Fastlane Magazine - Issue 16

fastlane EDITION 16 J U N E

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THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL DRAG RACING ASSOCIATION

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champion

CHAT RACER

PROFILE

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FASTLANE hears from all eighteen 2015/16 category champions.

TECH

TORQUE

.000

PERFECT LIGHT

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fastlane keeping it in the

FAMILY

The Naylor Family doubled up with Michael Naylor claiming the Summit Racing Equipment Junior Dragster Championship when all his rivals fell by the wayside, many at the hands of his brother, as he advanced to the final.

There he faced his brother and former Junior Dragster Champion Brayden who was making his very last appearance in the bracket.

Brayden won the final with an 8.239 on an 8.13 dial in at 72.35 mph after out reacting his brother who recorded a quicker but losing 8.001 on the 7.90 dial in at 81.23 mph. Neither brother minded as they each walked away with a Gold ANDRA Christmas Tree trophy.

Editor: Tim Baker (tim.baker@andra.com.au) Design: YBI Creative (www.ybicreative.com.au) Photography: Cara Bertoli, Bright Design, Cackling Pipes, David Hope, Carol Lange, Joe Maday, Outlaw Images, Wayne Scraba, Darren Shaw Photography, Bob Taylor.

Contact Details

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

contentsfastlane

ANDRA Staff

CEO: Grant Goodall 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 Admin Support Officer: Kylie Hazelhurst Technical Officer: Dicken Patterson

Michael Fotheringham (SA) - Chairman Terry Jongen (WA) Nathan Peirano (QLD) Robin Judd (WA) Grant Wilson (SA)

DR EPO RTS

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04 06 08 10 14 16 22 24 26

ANDRA Board

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ER ACE S

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

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CALLING THE LATEST ANDRA NEWS TO THE STA SWAN HILL TO BE ANDRA SANCTIONED

Swan Hill Dragway, Australia’s newest quarter mile drag strip announced in April the facility will be ANDRA sanctioned.

In a statement released via social media, the Swan Hill Drag Racing Club located in rural Victoria confirmed their commitment to ANDRA, opening the door for ANDRA Championship Drag Racing events in the future.

“The Swan Hill Drag Racing Club wish to advise that when racing commences at our newly built facility it will do so under Australian National Drag Racing Association (ANDRA) Sanctioning,” read the statement.

“Swan Hill Dragway was built to benefit Drag Racing, its racers and our community.

We started this whole process with ANDRA and they have been there through every step of the way and we look forward to finishing the job and working together to get everyone out there racing.

“Our focus as it was before is to get our facility completed, with handover of the construction site to the club to be finalised in the coming weeks – all members will be busy. With this decision now being made we invite all racers, groups and individuals who want this track ready to race on for the upcoming season to please get in contact with the club as to how to do so.”

ANDRA CEO Grant Goodall said he was delighted with the Swan Hill Drag Racing Club’s decision and welcomed the world-class strip to the roster of ANDRA sanctioned venues.

“Swan Hill Dragway is shaping up to be one of the best tracks in the country,” he said.

“The track surface, laced with heating and cooling temperature control tubing, is set to be one of the best in the country and once the rest of the venue is completed it will be a fantastic facility.

“Congratulations to the Swan Hill Drag Racing Club, volunteers and the local community on what they have achieved so far and we look forward to bringing ANDRA Championship Drag Racing to the region.”

The drag strip features the longest concrete racing surface in Australia and has been constructed thanks to a $2 million contribution from the Victorian Government,

$450,000 from Council and $220,000 worth of in-kind support from the Swan Hill Drag Racing Club. Swan Hill businesses have also donated or offered goods and services at cost price.

Visit www.swahnhilldrc.com.au for more information.

DOORSLAMMER IS COMING TO THE DESERT

The NT Government in conjunction with MotorSports NT are supercharging the Central Australian Drag Racing Association’s (CADRA) signature ANDRA Championship event, the Desert Nationals, with the wild and unpredictable excitement of Top Doorslammer.

The Central Swing through the Northern Territory kicks off the 2016/2017 ANDRA Championship Drag Racing season with Hidden Valley’s Nitro Up North event July 8-9 followed by what will become the biggest Desert Nationals in history at Alice Springs Inland Dragway.

The introduction of the professional Group One Top Doorslammers alongside the returning Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series on July 16-17 is a boon to the Red Centre with a record competitor count expected and a big crowd set to pack the newly upgraded international standard ASID venue.

“This is another coup that will make the Desert Nationals bigger and better,” said CADRA President Mark Probst.

“On behalf of the Central Australian Drag Racing Association I want to thank the NT Government and MotorSports NT for supporting this event and bringing Doorslammer to the desert.

“This is huge for Alice Springs and ANDRA Drag Racing to bring the fastest sedans in the world to the region. The fans will get to see guys like nine-time Top Doorslammer champion John Zappia race over the full quarter mile.

“We’re also excited to have the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series back for the fourth year in a row. The punters on the hill will get to see cars and bikes from all over the country especially with Round 1 in Darwin the week before so we expect to see a record number of entrants.

“This is our chance to prove we can host a top class event and if the people of Alice Springs support it like we know they will, the Desert Nationals will grow to become a marquee annual event alongside the Finke Desert Race and Red CentreNATS.” ANDRA Competition Manager Brett Stevens congratulated CADRA on securing one of the premier ANDRA Drag Racing categories and welcomed the ongoing support from the NT Government and MotorSports NT. “The ANDRA Drag Racing Series in Alice Springs is the realisation of a long term goal,” he said.

“Thanks to the support of Chief Minister Adam Giles, NT Government and MotorSports NT, Alice Springs Inland Dragway has been developed into an international standard track.

“With further investment into CADRA, the ANDRA Drag Racing Series in Alice has become a reality and we couldn’t be happier to bring Top Doorslammer to the Desert Nationals.

“The CADRA committee and members are to be commended for all their hard work and effort over the years and we’re looking forward to the best Desert Nationals we’ve ever seen.”

The Desert Nationals at Alice Springs Inland Dragway July 16-17 will form Round 2 of the 2016/2017 ANDRA Drag Racing Series Top Doorslammer Championship and Round 2 of the 2016/2017 Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series.

For more information please visit: www.cadra.com.au

2016 ANDRA HALL OF FAME NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN

Nominations are now open for the 2016 inductions to the ANDRA Drag Racing Hall of Fame.

The ANDRA Drag Racing Hall of Fame has been established to acknowledge those persons who have made significant contributions to all aspects of drag racing, including those who have excelled in drag racing competition, business, history or engineering.

es

AGING LANES! Recipients of this award will be invited to attend the ANDRA Drag Racing Championship Dinner to be formally inducted into the Hall of Fame.

RELIVE ALL THE ACTION!

If you want to relive all of the drama and excitement from eliminations of the 2016 Australian Nationals at Calder Park Raceway and the ANDRA Championship Grand Final from Adelaide International Raceway, log on to ANDRA.com.au now!

Just go to the Media tab on the ANDRA website and click ANDRA TV Catch Up to find both Live Stream Replays as well as every show aired on Speedweek from the 2011/2012 Season right the way to end of the 2015/2016 Season.

Purchase from the full range of ANDRA merchandise 24-7 at

www.andrashop.com.au

From stubby holders and bar mats to t-shirts and hoodies, it’s all here and it’s all ANDRA!

Nomination forms and selection criteria are available on the ANDRA website under Competitor > Forms or emailing info@andra. com.au. Nominations must be received no later than 31st July 2016.

ARTHUR J. GALLAGHER VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR NOMINATIONS OPEN

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Arthur J. Gallagher has an extensive national broking network in metropolitan and regional Australian locations. They provide broking solutions to a wide range of clients from small to medium enterprises through to large multi-national corporations, as well as affinity partners and associations including the Australian National Drag Racing Association Ltd. The Arthur J Gallagher Volunteer of the Year award is designed to recognise the outstanding contribution and passion of volunteers donating their time to ANDRA Drag Racing.

ur J. Gallagher, the ‘locally grown’ al has arrived

The recipient will be invited to the 2016 Springis Nationals at Gallagher, Adelaidepart International Insurance Brokers now Arthur J. of the fourth nsurance broking and riskinmanagement organisation in the world.

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PLEASE NOTE: NOMINATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN 31st JULY 2016

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nitro UP NORTH! FOUR CAR TOP FUEL ASSAULT FOR NITRO UP NORTH

Hidden Valley Drag Racing Association is excited to announce the return of 10,000 horsepower, 500kmh nitro dragsters to Darwin in 2016.

After a hugely successful Nitro Up North event in July 2015, which saw Top Fuel dragsters in the Northern Territory for the very first time, plans are in place to make the second running of the event in 2016 bigger and better than ever before.

“Last year we gave our drag racing fans a taste of what we as a club can bring the NT, this year we will be bigger again,” said HVDRA president Scott MacLean.

