fourth placed Shane Walker was eliminated in the first round while Joe Khoury and David Carroll each made the second round.

Although he didn’t win, Edgell Mallis reached the final to gain on his rivals in a break out defeat to Malcolm Luff.

Toby Austin reached an impressive

third Junior Dragster final of the season but once again was unable to to get the win against defending champ David Roberts. The win put Roberts firmly back in the hunt to defend his Championship in what became a three-horse race with Austin and Cory Burns.

Finally in Super Gas, Matt Forbes had a winning debut in his new Lucas Oil Corvette Roadster. It was as if nothing had changed from his 27 Ford T Roadster except the fact this new car looks to have a lot more left in the tank.

Forbes defeated Warren Bull, Renee Cockerill, Danny Buccella and Peter Datsun in the final to continue his long-standing win streak.

FASTLANE I 33

AUSTRALIAN NATIONALS OCTOBER 31 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; NOVEMBER 2 SYDNEY DRAGWAY

PHOTO CREDITS: DRAGPHOTOS.COM.AU, FRED DWYER, JOE MADAY

ROUND REPORT

D I C E D S E L T R I C T S

P M A H C

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D E ID ED N W O R Titles were decided and Champions were crowned at the 2014 Australian Nationals at Sydney Dragway.

The Top Fuel title fight between Phil Lamattina and Allan Dobson lasted only one round on race day but the tension was thick as both knew they could be just one loss away from a season up in smoke.

When all was said and done, Lamattina secured the ANDRA Championship Gold Christmas Tree when Dobbo was eliminated by his own Rapisarda teammate Damien Harris in Round 1.

Lamattina then smoked the tyres at around half-track in a defeat to Peter Xiberras but it wasn’t enough to ruin his day earning a second ANDRA Drag Racing Series Top Fuel Championship.

“Obviously I was quite relieved when Dobbo went down,” said Lamattina. “It was hard to get too excited because I still had a job to do and that didn’t work out too well for me.”

“The Championship win has been a lot of hard work from a lot of people and especially Aaron (Hambridge), the crew, Fuchs sticking by us for 10 years.

“What a way to repay them. And the

whole family, especially my wife, she’s the rock.

“It’s my second son’s birthday today and I always said, ‘what do you want for your birthday?’ And he said; ‘a Championship’ so we got that and he’s pretty wrapped.”

Phil’s brother John lifted the Gold Tree for a LTFR double defeating Terry Sainty, Damien Harris and finally Peter Xiberras with a flaming 4.831 elapsed time at 306.67 mph from a 4.893 at 279.38 mph.

“We’re very happy after a good year,” said John Lamattina. “We’ve been strong all year and just haven’t quite got the win but to get our first win I’m really happy and proud. But really happy for Phil to win the Championship.”

No one could have predicted the story in Top Alcohol as Gary Phillips failed to qualify for the first time in over two years. He watched on from the sidelines as Steven Ham did everything he needed to in reaching the Australian Nationals final securing a first ever Australian Top Alcohol Championship.

Ham defeated Wayne Price in round one and posted a perfect .000 reaction on the hit in his semi final victory over John Sting to lift the ANDRA Championship Gold Christmas Tree and break Phillips’ dominance.

The final was a rematch of the X-Champs in Sydney back in May between Ham and Steven Reed but this time both drivers got out of the groove, Reed scraping the wall whilst in the lead and Ham crossing the centre line to in on the first or worst rule.

“The Championship is huge,” said Ham. “This is the only year we’ve actually tried to run and did run every round of the Championship.

“We had a lot of bad luck early and we had a few wins toward the end of the season and it was a struggle toward the end.

“I’ve got a really good crew that have been with me for five years and we gel.

That’s what makes it at the end of the day but you’ve got to have good people around you to make the car happen.

“If you didn’t have a good crew, go home.”

In Pro Stock records tumbled again as first Emilio Spinozzi ran a 6.937 ET at 196.62 mph before a 6.959 ET at 196.93 mph to reach the semi finals.

There he met Lee Bektash who recorded the quickest and, to this point, the fastest Pro Stock pass in Australia on a whopping 6.877 ET at 199.85 mph during a solo pass in Round 1.

That spectacular run came before a sketchy pass where only a great drive job kept his Dodge Avenger off the wall to advance past John Barbagallo in Round 2.

Spinozzi got loose crossing the centre line on what was shaping up as a quick side by side pass while Bektash backed up his earlier record setting runs on a 6.911 at 199.11 mph to reach the final.

In the final he not only defeated Nino Cavallo on a 6.920 from a 6.985 in the final, but he did so by reaching a new record 200.14 mph to break one of the last barriers still standing in the sport of ANDRA Drag Racing.

