The recent ANDRA Summernationals at Western Sydney International Raceway saw some of the most incredible Top Doorslammer action ever seen in Australia, with three different drivers running in the five-second bracket and seven of the eight qualifiers running a 6.07 or better.
Before I recount the events of the weekend I wanted to talk about the weather in that Sydney didn’t really have a summer. An El Nino weather pattern planted itself over the southern capital and kept the temperatures cool and mild. As such the conditions that greeted drivers in mid-February were akin to those seen at the NHRA Gatornationals last year when so many Pro Modifieds ran into the fives.
Qualifying was worth the price of admission alone with 18 cars trying to squeeze into an eight-car field. This saw Robin Judd in a Studebaker go to the top of the class after the first round of qualifying with a 6.052 that just out paced Brett Stevens’s Ford Falcon on a 
6.074.
The second qualifier at around 8.30 p.m. saw Deno Brijeski (left) go to the top of the ladder after cranking out his first five-second time thanks to a 5.956. However, he had a bunch of trouble pulling it up and went through the sand pit and into the net on the other side.
Brijeski’s ’67 Camaro look a bit worse for wear when it was towed back from the sand pit and when interviewed near the start line the Camaro driver made it quite clear how pleased he was with himself throwing in a few colourful words to a stunned commentator. John Zappia, in his steel HQ Holden, had crept into the six zeros with a 6.096 but uncharacteristically oiled the braking area and used a skilful job to pull the car up after sliding it sideways to a stop.
Others in the 6.0s were Gary Phillips’s Studebaker with a 6.068 and Ben Bray (shown) in a GTO cum Monaro with a 6.071. The bump spot had dropped from a 6.24 for Peter Kapiris’s Studebaker to a 6.19 for Sean Misfud’s Willys after the second session with Kapiris now in 12th. He was joined by other bracket regulars like Victor Bray, Aaron Lynch and Maurice Fabietti on the outside looking in.