This year’s Nitro Up North will feature four Top Fuel dragsters including the one time return of the Lamattina Top Fuel Racing team as well as the opening ANDRA Drag Racing Series rounds of for Top Doorslammer and Top Fuel Motorcycle.

“Darwin loved the Top Fuel drag cars last year and this year the Valley is going to rumble even more with four cars making the trip up north,” addes MacLean.

“The Rapisarda Autosport International team, who set our track records last time with an amazing 4.63 second run that reached 510kmh, will be back, and we are also proud to have Mark Sheehan attending for the first time in his Nitro Madman dragster. These are the two quickest teams in Australia.”

One of Australia’s most iconic motorsport teams will make a return to the sport of drag racing, with the LTFR team confirmed to compete at the Hidden Valley Drag Strip with long-time tuner, Aaron Hambridge behind the wheel.

Hambridge will be piloting one of the team’s Championship winning chassis for the Darwin event.

“We will be changing roles,” smiled Hambridge.

“I will be doing the driving and Phil will be helping out with the car and team management. We know this car well and we know what it is capable of. As a team, we are going to Darwin with a good package, so I’ll have to get a handle on the driving pretty quickly.”

When asked about whether there was any pressure on the team, LTFR boss, Phil Lamattina explained, “No pressure at all, we are going to Darwin to have a good time both on and off the track. This is a one-off at this stage, so of course we want to do well, but it’s about having fun.”

just want to put on “ We an amazing show for the

fans, make sure Aaron is comfortable in the car and light the candles!

PHIL LAMATTINA

”

“Our LTFR team will be together for the first time since the 2015 Winternationals, so it’s important that we get back together as a group and go motor-racing, have a great time and re-unite as a race team.”

And how does Lamattina think his former tuner will fare in the driver’s seat?

“Aaron is a brilliant driver. That won’t be a problem.”

“We are just happy to continue our relationship with Fuchs as well as the support of Aqua Botanical and Rocky Lamattina and Sons.”

The Nitro Up North expansion continues into the Sportsman ranks, where Hidden Valley will play host to the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series for the first time, including Super Comp, Supercharged Outlaws, Top Sportsman, Modified, Super Sedan, Modified Bike, Super Street and Junior Dragster categories.

“We have been looking to have this series at Hidden Valley for a number of years and it’s been pushed by our members, so we are pleased we can finally give our racers this opportunity,” explained MacLean.

The Northern Territory Government has played a major role in making sure successful events like Nitro Up North return to the Northern Territory and are great supporters of Motorpsort in general across the Territory.

HVDRA thanked the NT Government for making the event possible.

“Motorsports NT fully supports HVDRA running a major event like this because Territorians love their motor sport. The calibre of event, organised by a volunteer run club, is just fantastic,” said Motorsport NT President Grant Hamon.

“The Territory’s economy benefits significantly with the huge influx of interstate competitors, pit crews, families and spectators coming from all around the country and they all love Darwin and its laid back lifestyle whilst escaping the southern winter.”

Nitro Up North will be returning to Hidden Valley Drag Strip for two days on the weekend of July 8-9, 2016. For more information please visit www.hiddenvalleydragstrip.com

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techtorque

FIGURING OUT THE TRACK: READING THE SURFACE & MAKING IT WORK Words: Wayne Scraba

Anyone who has ever drag raced knows weather and track conditions change by the minute. The weather and track surface you had in the morning can turn into a completely different beast by midday, then dramatically change again at night. We have no real control over the weather or track conditions, but we can tune our cars for both. In this story, we’ll look at figuring out the track.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

Figuring out the track sounds complicated, but it’s not. You’ll need just a couple of tools: • A dedicated logbook. Summit Racing sells them under part number SUM-G5155. The log book allows you to log a dozen runs per page. You can keep track of car performance and setup, weather conditions, and track conditions.

• A digital infrared thermometer gun. You’ll need one that can measure temperatures from approximately 70 degrees F (21 C) to approximately 150 degrees F (65 C). Most of the common digital infrared thermometers can read from 0-500+ degrees, so it’s not tough to find the range you’ll need The big advantage of using a gun is you don’t need to make physical contact with the object you’re measuring. Most guns also have a laser that shows you where you’re pointing the gun.

You’ll use the gun to measure both track and tyre temperature following the burnout. Then, write down the numbers in your logbook. These figures won’t help you with the first pass down the track, but you can use them later in the day to determine if you need more or less heat in the tyres by way of the burnout.

TUNING BY TEMPERATURE

My friend Jerry Bickel of Jerry Bickel Race Cars uses four groups of track temperatures to do his tuning magic: • Less than 90 degrees F (32 C): cold • 90 to 105-degrees F (32-40 C): Cool

•106 to 130 degrees F (41-54 C): Warm • Above 130 degrees F (54 C): Hot

Bickel points out that you should never assume

actual track temperature is the same as the surrounding air temperature. The race track surface absorbs the heat of the sun, which in turn raises the surface temperature. Jerry also notes that unless there is heavy cloud cover, the daytime track surface temps will regularly be 20-30 degrees F higher than the ambient temperature.

So how do you tune for temperatures?

Bickel offers this advice: Cold Track: “While the general rule of thumb for track temperatures is the cooler the better, there is a point where the available traction diminishes. If the track temperature falls below 90 degrees F (32 C), conditions can become rather tricky. You should closely monitor the runs made by cars in front of you and be ready to make whatever changes time allows.

Below 75 degrees F (24 C), you can expect significant traction difficulties, especially if water has begun to condense on the track surface. Cold track temperatures really cool off the tyres quickly. Make a hard burnout to put as much heat into the tyres as possible.

Once the burnout is complete, your goal should be to get the car to the starting line as soon as possible.”

the car without compromising performance.”

Hot Track: “Expect greasy track conditions and reduced engine power from the thin air.

Traction will bottom out somewhere between noon to 4 or 5 pm, just in time for eliminations.

Don’t try to impress everyone with the car’s performance. In these conditions, almost everyone has enough power to win. You have to avoid overpowering the track at all costs and it’s your job to get to the finish line ahead of the next guy.”

THE BURNOUT

The goal of the burnout is to heat the tyre. This is a variable you can control. For the most part, tyre manufacturers recommend heating the slicks so they’re about 30 degrees higher than the track temperature. Bickel points out that the final tyre temperature after completing the burnout varies with the ambient air temperature, track temperature, and the length of the burnout.

Cool Track: “This is the most desirable surface temperature for most race tracks. If the track surface has a good cover of rubber it will usually take all you can throw at it. Be aggressive with all aspects of the engine, clutch, and chassis tuning. If the air is dense and the surface is smooth, the run should be rewarding.”

What if you stage and the track officials suddenly halt racing? If the burnout is done and you’re prevented from continuing, the tyres will continue to gain pressure. Bickel reminds us that in this situation, there is no reliable way to know exactly how much heat is still in the tyres. You should perform another burnout if you can. Bickel suggests you reset the air pressure in the slicks before you reenter the water box to do another burnout.

Warm Track: “At these temperatures, the rubber on the track begins to soften and pull loose from the surface. Quality runs are still possible if you don’t overpower the surface and pull the rubber up. Softer clutch engagement and chassis settings are the key, but you’ll need a lot of experience with your car to determine how to take enough out of

A car that is well set up will come out of the water box in a straight line on the burnout and put down a set of straight, clean tracks.

We’ve all seen cars come out of the water box crossed up. Those cars are pretty much out of control and they simply can’t lay down a nice set of tracks. According to Bickel, wheel weight distribution is what affects the way

Here’s a digital thermometer in use at an NHRA national event.

You’ll use your gun to measure both track and tyre temperature following the burnout, which you record in the logbook.

These figures won’t help on the first pass of the day, but will be very helpful to determine if you need more or less heat in the tyres on later passes.

Pros (and bucks-up Sportsman) use a device called a “Track Meter” or “Track Surface Analyser”. It effectively measures the stickiness of the racing surface. For weekend warriors, the next best thing to a track meter is to check the track temperature and walk the track to feel how much or how little the track grabs your shoes.

a car will come out of the water. He tells us this is different than what happens during the actual pass:.

“If the rear end starts going to the right out of the water, you have too much right rear bite and you need to loosen the left front. If the car goes to the left out of the box, you have too much left rear bite and you need to tighten the left front.”

PICKING THE GROOVE

The race track “groove” is the place that offers the best traction. It’s actually created by the cars ahead of you—they effectively “clear the way” and rubber is incrementally built up on the track surface. Not by coincidence, it’s also the same place track maintenance people lay down traction compound. Pro teams use a track meter or a track surface analyzer to measure exactly how the sticky the track is.

At around $1,500, those tools are pretty much beyond the scope of little guys. The next best bet is to simply walk the track and feel how much or how little the track grabs your shoes.

Jerry Bickel has some closing thoughts on finding your spot on the track.

“Watch the cars that run in front of you. Pay attention to the launches and see which lane is providing the lowest ET’s. An oildown can change the bad lane into the good lane very quickly if the oil is non-synthetic and the track maintenance crews do a good job of cleanup. The lane you get might not be the best one so you have to be ready to compensate quickly.”