“I feel pretty overwhelmed,” said Bektash. “It’s a lot of hard work for over twelve months.

“To be rewarded with all the records, top qualifier, the win, it’s a good way to finish off the season. It’s healthy for the sponsors, there’s no better way to give them exposure than to perform like that.”

All Aaron Tremayne had to do to wrap up his fifth Pro Stock crown was advance past the first round. He did just that but it came on a holeshot win against Bill Perdikaris with a 7.029 defeating a quicker but losing 7.027.

Tremayne then advanced past his brother Tyronne but joined him on the sidelines at the hands of Cavallo in the semi finals.

Top Doorslammer provided a fairytale story as first time qualifier Geoff Gradden took out the number 1 qualifier Peter Kapiris before advancing to the final on a solo effort.

John Zappia would have been his semi final opponent but he got sideways and tagged the wall heavily on a solo pass ending his Nationals assault.

Marty Dack defeated Grant O’Rourke before popping the supercharger in Round 2 while Stuart Bishop got way out of shape and hit both the left and right walls. Bishop emerged okay but the same cannot be said for his Camaro.

Gradden won his first ever ANDRA Gold Christmas Tree on a 6.031 ET from Dack who lifted the blower once again at half-track.

“We’re amazed,” said Gradden. “I knew we had a race car but it had to come together. It’s come together for us this weekend and hopefully another time it will come together for us again.”

“We’re a low budget part time team.

We beat a couple of professionals this weekend. It’s just great to be apart of the show. We’ve been on the sidelines for many years watching and this weekend we were part of the show and that’s great.”

In Top Fuel Motorcycle, Gavin Spann picked up his first Australian Nationals title win since 1985 on a solo 7.540 ET. His would be opponent, American Darren Guillory, was a no show due to a torched head in his earlier run against three time Australian Champion Chris Matheson.

Spann had earlier defeated Phil Parker to reach the final on the low ET of the day with a 6.915.

“It feels awesome. It’s probably the easiest Nationals I’ve ever won,” said Spann. “I’ve been racing since 1976 and although I had a break from 1999 to 2010.

“Last time I won the Nationals was 1985, a long time ago. The competition is always hard but this weekend there were a lot of breakages but stuff happens and I was virtually the last man standing.”

Although breakages accounted for most of the field, Maurice Allen and Scott White managed to show what Pro Stock Motorcycle is all about in a close final encounter settled by a holeshot.

Allen’s 7.297 ET from White’s quicker but losing 7.264 was enough to get the job done and give Allen his first ANDRA Drag Racing Series round win in 2014.

“Many people were involved in this event and it’s a shame due to the rate of attrition of breakages that the bracket was diminished, so it was important for all of us to put on a great show,” said Allen.

“We had some technical difficulties in the earlier rounds and if it wasn’t for Nathan Stone stepping up and helping us out today with a new ignition and shift light we would have been nowhere.

“Thanks to my sponsor Milwaukee Tools, my Dad (Peter Allen), Stewy, Steve my guys that have been with me all year. It’s been a hard year, congrats to Luke (Crowley), he’s done an awesome job and taken out the Championship.

FASTLANE I 35

ROUND REPORT

Competition Eliminator was a fight between Alistair McClure and Craig Geddes with both advancing past the first round and on course to meet in the final.

McClure reached the final securing the Competition Eliminator Championship in what was his first season chasing the points from Western Australia including two class changes throughout the season.

Greg Leahy would play the helping hand defeating Geddes but when it came to the final, a tight, virtual heads up battle given the close indexes saw Leahy defeat McClure to claim a second Australian Nationals title.

Jake Chaisty, son of two-time Super Stock Champion Geoff Chaisty, won the Championship battle with Mario Barbon by advancing to the final on a solo after Barbon red lit in his semi final with eventual Nationals winner Clint George.

Racing at Sydney Dragway for the first time, Chaisty navigated past Fred Soleiman, Jim Ioannidis and then Chris Soldatos when he wasn’t able to show, however he met a stout Clint George in the final who claimed victory.

Ross Smith completed a Western Australian trifecta by taking out the Competition Bike Championship on a ride to the semi finals.

There he met Peter Everett with a -.104 red light the difference allowing Everett to advance to the final against Daryn Schuster without hurting his index.

Everett could not be beat taking home the Nationals trophy on a 9.699 ET with a 9.99 index.

In Super Compact Paul Karpathios took out new Champion Dominic Rigoli and top qualifier Po Tung to reach the final against Rod Harvey.