As you can see, figuring out the track isn’t an exact science, but there are inexpensive tools at your disposal to make it work in your favour.

Get the logbook and infrared thermometer, keep good records, and you should be one step ahead of the next racer. And the track.

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Make sure to watch for bald spots. Those are the shiny spots on the track where the rubber has been pulled away. Bald spots are usually created by high horsepower cars (alcohol or fuel cars are a good example). It should be no secret to seasoned racers that those bald spots don’t offer much in terms of traction. If you see them on the track, try to stage your car to the right or the left of them. Just be sure there is sufficient rubber in the spot you’ve selected.

You may also encounter marbles on the track surface. Marbles are actually pieces of rubber that have been peeled off the track surface. A well-run facility will scrape the track when this happens. If they don’t, it’s up to you to stage your car so that it makes the pass on a clean, marble-free surface.

-

Source Jerry Bickel Race Cars, Inc. 141 Raceway Park Drive Moscow Mills, MO 63362 Phone: (636) 356-4727 www.jerrybickel.com

You don’t need fancy gizmos to tune your car for track conditions.

The first item you will need is a log book like this Summit Racing Log Book. It is vital for keeping track of car performance and setup, weather conditions, and track conditions for every pass you make.

The other tool you’ll need to read the track is a digital infrared thermometer gun like this Intercomp model from Summit Racing. Infrared temperature guns are ideal for checking tyre temperatures as well as temperatures for brake rotors, radiator hose, header tubes, fuel line, and more. This gun reads from -50 to 1.022 degrees F— more than enough range for what we need. It will also read in Celsius and is accurate +/-2 percent.

trackspotlig ALICE SPRINGS INLAND DRAG LOCATION:

Stuart Highway, Alice Springs, NT 0872

ALTITUDE: 1797 feet

TIMING SYSTEM: PortaTree

RACING SURFACE:

60 feet concrete, remaining 1260 feet hot mix

BRAKING AREA:

Hot Mix (560 metres)

TRACK RECORDS:

3.994 seconds, 188.28 mph (1/8 mile) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Wayne Keys (Super Comp, 2014)

10 fastlane

Alice Springs Inland Dragway (ASID) was built by local volunteers and businesses and opened in 2008. It is located next to the Stuart Highway, 15 km south of Alice Springs, alongside the Finke Desert Race start line. ASID is operated by the Central Australian Drag Racing Association Inc. (CADRA) and is affiliated with ANDRA. Before ASID, CADRA drag raced on a temporary track set up on a runway at the Alice Springs Airport. For 13 years, CADRA volunteers and the public petitioned the NT Government for assistance to build a permanent strip. An $850,000 NT Government grant was finally secured to build an 1/8 mile drag strip. The strip was made possible by racers, businesses and private donations of cash, materials and labour.

Following $4.45 million allocated by Adam Giles and the Country Liberal Party in the 2015 Budget for events and infrastructure upgrades at key facilities across the Alice Springs region, ASID now has a standard quarter-mile racing surface followed by 560 metres of braking area.

The staging lanes were also resurfaced, barrier walls were extended the entire length of the strip, shade structures extended and LED lighting was installed for racing day and night all year round. Prior to the 2016 Desert Nationals in July, win lights and display boards will be installed and the timing system will be rewired.

The latest improvements for ASID have brought the venue up to international standards and will attract more national events, such as the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series in addition to the first ever ANDRA Drag Racing Series appearance of Top Doorslammer at the Desert Nationals July 16-17.

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Behind the Wheel with Jr. Dragster Daniel Carranza

Daniel loves drag racing and races to raise awareness of autism.

“I love travelling to all tracks with mum and dad in our motorhome and catching up with all the juniors. But most of all the rush that I get when I see those lights drop and I hit the pedal!”

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series championship

RESULTS

TOP FUEL

PTS

TOP ALCOHOL

PTS

TOP DOORSLAMMER

PTS

Cory McClenathan

112

John Cannuli

294

John Zappia

550

Darren Morgan

90

Gary Busch

178

Grant O'Rourke

489

Damien Harris

68

Steven Reed

172

Mark Belleri

408

Dom Lagana

66

Scott MacLean

151

Peter Kapiris

325

Terry Sainty

44

Brian Lockman

148

Paul Cannuli

275

TOP FUEL MOTORCYCLE

PTS

PROSTOCK

PTS

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

PTS

Chris Porter

262

Nino Cavallo

175

Cory Buttegieg

204

Mark Drew

235

Tyronne Tremayne

171

Scott White

175

Chris Matheson

222

Lee Bektash

161

Lachlan Ireland

128

Phil Parker

70

Aaron Tremayne

145

Glenn Wooster

112

Graeme Morell

66

Bill Perdikaris

106

Brad Lemberg

53

fastlane COMPETITION

PTS

SUPER COMPACT

PTS

MODIFIED

PTS

SUPER STOCK

PTS

SUPERCHARGED OUTLAWS

PTS

SUPER SEDAN

PTS

COMPETITION BIKE

PTS

TOP SPORTSMAN

PTS

MODIFIED BIKE

PTS

SUPER STREET

PTS

JUNIOR DRAGSTER

PTS

SUPER GAS

PTS

Craig Geddes Shane Baxter David Dequen Wayne Cartledge Steve Athans Kim Fardella Jim Ioannidis Steven Norman Les Heintz Daniel Camilleri

Paul Pires Peter Everett Robert Cassar Brett Ghedina Matthew Walker

Kylie Tanner Harry Harris Paul Garbellini Samuel Franze Garth O'Hehir

300 250 105 100 80

400 375 340 220 215

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2015/16ch AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL DRAG RACING ASSOCIATION

The 2015/2016 ANDRA Championship season came to a close with two wild days at Adelaide International Raceway on April 9-10.

While some Championships in both the ANDRA Drag Racing Series and Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series were locked – many came down to the last day of the season – and in some cases the very last pass.

Here is what the 2015/2016 ANDRA Champions had to say about winning the Gold.

hampions 17 featurereport

TOP FUEL CORY MCCLEANATHAN

“First off I’m very excited to have been part of Drag Racing in Australia but the name ANDRA goes back as far as I can remember. It may have only been over one round but the RAI Top Fuel Dragster was running great thanks to everyone working on it and the guidance from Lee Beard was perfect. So thanks to everyone running the track and the great fans, I thank them so very much! I’m just the lucky man behind the wheel.”

TOP ALCOHOL JOHN CANNULI “One thing I’ve always wanted to have since I’ve grown up as a kid, I wanted to have that #1 on my car.

It’s something we’ve worked on, something we’ve tried to achieve my whole life – it’s the reason we go drag racing. We knew we had a Championship car last year and we knew we had a Championship car this year. That motivated us after last year to go as well as we did this year.”

TOP DOORSLAMMER JOHN ZAPPIA “It feels good. Relief actually. We were under a lot of pressure to do well.

It was a good achievement for the team, and we kept the championship by 61 points with things going wrong in the last few rounds.

“The Fuchs Monaro not starting in Adelaide for the second round was hard for me. To sit in the car after a successful start up in the pits, and not start in the staging lanes is very stressful. You feel out of control, and took away the chance to win a round after winning the Championship. It was hard watching racers get through without being able to challenge them.”

TOP FUEL MOTORCYCLE

CHRIS PORTER “It’s great to be #1 again. It wasn’t easy with guys like Matho and Drew to get past. The plan was less nitro percentage, less timing, less clutch and luckily for us it worked with a 5.921 off the trailer. We stayed with the plan and just tweaked the clutch controls through the day and got the win over Chris Matheson.

That with the top qualifier point sealed the number 1 for us. As we all know we can’t do this without our sponsors Fraser Motorcycles, Interfreight Transport and Duncan Foster Engineering.”

PROSTOCK

NINO CAVALLO

“I’m very happy to win a Championship in Pro Stock, that’s something I thought we would not achieve to be honest with you – it’s the hardest class we have run in. Having only two rounds made it a bit unrewarding, I would have liked to race a couple more rounds to make it a bit more deserving. But we did have a fast and reliable car that could match it with the other Pro Stock teams.

“Winning the Nationals at our home track was something that we will never forget. To race and win in front of your home track is great, the support we had from spectators, fans and family made it truly worth the effort. This could have not happened without the support from my family, Amanda, Laura and Dion, my crew Adam, Allan, Theo, also Jason from Race Radiators, VP Fuels, Lancaster Homes, Phillip and Steven and VPW.”

PROSTOCK MOTORCYCLE

COREY BUTTIGIEG “Winning the ANDRA title was our goal from the start. The Australian Nationals at Calder being a local track with friends, family and sponsors watching on the day, we had more than one hundred people supporting our joint team with Mr Bektash. A new bike, new sponsors, the outcome could not have been better, but winning in the way we did was unexpected, blowing the tyre off over 300 kmh, still winning the semi and setting ET record for Calder.”

COMPETITION ELIMINATOR CRAIG GEDDES “Of course none of this is possible without support. Firstly my wife Amanda Geddes and the kids, Laura, Jesse, Charlie and Alexander.

To see their faces when we are racing is amazing.

To my partners in the team Rob Martin and Michelle Smith, a huge thank you for everything. Our dedicated crew of Daryl Hepworth, Ethan Wright, Ross Quick, Ian Kelly and Heidi Besler.

“And of course our sponsors Laser Electrics Ballarat, JAX Tyres Ballarat, The Cleaners Room, Ballarat Roadworthy Centre, Lucas Oil, Quicks Freight Express, Crane Cams Australia, Patterson Elite USA. “Thanks to ANDRA and Summit Racing Equipment for sponsoring the Sportsman Series.”

SUPER STOCK KIM FARDELLA “It’s unbelievable, I don’t know what to say actually. I have to say thanks to Terry and Jackie who have been with us all along the way. Terry makes a lot of the decisions on the car to make it go faster. We left some stuff for today and it worked out for us.

“A lot of people helped us and number one is Huntsman Racing for putting this on and looking after us while we were in Adelaide. There’s a lot of people and I can’t name them all but thank you.”

COMPETITION BIKE PAUL PIRES “I was encouraged to be at the grand final but my finances wouldn’t let me. As the days and weeks passed, social media messages started to arrive saying I’d won. It’s a humbling thing to grasp that after only two rounds, neither that I had won I was leading the points series. My B/SB still reasonably stock compared to other Comp Bikes in the country has won it for me.

“I started out just wanting to compete in Comp.

Little did I ever think I’d win. I’m truly honoured to have competed and won on points. I’d like to thank builder Dave Smith for believing in me and Glenn Prowse for the work and tune on the bike.

Joe Marshall for his help with the clutch tune and my mates that crewed for me. I’m truly thankful for the chance to compete. Let alone win.”

SUPER COMPACT MATT LISLE “To be an Australian Champion feels like all the hard work over the years has finally paid off. We can run the number #1 on the car for the next year and thanked Phil and Tim as I could never have done it with out them. I sent a text to my ex wife and my Dad and told them I’d finally done it – I was Australian Champion. And though I’d said after I’d won one, I’d be able to happily stop racing I now want to back it up and win some more!”

SUPERCHARGED OUTLAWS ADAM MURRIHY “Winning the 2015/2016 Supercharged Outlaws Australian Championships is unbelievable! We had a great series so far, so the thought of winning and having all your hard work, effort and expense pay off was exciting and a bit nerve-wracking at the same time. The finals in Adelaide were a great event. I knew that there were only three racers with enough points for the Championship, myself, David Thornton and Doina Day. Dave beat Doina, but then broke out in Round 2 so I knew I had to win my race in order to take out the Championship. After my race it felt like hours waiting at the end of the track for my crew to get there to relay the results. I was confident that I had done a clean pass but you never really know the final score, so I had to wait for my crew to come down and when they did they were ecstatic!

So fair to say there was a fair celebration at the end of the track, however it didn’t last too long as we had to get back to the pits and turned around for the next round, the Grand Final.”

MODIFIED MATT FORBES “Winning the Modified Championship in my first year racing a dragster is something I will cherish. We had a great season and raced with a lot of terrific people. There are so many great racers in the class and the result could have gone one of five ways! I didn’t actually know I had won the Championship until just before the Semi final race.

Simon Barlow and Tim Stewart came and congratulated me as we were heading to the lanes. I asked my crew guys if this was correct, as we had made a point of not mentioning it and they confirmed we had it locked away the round before!

“I felt very proud of what we were able to achieve but I did have mixed emotions as I was a bit bummed I had made a driving error in the Super Gas car that cost me a chance of taking on Championship winner Darryl Stephen in the final which would have decided the Championship. Darryl is a worthy winner (2X) and I would have loved to have raced the final with him. One of our proudest accomplishments was scoring over 1000 ANDRA Championship points for the season, to achieve this meant winning lots of rounds of racing in all cars!”

TOP SPORTSMAN JASON STARES “For my crew and I we could not have had a better season. Our dream was to win the Championship but our goal was to win our first ever ANDRA Christmas Tree. Receiving two Silver Christmas Trees and now two Gold Christmas Trees we not only accomplished our goal but also achieved my lifetime drag racing dream! Thanks to my wife and kids, my Crew Chief / Sister Michelle, all of the family and friends, VPW, Proflow, Sunoco, Lucas Oil Products, Sunset Performance Engines Texas, SunX, Protrans, Flatout, WAS, Neale Constatinou and my fellow competitors.”

SUPER SEDAN JOHN KAPIRIS “Sitting and waiting wasn’t a good feeling at all knowing that I had done the best I have ever done that season with three round wins, two semi finals, two quarter finals. And that’s the first time I haven’t had it won before I was out. It was mixed emotions when I had won, I was relieved that I had won and then knowing I just made the history books once again as the first to win four Super Sedan Championships and also doing it in a row. The biggest thanks has to go out to all my sponsors, without these people I wouldn’t be able to afford to do what I do and run as many meetings. Also a thank you to all my mates that I class as my drag racing family that I speak to on a weekly basis, they all know who they are.”

MODIFIED BIKE BRYAN FINN “When I found out I’d done the double I couldn’t stop laughing, the best feeling I’ve had drag racing. The time card shows that Wally and I both lost, he just lost by a little more than me. My fellow competitors are the main driving force for me as I strive to improve my racing so I can keep up with them. It was a tough season having these ratbags on my tail, but I wouldn’t have it any other way and am already sorting out next seasons campaign with the hope I can battle with them again.

“I would like to thank my Sponsors, Adam and Tarah from Toll Port Augusta, Dion from Dion McHugh Signs and Phil, Naomi and staff at Northern Motorcycles in Port Augusta. Without these great people helping me I might not have had the season I had. To all the family and friends that support and cheer me on, I thank you.”

SUPER STREET KYLIE TANNER “Winning the championship was a dream for myself and Gary!

We would like to thank everybody involved in our journey, dream and achievement. The Drag Racing community is always hugely supportive of us, none more than; Outlaw Speed Shop, GTR Supplies, Chief Fire Design, Glass Bead Technology, Viking and Firecorp, with their endless support.

“We sincerely thank everyone that keeps the operation rolling day to day; Michael and Simone Harvey and family, Enzo Demizio, Kylie Derrington, Shane and Jo Chester, Andrew and Sarah Favotti, Sam and Madeline Franze, Jim Wyatt, Julian Springhetti, both mine and Gary’s family and friends and so many others.

“The driver’s role is such a privilege and not always easy, but the way Gary coordinates the teams race craft, equipment, cars, logistics, R&D etc. just staggers me, and I love you dearly for it Gary. Yes Gary, this is officially your first Gold Christmas tree as I dedicate this to you!”

SUPER GAS DARRYL STEPHEN “During the drive over (to Adelaide) I thought if we are going to win this thing we need to take out Colin (Griffin), Matt (Forbes) and Graeme (Spencer) early, no easy feat I can tell you. All three guys are terrific racers and could easily win this thing but it must have been meant to be because we had Colin first round. Lucky for me we managed to get the first round win but so did both Matt and Graeme so then there was three. Believe it or not we then had Graeme in the second round. In our race the car was again on song and it ran a 9.903 for the win, which put Graeme out of the Championship.

“While in the braking area I was thinking to myself; well it is just me and Matt left but to my disbelief when Fred Dudek and Tony Polito came down to pick me up they both said; congrats you just won the Super Gas Championship, Matt lost his race so you are the last man standing. It was a bit of a shock because I was planning on having to go through to the final to be able to win it, I was not expecting to get it in the second round but that is how it was and I will take it. It was a bit emotional when I looked at Fred, we hugged and he just said very quietly, thanks, and that’s all that needed to be said, I think Fred deserved this one more than anyone else and I am glad I was able to deliver it to him.”

JUNIOR DRAGSTER MICHAEL NAYLOR “It couldn’t have been planned any better to race Brayden in the final for so many reasons.

I got to be part of his last ever race, I got to race him for an ANDRA Christmas Tree and I knew no matter what we’d be the first to congratulate each other at the end of the track.

“It was weird really. I was driving his old car in his final race and there was the added bonus of the ANDRA Christmas tree on offer. I think I let my guard down a little as he’s probably the best Junior Dragster racer I’ve ever seen and I had taken over from him! Basically as he said later ‘I got chopped.’

I’d like to thank Dave Dequen from Dave’s Automotive, Jaydee Dack from Illusions Vinyl Wraps and Graphics, our Nanna, David Walter, Brett Cable and David Murray. Also my Family.”

JOHN STORMmemor MATT FORBES RECORD JOHN STORM MEMORIAL POINTS HAUL

Newly crowned Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series Modified Champion Matt Forbes has capped a stunning season with a record points haul in the calculations for the John Storm Memorial Trophy.

The prestigious award is presented to the Sportsman racer who amasses the most total points accrued over the entire Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series.