Harvey is known for always pushing into world record territory but on this occasion he pushed too far to turn on the red by -.011 sending Karpathios to victory on a 7.677 with a 7.67 index.

The Supercharged Outlaws Championship picture was topsy-turvy all day as Doina Day and Chris Van’t Hof met in the final for the title as Mark Kuhn, Justin Russell, Ryan Van Dyk, Jake Donnelly, Paul Stephen, Rodney Hansen and defending Champion Luke Marsden all fell by the wayside.

Day was first out the gate and held off a hard charging Van’t Hof with a precise 6.908 on a 6.90 from a 6.690 on the 6.65 dial in.

Modified eliminations were a tense affair for Championship leader Shane Wynd who watched from the sidelines as his title

36 I WWW.ANDRA.COM.AU

rival and Round 2 opponent Jasmine Ryan advanced deep into proceedings.

Ryan needed to win the event to claim the Championship but Kelly Bettes would hand the Australian number 1 to Wynd as Ryan was eliminated by Bettes at the semi final stage.

Bettes then went on to claim the Nationals crown defeating Jenny Petrie with a 7.502 second pass on the 8.41 dial in from a break out 8.410 effort by Petrie.

Daniel Morris and Michael Little negotiated round after round to reach the final in Super Sedan where Morris added the Gold Christmas Tree to the Silver he picked up by winning the Benaraby Nationals last month on an 8.274 on the 8.26 dial in from Little who posted a 9.529 on the 9.50.

After claiming the Modified Bike Desert Nationals title in his first ever ANDRA Championship event back in July, Bryan Finn went all the way to the final of the Australian Nationals in just his third Championship event.

Finn’s fairy-tale came to an end in the final as Matthew Hunt earned his first ANDRA Christmas Tree with a winning 9.301-second pass on the 9.24 dial in.

Earlier in the day both David Carroll and Edgell Mallis were eliminated in Round 2 but Carroll’s 20-point gap was enough to claim his first ever Australian Championship.

In Super Street Kylie Tanner’s loss to Robert Winterburn in the second round allowed Joe Jurkovic to win the Australian Super Street Championship thanks to a win over Belinda Welch.

He continued until the quarter finals where he met defending Champion Carl Taylor on a quest for three Australian Nationals titles in a row but he red lit in the final by -.007 to hand Robert Winterburn the victory on a near perfect 11.292 on the 11.29 dial in.

Toby Austin won the Australian Junior Dragster title for the very first time advancing all the way to the semi finals where he was ousted by Eden Ward.

Eden’s sister Maella joined him for a family affair in the final and it was older brother Eden who won on a 7.964 on the 7.96 from Maella’s break out 8.644 on the 8.65.

And finally Matt Forbes wrapped up backto-back Super Gas Championships but his round win streak came to an end at the hands of Jake Culmone in Round 2.

Culmone went on to face a -.014 red lighting Simon Isherwood in the final to claim his first Australian Nationals title on a 9.889 break out effort.

Final Results TOP FUEL John Lamattina 4.831 def Peter Xiberras 4.893 TOP ALCOHOL Steven Ham 6.015 def Steven Reed 6.351 TOP DOORSLAMMER Geoff Gradden 6.031 def Martyn Dack 7.943 TOP FUEL MOTORCYCLE Gavin Spann 7.540 (solo) PRO STOCK Lee Bektash 6.920 def Nino Cavallo 6.985 PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE Maurice Allen 7.297 def Scott White 7.264 COMPETITION Greg Leahy 6.322 (6.67) def Alistair McClure 6.394 (6.69) SUPER STOCK Clint George 7.332 (7.60) def Jake Chaisty 9.297 (9.59) COMPETITION BIKE Peter Everett 9.699 (9.99) def Daryn Schuster 8.674 (8.69) SUPER COMPACT Phillip Karpathios 7.677 (7.66) def Rod Harvey 6.872 (6.80, red light) SUPERCHARGED OUTLAWS Doina Day 6.908 (6.90) def Chris Van’t Hof 6.690 (6.65) MODIFIED Kelly Bettes 7.502 (7.47) def Jenny Petrie 8.410 (8.44) SUPER SEDAN Daniel Morris 8.274 (8.26) def Michael Little 9.529 (9.50) MODIFIED BIKE Matthew Hunt 9.301 (9.24) def Bryan Finn 11.282 (11.12) SUPER STREET Robert Winterburn 11.292 (11.29) def Carl Taylor 11.126 (11.12, red light) JUNIOR DRAGSTER Eden Ward 7.964 (7.96) def Maella Ward 8.644 (8.65) SUPER GAS Jake Culmone 9.889 (9.90) def Simon Isherwood 9.862 (9.90, red light)

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