Forbes stellar season included two double victories winning Modified and Super Gas in the same event at Portland and Calder Park becoming the first Sportsman racer to achieve the feat before repeating to become the first Sportsman racer to do it twice in one season.

Racing across three brackets at selected events, Forbes accrued 1000 points in Top Sportsman, Modified and Super Gas.

WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE

MATT FORBES, JASON STARES

AND

CRAIG GEDDES

ON THEIR OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCES AND SUCCESS IN CLAIMING THEIR 2015/16 ANDRA CHAMPIONSHIPS

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Craig Geddes who previously won the award in 2014 finished second on 630 points following a dominant season in Competition Eliminator.

Third place went to John Kapiris on 510 points in a year he secured his fourth Super Sedan Championship in a row.

“One of our proudest accomplishments was scoring over 1000 ANDRA Championship points for the season,” said Forbes. “To achieve this meant winning lots of rounds of racing in all cars!

“To race in three brackets requires excellent preparation and mental strength. Full tree, pro tree, fixed index, DYO, door car, dragster and roadster. We have a lot of fun and have some more changes and challenges – as if we need more (laughs) – coming for the new season!

“My team of marketing partners are incredible… we cannot keep the big wheels rolling without their dedication to our program. They really do love it as much as we love having them as part of our team.

fastlane “Lucas Oil Products, Sunset Performance Engines, Paul Rogers Performance Transmissions, APD carbs and Todd Barton Design. Thank you for Championship number #3 in four years.”

The 2015/2016 Professional Racers Cup, awarded to the most successful ANDRA Division Group One categories contested at the Australian Nationals, was once again swept up by the South Queensland Division followed closely by Victoria/Tasmania in the runner up spot.

The ANDRA Shield, recognising the most successful ANDRA Division in Groups Two, Three and Four at the Australian Nationals, was won by the Victoria/Tasmania Division followed by South Australia in a distant second placing.

2015/2016 DIVISION CHAMPIONS

ANDRA congratulates all of the ANDRA Champions and worthy award winners on a compelling and successful 2015/2016 ANDRA Championship season.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA Competition David Dequen Super Stock Kim Fardella Competition Bike Brett Ghedina Super Compact Supercharged Outlaws Darren White Top Sportsman Modified Simon Lekias Super Sedan Modified Bike Gordon Crawford Super Street Paul Garbellini Junior Dragster Michael Naylor Super Gas SOUTH AUSTRALIA Competition Super Stock Competition Bike Super Compact Supercharged Outlaws Top Sportsman Modified Super Sedan Modified Bike Super Street Junior Dragster Super Gas

VICTORIA/ TASMANIA Competition Super Stock Competition Bike Super Compact Supercharged Outlaws Top Sportsman Modified Super Sedan Modified Bike Super Street Junior Dragster Super Gas

Michael Davies Jim Ioannidis David Clark David Thornton Paul Russo Simon Barlow John Kapiris Bryan Finn Kylie Tanner Kelly Donnelly Jeff Romeo Craig Geddes Les Heintz Robert Cassar Andrew Dyson Doina Day Stuart McBain Matt Forbes Enio Marrocco Gavin Dohnt Garth O’Hehir Daniel Carranza Matt Forbes

NEW SOUTH WALES Competition Super Stock Competition Bike Super Compact Supercharged Outlaws Top Sportsman Modified Super Sedan Modified Bike Super Street Junior Dragster Super Gas

SOUTH QUEENSLAND Competition Super Stock Competition Bike Super Compact Supercharged Outlaws Top Sportsman Modified Super Sedan Modified Bike Super Street Junior Dragster Super Gas

NORTHERN AUSTRALIA Competition Super Stock Competition Bike Super Compact Supercharged Outlaws Top Sportsman Modified Super Sedan Modified Bike Super Street Junior Dragster Super Gas

Kit Hunter John Kuiper Niki Zakrzewski Matt Lisle Peter Byrne Jason Stares Travis Liefting Marco Tolomeo Wally Hosta John Kerr Natalie Bishop Darrell Stephen

Jodanna Pullen Paul Pires Christine Steffens Brendan Edyvane Paul Doeblien David Foreman Phil White Robert Winterburn Eden Ward Dale O’Dwyer

Adam Murrihy Katie Cunningham Ace Edwards Andrew Tinney

23

.000

perfectlight

Wayne Talbot and Paul Garbellini posted .000 lights a week apart in January to win the Summit Racing Equipment Perfect Light Award.

WAYNE TALBOT SUPERCHARGED OUTLAWS

Pulling a perfect reaction time in a winning final has to be the ultimate. That is exactly what Wayne Talbot did in the Supercharged Outlaws final of the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series Round 7 at South Coast Raceway in January.

It turns out Talbot needed every bit of that .000 light as he completed the eighth-mile in 4.347 seconds from a quicker but losing Adam Murrihy who reacted in .122 seconds and crossed the finish line in 4.313 seconds.

“Well some could say it was a bad red light,” said Talbot.

“Truth is we ran a Lenco drive this meeting and the transbrake didn’t hold the car at 5000 rpm. And it crept at the right moment (laughs).

“But we still managed the win in Outlaws. We have fixed up the creep with my driving technique and the use of the two step set at lower rpm leaving a wide open throttle.”

In 2015/2016, Talbot had a brief foray into Competition Eliminator at South Coast Raceway in November 2015 before returning to Supercharged Outlaws in Mildura for a semi final appearance.

The switch back to Group Three paid off in Portland with the win and he will go in search of more glory next season in his popular Forever Young II Plymouth Funny Car. “The win was great for the team and myself,” added Talbot.

WAYNE TALBOT

“We have been together from day one, have won four events at track level but this was our first ANDRA Christmas tree.

“I hope to come across more trees in the future, gold ones hopefully.”

Talbot got his start racing in 2005 at Heathcote Raceway and Calder Park in an LJ Torana. Come 2008 he purchased a front engine dragster with the intention to run it as a nitro car but things changed and it became an alky set up instead.

When he saw the Forever Young II Funny Car in 2014 he had to have it and has been campaigning it ever since.

“Along the way I have made some great friends. The two best tips I have been given are…

“One – Wayne Rowe. ‘If you drive though your own fluid you will crash I don’t care if your Michael Schumacher you will crash.’ In nicer terms as Rowe spoke to the point. No grey area with him.

“Two – Graham Hussey my crew chief from day one and like a grand father to me. ‘Always drive it through the back door but don’t wait for those chutes, get on the brake as soon as you pull the chute.’ I guess Graham has had experience with no chutes and short braking areas.”

fastlane

PAUL GARBELLINI

Paul Garbellini SUPER STREET

January 2015 was an epic month for Paul Garbellini.

The Super Streeter raced an event in Perth one week before the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series at South Coast Raceway, and then drove the Holden SSZ Commodore – also his wife’s daily commuter – straight to Portland.

“When I first started racing I was using my daily driven car – a 2005 VZ SSZ – it served me well but a few years ago my then girlfriend – wife now – bought an identical 2005 VZ SSZ. “We ended up putting a bigger engine in her car (LS3) and it runs into the low 11 second area which makes it perfect for Super Street. So for the last two seasons I’ve been using her car. From there on I continued to work on her car replacing just about the whole driveline to make it reliable enough to drive every day as she uses it for her work car.”

The couple were married in November and since Garbellini had already trekked to Alice Springs earlier in the season, he wanted to rack up more points for a possible title challenge so he earmarked Portland in January and the Australian Nationals a week later as his next trip.

“After getting married in November last year we had to plan a honeymoon and as I wanted to do the two rounds in Victoria we organised a trip to Hamilton Island between.

“We drove over to Victoria, top qualified and took the runner up spot at Portland then drove to Melbourne, put the car in storage and flew up to Hamilton Island for the relaxing part of the honeymoon.”

On the Friday before the Australian Nationals they flew back to Melbourne, pulled the car out of storage and qualified sixth with an 11.16 second pass. The following day Garbellini progressed through two rounds before facing Matt Ponton in the Quarter Finals.

“I talked to Matt about our dial ins to see who would have lane choice and it turned out it was me. So I chose the left lane, but Ponton had other ideas. At the last minute he lowered his dial in and took the left lane though being a track I’ve never raced at before, I didn’t really have a preference so it didn’t bother me.

“We did our burnouts and rolled into pre stage and the game began from there as most people is Super Street in WA know I wont go in first – in the past I’ve had staging duels up to a minute long.

“But Ponton might think the same way as we had our own little staging duel. Finally Ponton went in so I did my own routine that I do to get ready and went into full stage. As the last amber came on I slammed my foot down on the accelerator clocking a perfect 0.000 reaction time nailing Ponton to the tree.

“It rolled out of the 60 foot with a low 1.5 – not bad for a 3850lb street car – in the top end I rolled out of the throttle just a touch and ran a 11.26 on the 11.22 dial in and moved on to the semi final.”

His Australian Nationals campaign would end there at the hands of eventual 2015/2016 Super Street Champion Kylie Tanner but the Summit Racing Equipment Perfect Light Award was at least some consolation.

“All up attending the Desert Nationals, South Coast Raceway and the Australian Nationals, my wife Lisa and I drove a bit over 14,000km in her Commodore.

“And hopefully if everything works out and I can get some money together I will try and attend more rounds next season and hopefully get to the number #1 spot for Super Street in a car that was actually driven to every track it raced at in the true meaning of Super Street.

“Thanks to my wife Lisa, Mitch and Deb at WA Performance, Rocky at LSX Powertrain, Simon at Allfast Torque Converters and A1 High Performance.”

25

racerprofile JASON MAGGS RACING CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: • Australian Nationals Winner (Junior Dragster - 1998, Competition Eliminator - 2009, 2011) • Nitro Champs Winner (Competition Eliminator – 2011) • Numerous Wins and Runner Ups in Competition Eliminator • Divisional Champion (Competition Eliminator – 2009/2010, 2011/2012) • National Record holder (ET & Speed) - BB/AP • Numerous Wins and Runner Ups in Junior Dragster • Longest serving athlete for Pennzoil Australia (1994 – 2002)

DOB: 7/7/1982 HOMETOWN: Melbourne, Victoria STATUS: Married - Tanya, 3 Children – Joshua, Aubree, Edith EDUCATION: Completed V.C.E. – 2000, Graduated University (With Honours) Bachelor of Applied Science (Construction Management) – 2004 PROFESSIONAL: Director – Maggs Constructions Pty. Ltd., Owner - MPRINT Industries STARTED RACING: 1994 – Junior Dragster (age 12) CLASSES COMPETED IN: Junior Dragster, Super Sedan, Competition Eliminator, Top Alcohol Dragster

26 fastlane

BEST ET & SPEED: 6.23 @ 230mph SPONSORS: Speedflow Performance Products, Maggs Constructions, MPRINT Industries, Brad Penn Australia, Straightline Data Systems, Racer Pro Cylinder Heads, Lucar Cargo Van, Shaun Lynch Racing, MSCN. HOBBIES: Trail bike riding, graphic design FAVOURITE RACE CAR: Our 2007 C6 Corvette and our current Top Alcohol Dragster FAVOURITE TV SHOW: The Simpsons FAVOURITE FOODS: Chicken Parmigiana, Pasta FAVOURITE TRACK: Sydney Dragway www.facebook/maggsracing (website coming soon) WHAT EXCITES YOU THE MOST ABOUT RACING? The sudden death element to the sport.

When you aren’t Drag Racing what do you like to do?

Spend time with my wife and kids.

What was your first Drag Racing experience?

I remember going out to Calder Park as a kid watching Dad race his Monaro in Super Street and Super Sedan. My Brother and I were lucky enough to begin racing Junior Dragsters back in 1994... the rest is history.

What has been the toughest bracket you have raced so far?

Competition Eliminator would have to be the hardest. Even though we had one of the most competitive cars in the field for a long time, the fact our Corvette was a very aggressive, manually shifted 5 speed that was capable of running low 6’s, mix that with poor visibility, it all presented a massive challenge to me as a ‘bracket racer’.

I was always working as hard to preserve the handicap for the next round - always trying to cross the finish line first without destroying my index. It was a great challenge and was akin to a game of chess something I really enjoyed.

Why did you choose a Top Alcohol Dragster over a Funny Car or Altered?

Dad and I elected to run in TA/D, as the class allowed us to use our Small Block Chev from the Corvette. We never felt like we were able to show its full potential in Competition Eliminator without shooting ourselves in both feet. In TA/D, we can let loose and be rewarded. We know we may not be able to run in the .30’s with the ‘big boys’ yet, but for us it’s more of a personal endeavour, being able to see what we can do with our SBC. There was a time when Top Alcohol Dragsters dominated, now it’s Funny Cars. How do you see Dragsters re-levelling the playing field?

Haha... Definitely a topic of discussion of late. I do think there may be a slight disparity, but I don’t think it is quite as big as the numbers are showing at the moment. The front running dragsters aren’t too far behind the funny cars, I mean, we had Jamie Noonan running some really stout numbers straight out of the box in his car at Darwin, and right there with him we have Shane Weston from Perth.

Dad, our crew and myself have always approached challenges with the attitude “There is always a way - we just need to think of it”. Keeping in mind that I have so far only had a short stint in the class so far, I do think its possible parity can be achieved as it sits, we all just need to figure out how to do it.

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28 roundreport

call it a dr Grant O’Rourke kept his slim ANDRA Top Doorslammer title hopes alive by top qualifying and advancing to the final at Calder Park before the action was called to a halt.

The 2015/2016 ANDRA Top Doorslammer Championship was extended for another month following a charge by O’Rourke and a sensational first round exit of defending champ John Zappia.

The event ended in a no contest with O’Rourke and Mark Belleri set to square off in the final but delays, including drizzle, prevented the race from taking place. Given the conditions, both participants chose not to compete and took their decision to race officials.

“We were really happy running 5.11 off the trailer,” said O’Rourke. “We tried to go a bit faster in the second qualifier but I rolled the beams.

I was stoked to get the number one and take that into eliminations.

“First round against Peter Kapiris was a good solid run where we ran 5.05 at 223.25 mph. The car rattled and moved around a bit but I did

what I had to do and the car went well. In the second round Defelice left the line that early I saw the red light but we still went 5.09 at 223 mph.

“Preparing for the final it was precipitating. There were dots on windscreens and even though we were due to race at 8pm, there was an oil down creating more of a delay.

“Mark Belleri came over and asked what I thought, we deliberated and half an hour later the bracket marshal said the track still wasn’t ready.

It had been an hour and conditions hadn’t improved so we decided not to run.”

Earlier O’Rourke had set the pace by top qualifying over the 1000 feet distance for this event in 5.115 seconds at 221.34 mph. He wasn’t to be caught with Rob Taylor occupying second on a 5.148 second pass followed by Geoff Gradden and Tony Defelice. John Zappia qualified a lowly fifth with a 5.356 and the trio of Mark Belleri, Paul Cannuli and Peter Kapiris occupied six through eight.

O’Rourke dispatched Kapiris in Round 1 while Zappia clipped the

roundsnapshot Top Doorslammer Round 5

Calder Park Raceway – Melbourne, Victoria

12 March 2016 Photo credits: Outlaw Images

lighting up the lense

raw timing blocks against Defelice on a run that looked on course for low ET and top speed of the meet to that point. Cannuli and Belleri came through their match ups with Taylor and Gradden respectively to set up a blockbuster semi final.

Belleri dipped into the 4’s recording a 4.973 second pass at 207.05 mph against Cannuli to surge into the final while O’Rourke posted a 5.093 at 223.88 mph on a solo when Defelice red lighted.

Despite a no contest final, O’Rourke dramatically gained ground on Zappia going into the season ending ANDRA Grand Final just a few weeks later.

30 roundreport

Whyalla’s own Australian Super Stock Champion Steve Norman won his third ANDRA Christmas Tree this season at Steel City Raceway. The win, in front of his family and friends at his home track, was the second in a row following the Australian Nationals.

The marquee match up against fellow title hope Kim Fardella fell Norman’s way in the first round allowing the defending champ to take a solo in the semi. In the final Norman had the reaction advantage and led all the way over Jim Ioannidis for a 5.214 second pass at 134.28 mph to a 6.049 ET at 115.83 mph.

“It’s a real honour to have a Championship round in Whyalla,” said Norman. “The first Championship event here we top qualified, won the event and I’ll be sleeping in my own bed tonight so it doesn’t get much better than that.”

“I’d really like to thank ANDRA and Summit Racing Equipment for being on board the last couple of seasons. It’s extra special today because I’ve got all my family here and I think it’s the first time ever I’ve had all the family at a race meeting.

“Big thanks to Rich, Ryan, Paul and my wife Lynn who crewed today and a big thank you to Steel City Raceway – without them none of this would have happened, it’s just been phenomenal what they achieved out here.”

Shane Kramer scored an emotional win for his first ever ANDRA Christmas Tree trophy in Supercharged Outlaws.

Kramer top qualified and added the event win by out reacting Doina Day at the start line and recording a 4.531 ET on a 4.51 dial in at 154.30 mph to a 4.924 ET on a 4.80 dial in at 142.59 mph in the final.

Kramer had earlier sent David Thornton and Graham Sheill packing as he found the consistency needed to go rounds.

“Oh my God, it’s an amazing feeling I just can’t believe it,” said Kramer.

“I came here just hoping to get some runs down without tyre shake and it’s been a dream weekend the whole time. We were within a

tenth of our dial in all weekend I can’t believe it.

for

“I want to thank my mate Dave Lee, he’s been beside me for 20 years and thanks to everyone that’s helped me along the way, it’s been awesome.”

Also in Supercharged Outlaws, Mark Kuhn and his team were awarded the Gridstar by YBI Best Presented Award. They receive the Best Presented trophy, six Best Presented caps and a $50 Summit Racing Equipment voucher.

Before this season Paul Russo had never won an ANDRA Christmas Tree. He picked up his second in his last three races after taking Top Sportsman in to boost his Championship bid.

Russo took down friend Jason Arbery in Round 1 followed by a solo in the semi final to hone in on his dial in. His opponent Stuart McBain reacted quickly in .026 seconds but it wasn’t quick enough with Russo recording a .014 reaction time to win on a 4.999 ET with a 4.96 dial in at 143.30 mph. McBain could only muster a 5.471 on a 5.39 dial in at 120.70 mph.

“We needed to make the final (for the Championship), we didn’t need to win but winning is such a bonus because last week we didn’t have an engine in the car.

“I don’t even know what to say but without my brothers, without Bob Sherry we never would have got this car going. This win goes to my crew and thanks to everyone else. Whyalla, great venue, Stewie McBain great run – we finally beat him in a final and Jase (Jason Stares) we’re coming after you still!”

Simon Barlow won his third trophy of the season taking a Modified final showdown against Craig Baker. Barlow dialled in at 4.74 to run a 4.770 second pass at 137.70 mph and defeat Baker on a 5.564 on a 5.48 dial in at 122.94 mph.

Barlow benefited from a solo in Round 1 following his top qualifying effort and ran a near perfect pass for his dial in during the semi final win over Bradley Hicks.

Gavin Dohnt had previously lost to Gordon Crawford in the Modified

roundsnapshot Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series

Round 9 - Presented by Whyalla City Council Steel City Raceway, Whyalla, South Australia

12-13 March 2016

Photo credits: Dave Hope, Darren Shaw Photography

winlights

SUPER STOCK Steve Norman 5.214 (5.27) def Jim Ioannidis 6.049 (6.14) SUPERCHARGED OUTLAWS Shane Kramer 4.531 (4.51) def Doina Day 4.924 (4.80)

r a fight Bike final at South Coast Raceway in Portland but he got his revenge for that defeat by beating Crawford and taking home his second win in a row following the Australian Nationals.

Dohnt had an inferior reaction time and needed to ride around Crawford on a 6.006 ET with a 5.98 dial in at 112.53 mph from a 6.487 ET on a 6.40 dial at 107.93 mph. Dohnt defeated Don Baird, Toni Keating and Championship leader Shane Walker on his way to the final.

Defending Super Sedan Champion John Kapiris secured yet another Christmas Tree in his bid for a fourth title defeating Series rival George Tipoukidis in the final. Kapiris drove around Tipoukidis with a quicker reaction time to run a 6.408 on a 6.37 dial in at 108.72 mph from a 6.497 ET on a 6.44 dial in at 106.15 mph to add to earlier wins over Andrew Thompson and Steve Hunt.

Creagh Stuart took the honours in Super Street first eliminating Michael Bridges, Kylie Tanner and Harry Harris to earn a bye into the decider. There Stuart out reacted Rod Kerr to claim the win with a 7.964 on a 7.90 dial in at 85.33 mph from a 7.249 on a 7.22 dial in at 90.21 mph.

Michael Naylor won his first ever Christmas Tree in Summit Racing Equipment Junior Dragster dedicating the victory to his friend and Modified racer Simon Lekias who recently passed away. Naylor reacted in just .003 seconds at the start line and stopped the beams at 8.144 seconds on an 8.10 dial in at 81.25 mph. Natalie Bishop broke out in her chase by running an 8.048 on an 8.06 dial in at 81.71 mph.

In Super Gas, Colin Griffin picked up another win defeating Johnny Ienco with a 6.582 second pass at 106.96 mph in the 6.30 fixed index class over the eighth-mile to a 7.093 at 106.04 mph. Griffin earned a bye in the semi final following his first round win over Frank Fontanelli.

ANDRA thanked the Steel City Drag Club and their volunteers for their hard work in staging the event and to Whyalla City Council for their support in bringing the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series to the region.

TOP SPORTSMAN Paul Russo 4.999 (4.95) def Stuart McBain 5.471 (5.39) MODIFIED Simon Barlow 4.770 (4.74) def Craig Baker 5.564 (5.48) SUPER SEDAN John Kapiris 6.408 (6.37) def George Tipouikidis 6.497 (6.44) MODIFIED BIKE Gavin Dohnt 6.006 (5.98) def Gordon Crawford 6.487 (6.40) SUPER STREET Creagh Stuart 7.964 (7.90) def Rod Kerr 7.249 (7.22) JUNIOR DRAGSTER Michael Naylor 8.144 (8.10) def Natalie Bishop 8.048 (8.06) SUPER GAS Colin Griffin 6.582 (6.30) def Johnny Ienco 7.093 (6.30)

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32 roundreport

grandfinal AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL DRAG RACING ASSOCIATION

The ANDRA Championship season came to a close at Adelaide International Raceway with final rounds for Top Fuel Motorcycle, Top Doorslammer, Top Alcohol and the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series.

Chris Porter regained the ANDRA Top Fuel Motorcycle Championship following the two-year reign of Mark Drew.

Running over 1000 feet this weekend, Porter wrapped the title with a win over his nearest rival and friend Chris Matheson on a 6.149 elapsed time at 160.47 mph from Matho who spun the tyre at the beginning of a 6.850 second pass at 160.82 mph.

With the title in the bag the Nitro Rider Top Fuel Motorcycle Grand Final came down to Porter and Mark Drew who conquered Rob Cassar in Round 1.

Drew reacted quickest at the line and although Porter reeled him in, Drew hung on for a close win with a 5.717 second pass at 199.86 mph from Porter on a 5.720 elapsed time at 171.60 mph.

“It’s a credit to ANDRA this weekend in Adelaide,” said Drew.

“They’ve had a huge crowd this weekend on Saturday and Sunday. There’s been some great racing with Top Fuel, Alcohol cars, Doorslammers, the nitro bikes. I think I beat Chris by two one hundredths of a second in the final.

“I wouldn’t be able to get here without my sponsors Perth Harley Davidson, Brajkovich Demolition, Territory Powersports, Baz National and anyone else I’ve forgotten, thanks very much.”

John Zappia had already secured his ninth ANDRA Top Doorslammer Championship in a row following qualifying but the Grand Final went to stand out season performer Grant O’Rourke.

The Queensland based West Aussie scored his second ANDRA Christmas Tree, his first Gold, at the same venue he won his first ever of any colour defeating Rob Taylor in the Melbourne Sports Med & Anti-Ageing Top Doorslammer final.

O’Rourke completed the 1000 feet race distance in 5.017 seconds at 223.91 mph as Taylor’s Camaro sheered the blower belt.

“We started off the season really well and we finished the season really well,” said O’Rourke.

“We’ve come a long way, we’ve done a lot with what we’ve got here and it’s just awesome. A huge thank you to the boys, girls, everyone behind the scenes – and I mean every single one of them. I couldn’t have done it without them.

“I’d like to thank, Crow Cams, AD Roads, A.M. Cranes, GRP Conrods have done us a deal, and Thermal Edge have been awesome with all the work they have done for me. Debbie and I have put the funds behind it, the other guys have helped out a lot along the way – all I can say is thank you it’s been really great.”

In THR Developments Top Alcohol Brian Lockman scored his first ever win in what he dubbed “the first full pass down the track” in his Top Alcohol Altered against Gary Busch.

South Aussie Busch had earlier advanced past Craig Russo following a controversial ruling by officials to meet Lockman who won the final with a 6.496 ET at 117.03 mph from Busch who encountered difficulties on a 15 second pass.

“It’s a little bit bittersweet, we had a little issue with a ruling and condolences to the Russo family (on that ruling),” said Lockman.

“They worked hard, blew up last night but, unfortunately the ruling is the ruling and it’s allowed us to do a “Bradbury” right across the line from the start to the finish. Any win is a good win, it’s a first and we’re going to take it.”

The big Adelaide crowd on Saturday was also treated to some exhibition VP Racing Fuels Top Fuel action with Darren Morgan and Wayne Newby splitting wins over two passes with a best of three decider slated for Sunday.

Newby took the first match race with a 4.209 at 256.52 mph from Morgan’s 4.521 at 108.08 mph. The second went Morgan’s way as he improved on a 4.119 second run at 275.79 mph from Newby running in 4.209 seconds at 265.52 mph.

In the final of three passes for the weekend on Sunday, Newby had the quicker reaction time of .137 seconds and held on for the holeshot win with a 4.172 second pass at 256.13 mph from Morgan’s quicker but losing 4.165 ET at 250.19 mph.

The 10 round 2015/2016 Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series also came to a close with the coronation of 10 Champions across the 12 bracket Series.

roundsnapshot ANDRA Championship Grand Final Adelaide International Raceway – Adelaide, South Australia

9-10 April 2016

Photo credits: Cara Bertoli, Bright Design, Dave Hope, Carol Lange, Bob Taylor

winlights

l

TOP ALCOHOL Brian Lockman 6.496 def Gary Busch 15.109 TOP DOORSLAMMER Grant O’Rourke 5.017 def Rob Taylor 10.704 TOP FUEL MOTORCYCLE Mark Drew 5.717 def Chris Porter 5.720 SUPER STOCK Kim Fardella 8.352 (8.57) def Jaime Chaisty 9.477 (9.54) (red light) SUPER COMPACT Andrew Dyson 8.137 (7.80) def Matt Lisle 12.695 (8.06) SUPERCHARGED OUTLAWS Shane Kramer 5655 (5.64) def Adam Murrihy 5.437 (5.44) (break out) TOP SPORTSMAN Jason Stares 7.233 (7.23) (red light) def Matt Forbes N.T.R MODIFIED Jess Turner 7.189 (7.18) def Cory Dyson 7.375 (7.37) SUPER SEDAN Michael Jennings 10.752 (10.73) def Steve Hunt 10.213 (10.19) MODIFIED BIKE Bryan Finn 10.986 (11.00) def Wally Hosta 9.339 (9.38) (break out) SUPER STREET John Kerr 11.021 (11.03) def Kylie Tanner 11.685 (11.71) (break out) JUNIOR DRAGSTER Brayden Naylor 8.239 (8.13) def Michael Naylor 8.001 (7.90)

The Super Stock Championship went down to the wire when Kim Fardella and Jim Ioannidis fought it out, trading wins for what looked like a sure fire final showdown. That was until Ioannidis beat himself in the semi finals with a red light against Jamie Chaisty.

Fardella was crowned 2015/2016 Champion as a result of advancing to the ULX110 Custom Blend Oils Super Stock final and he finished the job defeating Chaisty who pulled a red light of his own.

“It’s unbelievable, don’t know what to say actually,” said a speechless Fardella.

“I have to say thanks to Terry and Jackie who have been with us all along the way. Terry makes a lot of the decisions on the car to make it go faster. We left some stuff for today and it worked out for us.

“A lot of people helped us and number one is Huntsman Racing for putting this on and looking after us while we were in Adelaide. There’s a lot of people and I can’t name them all but thank you.”

Fardella defeated Chris Soldatos in Round 1 and Louis Svingos in the semi final.

Matt Lisle already had a hand on the Super Compact Championship and he confirmed it with a run all the way to the Pro GTR Motorsport Super Compact final that fortunately included two solo passes.

SUPER GAS Darryl Stephen 9.902 (9.90) def Jeff Romeo 9.914 (9.90) (red light)

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34 roundreport Although he saved the car for the final it was Andrew Dyson who dispatched David Clark, Andrew Sanders and then Lisle in the final to win the event. Dyson reacted quickest leaving Lisle behind with an 8.137 on a 7.80 index at 179.45 mph to a 12 second pass.

Adam Murrihy travelled far and wide this season and he was rewarded with the ultimate prize winning the Supercharged Outlaws Championship for the first time.

The title was wrapped when his nearest rivals Doina Day was eliminated in Round 1 followed by David Thornton in Round 2. Murrihy went all the way to the Zauch Transport Supercharged Outlaws final but couldn’t secure the double as Shane Kramer claimed his second victory in a month.

Kramer defeated Ben Gatt, Mark Zauch and Graham Hargrave to set up the final against Murrihy. He covered the 1000ft distance in 5.655 seconds on a 5.64 dial in at 183.63 mph to Murrihy on a break out 5.437-second time.

Before this season Jason Stares had never won an ANDRA Christmas Tree trophy. Now he has two Silver Trees and two Gold Trees after sweeping the ANDRA Championship Grand Final and the Top Sportsman Championship.

It was a slogfest as first Jason Arbery in Round 1 and then Stuart McBain and Darren Saliba in Round 2 had their title hopes dashed. That left Stares and Paul Russo to battle it out but Russo fell in the semi final opening the door for Stares.

Stares raced to the Old Skool Speed Shop Top Sportsman Grand Final win on a solo when Matt Forbes wasn’t able to compete. The victory lap was a 7.233 elapsed time on a 7.23 dial in at 197.91 mph to top off the title-winning season.

“This is just unbelievable,” he said. “We tied the Championship up in the semis and we didn’t think it could get any better and then we come out of the final with a Gold Christmas Tree, it’s just out of control.

“There are a lot of people to thank. The sponsors that helped me chase it all this year. Lucas Oil Products, VPW, Proflow, Sunoco Race Fuels, anyone else I’ve forgotten I’m sorry. My crew, my family – special thank you to my sister who has travelled the country, my Uncle Bob, Aaron, my wife and kids who couldn’t be here this weekend, it’s just unbelievable.”

Defeated in Top Sportsman, Matt Forbes found success by adding a Modified Championship to his two Super Gas titles steering his Lucas Oils dragster to the semi finals. His Grand Final run would end there as top qualifier Jess Turner advanced to the Denso Spark Plugs Modified Final at the expense of Forbes to face Cory Dyson.

Turner eliminated Shaun White, Leanne Braggs and Forbes before taking the final busting out of the gate with a .009 reaction to lead all the way with a 7.189 ET on a 7.18 dial in at 181.30 mph to Dyson’s 7.375 on a 7.37 at 174.97 mph.

Defending three time Super Sedan Champion John Kapiris had a nervous wait for his fourth in a row when he was eliminated in Round 1. He then had to watch on as his rivals tried to take advantage to win the Championship.

George Tipouikidis did not start and Danny Bucella also went out in the first round leaving just Steve Hunt to win it all if he could go all the way and win the Pro Towing Super Sedan final.

Hunt went close but couldn’t finish the job as Michael Jennings beat his mate, out reacting him at the start line and crossing the finish in 10.752 seconds on a 10.73 dial in at 123.11 mph from a 10.213 on a 10.19 dial in at 129.68 mph.

The “Red Dog”, Bryan Finn started the season with a runner up in Alice Springs but he ended with a win in the Ballistic Performance Parts Modified Bike final to claim the double and win the Modified Bike Championship.

It came down to a winner takes all race with Wally Hosta but Finn held his nerve with a 10.986 ET on an 11.00 dial in at 113.38 mph from Hosta who broke out with a 9.339 ET on a 9.38 dial in at 147.97 mph.

“I’m absolutely amazed I got this far today,” said Finn.

“All credit to my sponsors… let me think for a tick. It’s Adam and Tara from Toll Port Augusta, Deon Mchugh Signs and Phil, Naomi and the crew from Northern Motorcycles in Port Augusta.

“I’d like to thank the crowd, the volunteers that made this meeting what it is, it’s just been fantastic and my good mate Wally, racing off against him

grandfinal AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL DRAG RACING ASSOCIATION

for the Championship was worth it. It was absolutely fantastic, I couldn’t be happier.”

runners up, Grand Final winners and Grand Final runners up on a great season and weekend.

Finn had earlier defeated Malcolm Price, Shane Walker and David Willis to reach the final.

ANDRA extends its gratitude and thanks to all the volunteers at Adelaide International Raceway and to those who helped stage a fantastic event.

The 2015/2016 Super Street Championship came down to Harry Harris and Kylie Tanner who each advanced rounds with a date in the EPS Super Street final looking like a formality.

It wasn’t to be as Harris exited in Round 3 leaving Tanner to celebrate the Super Street Championship on a third round solo pass before booking her spot in the final.

John Kerr spoiled the party, not that Tanner minded, when he won the final on an 11.021 ET with an 11.03 dial in at 117.17 mph from Tanner on a breakout 11.685 on an 11.71 dial in at 111.52 mph.

Kerr knocked out Anthony Marta, Ross Cooper, John Kalantzis and Tony Barbara to reach the final.

Also in EPS Super Street, Joe Polito and his team won the Gridstar by YBI Creative Best Presented Award and are now the proud owners of the last Best Presented Trophy of the season, six Best Presented Caps and a $50 Summit Racing Equipment voucher.

The Naylor Family doubled up with Michael Naylor claiming the Summit Racing Equipment Junior Dragster Championship when all his rivals fell by the wayside, many at the hands of his brother, as he advanced to the final.

There he faced his brother and former Junior Dragster Champion Brayden who was making his very last appearance in the bracket.

Brayden won the final with an 8.239 on an 8.13 dial in at 72.35 mph after out reacting his brother who recorded a quicker but losing 8.001 on the 7.90 dial in at 81.23 mph. Neither brother minded as they each walked away with a Gold ANDRA Christmas Tree trophy.

In Safe Site Traffic Solutions Super Gas, Darryl Stephen outlasted his title rivals to claim the Super Gas Championship for a second time and rubber stamp it with a final win for the weekend double.

Stephen drove past Richard Caval, defending Champion Graeme Spencer, top qualifier Peter Datson and Jeff Romeo in the final. Romeo red lighted by .097 seconds while Stephen clocked a 9.902 ET on the fixed 9.90 index at 144.89 mph.

ANDRA wishes to congratulate all of the 2015/2016 ANDRA Champions,

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